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New Variants Of The Coronavirus And How They're Spreading.

ConnectHealth

07 Jan 2021

Viruses have always been mutating and evolving to produce new forms based on every vaccination or barrier we use to stop them. Just like that, the coronavirus has thousands of strands that have been identified, and several of them found in the U.K., South Africa, and Brazil is known to be extremely transmissible and has bought up concerns about the potency of the vaccine.

So what are these mutant strands?

South Africa Variant: B.1.351

U.K. Variant: B.1.1.7

Mutation E484K

Brazil Variant P.1

Denmark Variant L452R

So where is it? What makes it different? Will the vaccines still work against them?

B.1.351, has been identified in Canada, Australia, and Israel. This strand appears to be more transmissible and might be more resistant to antibody therapies. While vaccines might have less impact on this variant, they will probably still be effective, like Moderna, which has said their vaccine protects against this strand. Pfizer and BioNtech suggest that their vaccines effectively neutralize this variant, but this hasn’t been fully verified. While Johnson & Johnson has claimed their one dose vaccines were very effective based on their trials, but are not as effective in South Africa.

B.1.1.7, was first found in Kent County in the United Kingdom and has been spreading to places like Denmark and Ireland. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this variant could become the dominant strain in the U.S at some point. This strand is also known to be more transmissible and might be more lethal. It is said that vaccines will continue to remain effective against this variant and companies like Pfizer and Moderna have said their vaccines appear to be working against this variant.

Mutation E484K or ‘Eeek’, is somewhat like a mutation inside a mutation and appears on some of the variations discussed in this article. It was first discovered in the U.K., South Africa, and Brazil. It is known to change the vaccine spike protein, which is what vaccines target. The overall concern is the ability to pair with variants and make solutions less effective.

P.1, was first discovered in Brazil and is known to have a lot of alteration on the virus spike protein, which binds the virus to cells. This strain is also more transmissible and there is some evidence that it could lead to reinfection, as antibodies might not recognize this strand. As of now, there’s no evidence suggesting vaccines won’t work, but there might be a possibility that problems will arise.

Finally, L452R first discovered Demark and has been spreading to North Carolina, South Carolina, and a dozen other states. There is still no information on what makes this any different from the original strains. But scientists do think this variant might be more resistant to vaccines.

For more information, view the Washington Post article below.

Citations:

Marisa Iati, Angela Fritz. “What You Need to Know about the Coronavirus Variants.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 9 Feb. 2021, www.washingtonpost.com/health/interactive/2021/01/25/covid-variants/.