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A variant of COVID-19 that has emerged in the United Kingdom, Brazil, South Africa, and now Southern California, has elicited two significantly different reactions from US public health authorities.
First, widespread concerns. Variants that have caused havoc in the UK and led to a surge in cases and hospitalizations are emerging in more and more parts of the United States. Another interesting variant seen in Brazil has surfaced in Minnesota this week. As scientists fear, if these or other strains significantly change the way the virus is transmitted and attacked the body, even if the cases have peaked and vaccines have been deployed, even more in the United States. It can cause a long-term surge in illness and death.
On the other hand, in viral diseases, variants are neither new nor unusual. Viruses that cause the common cold and flu occur on a regular basis. The basic public health response remains the same when a mutant strain of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID, becomes more contagious or makes people sick. Monitor viruses and mutations as they move between communities. Use masking, testing, physical distance, and isolation to contain the spread.
The problem is that the United States has struggled at every stage of its public health response in the first year of the fight against COVID-19. And it raises the question of whether the country will devote the necessary attention and resources to overtake the virus as it evolves.
Researchers quickly emphasize that coronavirus mutations themselves are not a cause of caution. In the process of making millions to billions of copies as part of the infectious process, evolutionary biology is constantly undergoing small changes in the viral genome.
“The words” variant “and” mutation “have these terrifying implications and are not necessarily terrifying,” said Kelly Broblevsky, head of the Infectious Diseases Program of the Institute of Public Health. Stated.
When a mutation sounds a public health alert, it is usually because it binds to other mutations and collectively alters the behavior of the virus. At that point, it is sometimes called a variant. Subspecies can accelerate the spread of the virus and easily jump between species. It can make the virus more successful in making people sick and change how our immune system reacts.
SARS-CoV-2 has been mutated as far as we know. Mutations have been identified by scientists throughout 2020. Although scientifically relevant, mutations can actually help and act like fingerprints that allow scientists to track the spread of the virus. The strains identified had little interest in public health.
Later, at the end of the year, several variants began scrutiny. One of the first and most worrisome things detected in the UK seems to increase the infectivity of the virus.New evidence suggests It may also be fatalAlthough scientists are still discussing it.
Epidemiologists at Harvard University say they know more about the UK variants than other variants, not necessarily because they are bad, but because the UK has one of the best virus monitoring programs in the world. Professor William Hanage said.
In contrast, the United States has one of the weakest genome surveillance programs in affluent countries, Hanage said. “At present, people like me rally partnerships with places, try them out and plead,” he said in a recent phone call with reporters.
Other mutants have been identified in South Africa and Brazil, and they share some mutations with UK mutants. The independent evolution of these changes in some parts of the world suggests that they may provide evolutionary benefits to the virus. Yet another strain was recently identified in Southern California and flagged for its growing presence in a devastated city like Los Angeles.
The Southern California strain was detected because the team of researchers at Cedars-Sinai, a hospital and research center in Los Angeles, had free access to patient samples. They found that this strain has increased the proportion of cases in hospitals in recent weeks, and has increased among a limited number of other samples that were unplannedly collected in a network of regional laboratories. I was able to confirm that it was there.
Not only does the United States have less genomic sequencing than most wealthy countries, but it also conducts accidental monitoring. This means that it takes time to detect new strains and draw conclusions. For example, it’s not yet clear if the Southern California stock really deserves a press release.
The vast scope of America’s privatized and decentralized healthcare system is not set up to send samples to public health or academic laboratories. Mark Pandri, director of the Nevada Institute for Public Health and associate professor at the University of Nevada’s Reno Medical College, said:
Wroblewski said limited genomic surveillance of the virus is yet another side effect of a fragmented and underfunded public health system that is struggling to test, track, and control COVID throughout the pandemic. I am.
The national public health infrastructure is generally funded by illness and the appropriate systems are in order. influenza, Food poisoning, and tuberculosisHowever, there was no national strategy for COVID. “To look for a variant, if it works, it needs to be a national painting,” Wroblewski said.
Last week, the Biden administration outlined a strategy for a national response to COVID. This included increased surveillance of variants.
So far, the COVID vaccine appears to protect against known variants.Modana said The vaccine is effective against strains in the UK and South AfricaIn the face of the latter, though it produces less antibody. The company is working on a revised dose of vaccine that can be added to the current two-shot regimen as a precautionary measure.
However, not to mention renewals, a lot of damage can occur in the time it takes to deploy the current vaccine.
Even with limited sampling, UK variants have been detected in more than 20 US states, and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that it could become the predominant strain in the US by March. .. When it took off in the UK at the end of last year, the number of incidents surged, overwhelming hospitals and leading to a holiday blockade. Whether the United States faces the same fate can depend on which stocks the United States is competing with and how its people will behave in the coming weeks.
Already dangerous interactions between people can, on average, be a bit dangerous. Many researchers want better masks and better room ventilation. However, updates on recommendations may be played in the margins. Even if the varieties spread more easily, the same recommendations that public health professionals have endorsed for months—masking, physical distance, and limiting time indoors with others—prevent them. It would be the best way, said Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, a doctor. Professor at the University of California, San Francisco.
“What the solution is isn’t very sexy,” Bibins-Domingo said. “But we all have to do them.”
It doesn’t simplify the task. Masking continues to be controversial in many states, and the patience of the public to maintain physical distance is diminishing.
In addition to concerns: Case numbers have been stable in many parts of the United States for the past few weeks, but many times more than in previous periods in pandemics and other parts of the world. Having all of that virus in so many bodies increases the chances of new mutations and new variants appearing.
“If you keep doing this sneak, you’ll be able to avoid all the steps you take to deal with it,” said Pandri, Nevada.
Highly contagious mutants, compared to less virulent strains, require more people to be vaccinated before the community can understand the broader immune benefits. Immunizing enough people to control a pandemic is a bleak prospect for countries that are already lagging behind in competition.
“It’s very scary when asking people to do what they don’t want to do anyway is the best solution,” said Bibin’s Domingo.
This story was created by KHN, Issue California Healthline, Editorial independent service California Healthcare Foundation..
