UTMB Tests Indian COVID Variant Against Vaccine in Two Cases Found in Houston

Houston, Texas (KTRK)-The first COVID-19 variant discovered in India, already called the “variant of concern” abroad, has emerged in Houston and at least two cases have been reported.

Under these circumstances, the University of Texas School of Medicine has begun testing mutants for the Pfizer vaccine. UTMB has previously tested three variants of the Pfizer vaccine in the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil. In both cases, the vaccine has been found to be effective. According to doctors, data from abroad show that the vaccine is effective against Indian variants.

Houston Methodists have also discovered and emphasized the importance of vaccination in several cases of Indian variants. This variant has been vigilant by health authorities, especially in the United Kingdom.

Let’s see what we know and don’t know about variants.

What is this variation?

The first COVID-19 variant identified in India has been classified as a “mutant of concern” by the United Kingdom and the World Health Organization. That is, there is some evidence that it can spread easily among people, cause more serious illness, and slow down the response. For treatment and vaccines.

Nick Roman, a professor of microbial genomics at the University of Birmingham, said:

To date, more than 2,300 cases have been confirmed in the United Kingdom.Numbers released by Public Health England Showcases of the first variants detected in India have tripled in the past week, experts say they will be the most dominant COVID-19 variant in India.

Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s COVID-19 technical lead, said more information is needed about the global spread of variants.

“We need to do more sequencing, target sequencing and share it in India and elsewhere to see how well this virus is circulating,” she said.

How contagious is the variant?

I don’t know completely. However, according to the minutes of a group of experts who advised the government last week, scientists said “(the first variant found in India) is 50% more contagious than the first reported variant in the UK. That’s a real possibility. ” The explosive spread led to the longest blockade in the country in January.

“There are plausible biological reasons why some of the mutations that exist can make this mutant more contagious,” they concluded. If the variant was found to be 40-50% contagious, scientists predicted that it would “lead to a much larger peak” in cases, hospitalizations, and mortality than previous waves of coronavirus-especially government. To continue the existing plan to end the blockade.

Dr. Jeremy Farr, director of the Wellcome Trust and one of the scientists advising the government, said that the COVID-19 restrictions relaxed on Monday would lead to a surge in hospitalization and death if the spread of variants leads to a surge in hospitalization and death. He said it may need to be reintroduced soon.

“It makes sense to lift (restrictions) carefully, but it may need to be reinstated,” Farah warned. Experts need to provide more detailed information about how quickly the variants identified in India are sickening people in the coming weeks and whether it can overwhelm hospitals. I think there is.

Evidence that the variants identified in India are more dangerous could “cause serious disruption” to the UK government’s plans to lift all remaining COVID-19 restrictions next month, Johnson said. Stated.

Does the vaccine work against this mutant?

Scientists think so, but they are still waiting for a definitive answer.

At a press conference last week, Marco Cavaleri, Vaccine Director of the European Medicines Agency, said the data that the vaccine produced by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna protects against the first variants seen in India is “quite reassuring. “It seems to be.”

He is “quite convinced” that the agency is still gathering more information about the effectiveness of the shots made by AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson, and that those vaccines will also give people adequate protection from variants. I’m doing it. “

Sharon Peacock of the UK COVID-19 Genomics Consortium said: She said the vaccine has so far appeared to be effective against other mutants, but it is important to determine if a single dose is effective or if two doses are needed. It was.

UK Health Minister Matt Hancock said most hospitalized people “chosen not to have a jab” in the UK’s areas where the variant was most affected.

Johnson said on Monday that people over the age of 50 and those with underlying health will have their second vaccine dose reduced from 12 weeks to 8 weeks due to concerns about the rapid spread of the variant. Said to wait for.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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