IN
IN THE
IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA STILL IN CARRIE PRESS, THANK YOU. AS WE'VE BEEN REPORTING THE FIRST
CASE OF A NEW MORE CONTAGIOUS
VARIANT OF KOBE 19 HAS BEEN
CONFIRMED IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY.
THIS VARIANT WAS FIRST
DISCOVERED IN THE U.K. AND HERE
TO BREAK DOWN WHAT WE NEED TO
KNOW IS DR. ABIOLA LAW DAY FROM
SHARPLY STEALING MEDICAL GROUP.
DR. ABBY, GOOD MORNING TO YOU.
THANK YOU FOR JOINING THIS
MORNING'S STOLEN CARROTS. GOOD
TO SEE YOU. GOOD TO SEE YOU. SO
SHOULD WE BE CONCERNED? I MEAN
WE'VE BEEN HEARING LIKE THIS IS
WHAT VIRUSES DO, RIGHT? THEY
MUTATE. YES. VIRUSES ARE
MUTATING ALL THE TIME. AND THE
WAY YOU THINK ABOUT IT IS THAT
THE VIRUS ENTERS THE BODY. IT
HAS TO REPLICATE. IT HAS TO
MULTIPLY IN ORDER TO CAUSE AN
INFECTION. AND IT DOES THAT BY
COPYING ITSELF. BUT WHEN IT
DOES COPY ITSELF, IT MAKES A
LOT OF MISTAKES. IT MAKES
ERRORS ESSENTIALLY IT'S LIKE
COPYING ITSELF WITHOUT SPELL
CHECK. AND MOST OF THE TIME
THESE MUTATIONS DON'T RESULT IN
ANY MEANINGFUL CHANGE BUT EVERY
SO OFTEN IT GETS IT RIGHT. AND
THAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENED HERE.
IT'S BEEN ABLE TO SUCCESSFULLY
CHANGE SOMETHING CALLED SPIKE
PROTEIN WHICH IS WHAT IT REALLY
NEEDS TO INTO OUR CELLS AND
CAUSE AN INFECTION. BUT WHAT
WE'RE SEEING FROM THE
RESEARCHERS IN THE UK IS THAT
IT IS POTENTIALLY MORE
CONTAGIOUS, MORE TRANSMISSIBLE,
MORE EASILY SPREAD FROM PERSON
TO PERSON. SO THAT IS VERY
CONCERNING. OF COURSE WHEN WE
KNOW THAT ICU CAPACITY HOSPITAL
CAPACITY STRAIN AND IT'S
CAUSING WORRY IN OUR MEDICAL
COMMUNITY. SO WE KNOW THAT IT'S
OBVIOUSLY A MORE CONTAGIOUS AS
YOU JUST SAID. DO WE KNOW
ANYTHING IS THERE A DIFFERENCE
IN THE SYMPTOMS OR HOW ARE WE
ABLE TO DETECT WHICH STRAND
THIS IS TRUE IN TERMS HOW IT
MANIFESTS? WE DON'T KNOW IF
IT'S GOING TO MANIFEST
DIFFERENTLY. THERE'S NO
EVIDENCE OF THAT AT THIS POINT.
AND THE OTHER THING TO NOTE IS
THAT WHILE WE KNOW HOW IT
BEHAVES WHEN IT'S IN THE UK WE
STILL NEED MORE EVIDENCE AS TO
HOW IT'S GOING TO BEHAVE HERE
AND IT'S DETECTED BY SOMETHING
CALLED GENOMIC SEQUENCING THE
U.K. DOES MORE OF THIS. IT'S
BASICALLY A SURVEILLANCE
POSITIVE TEST TO SEE IF THE
VIRUS IS CHANGING. BUT IF YOU
DON'T LOOK FOR THAT, YOU'RE NOT
GOING TO FIND IT. IT'S A STEP
FURTHER THAN THAT PCR TESTING
THAT YOU WOULD GET A LAB OR A
DOCTOR'S OFFICE THAT JUST TELLS
YOU THAT YOU'RE POSITIVE THAT
THE GENOMIC SEQUENCING GOES ONE
STEP FURTHER AND IT'S SOMETHING
THAT YOU HAVE TO DO IN ORDER TO
FIND IT. THE U.K. DOES A LOT
MORE OF THAT AND WAY MORE OF
THAT THAN WE DO HERE IN THE US
SO FAR AND THAT'S HOW THEY WERE
ABLE TO PICK IT UP HERE IN SAN
DIEGO. FROM WHAT WE HEARD FROM
THE COUNTY YESTERDAY, THEY ARE
DOING IT AND THAT'S HOW THEY
FOUND IT. HE LAST NIGHT WHEN
THEY EMISSARY TWO NIGHTS AGO
WHEN THEY MADE THAT
ANNOUNCEMENT. BUT FROM WHAT
THEY'RE SAYING BASED ON THEIR
TESTING, IT'S NOT SHOWING THAT
IT'S PREVALENT HERE QUITE YET.
BUT CERTAINLY WE CAN EXPECT
THAT IT MAY BECOME MORE
WIDESPREAD. SO WITH THE GENOMIC
SEQUENCING, DO WE THINK IT
MIGHT HAVE BEEN HERE FOR A
COUPLE MONTHS? HOW LONG HAVE
THEY BEEN DOING THAT SEQUENCING
HERE IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY? YOU
KNOW, WE MOSTLY IT MOST LIKELY
HAS BEEN HERE. YOU KNOW, AGAIN,
IF YOU DON'T LOOK FOR IT,
YOU'RE GOING TO FIND IT TOO. WE
EXPECT THAT IT IS MORE
WIDESPREAD. AND THE OTHER POINT
TO MAKE IS THAT THIS WAS FOUND
IN BOTH THE PATIENT THAT HAD IT
IN COLORADO AND THAT THE
PATIENT THAT HAD IT HERE BOTH
HAD IT WITHIN THE ABSENCE OF
TRAVELING HAVEN'T THEY HADN'T
TRAVELED. AND THAT IS A SIGN OF
COMMUNITIES SPREAD MEANING THAT
IT'S SPREADING WITHIN THE
COMMUNITY. IT'S NOT NECESSARILY
THAT THEY BROUGHT IT FROM
SOMEWHERE ELSE. SO WE DO EXPECT
THAT WE'LL CONTINUE TO FIND
MORE AND MORE OF THESE. NOW
WHAT IS NOT EXPECTED IS THAT
IT'S GOING TO NECESSARILY CAUSE
MORE SEVERE ILLNESS. BUT AGAIN,
YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT
ILLNESSES AND SEVERE ILLNESS
AND HOSPITALIZATION AND EVEN
DEATHS LAG BEHIND INFECTION. SO
WE NEED TO WAIT AND SEE AND
REALLY TREAT THIS VERY
CAREFULLY BECAUSE IF MORE
PEOPLE GET INFECTED BECAUSE
IT'S MORE CONTAGIOUS, THEN YOU
WILL SEE JUST BECAUSE OF THAT
THE DEATH RATES AND
HOSPITALIZATIONS GO UP. IS THIS
A GAME CHANGER IN THE SENSE OF
THE VACCINE WERE ROLLING THEM
OUT NOW IS THIS STILL GOING TO
HELP PROTECT PEOPLE FROM THIS
SPECIFIC STRAND OR IS THIS
GOING TO THROW A COG IN THE
WHEEL? WELL, AS FAR AS WE KNOW.
AND IN THEORY IT SHOULDN'T. IT
SHOULD NOT EVADE THE VACCINES
PROTECTIONS. AND THE REASON IS
BECAUSE THE VACCINE INDUCES
WHAT IS CALLED A POORLY
CLINICAL ANTIBODY. SO IT'S
MAKING US PRODUCE AN ANTIBODY
THAT TARGETS MULTIPLE PARTS OF
THE SPIKE PROTEIN NOT JUST ONE
OR TWO. SO FOR A VIRUS TO
CHANGE IN A WAY THAT'S
SIGNIFICANT ENOUGH TO INVADE
THE VACCINE, VERY DIFFICULT.
AND THERE'S NO EVIDENCE AT THIS
POINT THAT THE IS NOT GOING TO
BE EFFECTIVE. YOU STILL WANT TO
DEFINITELY GET THE VACCINE. YOU
CAN'T. THAT'S YOUR BEST
PROTECTION. IN ADDITION TO MASS
IN DISTANCE A NOT GATHERING ALL
OF THOSE THINGS WE KNOW FOR
CERTAIN THE VIRUS IS NOT GOING
TO BE IMMUNE TO REGARDLESS OF
WHAT VARIANT IT IS. DR. ABBY,
THANK YOU SO MUCH. WE GOT TO
WRAP IT BEFORE WE GO. I JUST
GOT TO ASK YOU ONE LAST
QUESTION. YOUR MESSAGE TO OUR
VIEWERS AS WE GET READY TO RING
IN THE NEW YEAR. SO I WOULD
WANT EVERYONE TO REMEMBER THAT.
I MEAN WE ALL UNDERSTAND AS
MEDICAL WRITERS THINK YOU'RE
TIRED OF, YOU KNOW, QUARANTINE
.IT'S BEEN TO SAY THAT IT'S
BEEN A DIFFICULT YEAR IS A
COMPLETE UNDERSTATEMENT AND
WE'RE RIGHT THERE WITH YOU. WE
LIVE IN THE SAME COMMUNITIES
WHERE WE WORK. BUT WE HAVE TO
REMEMBER THAT NEW YEAR'S IS NOT
A DATE. DON'T LOOK AT IT AS A
DATE. IT'S ABOUT TOGETHERNESS
AND RENEWAL AND LOVE. AND IT
DOESN'T MATTER IF WE CELEBRATE
IT TODAY OR WE CELEBRATE IT IN
JULY OR IN AUGUST. IT'S
IMPORTANT TO TAKE ALL THESE
MEASURES TO STAY HOME, STAY
WITHIN YOUR HOUSEHOLD SO THAT
WE CAN ALL MAKE IT THERE
TOGETHER. WE'RE ALMOST AT THE
FINISH LINE. HANG IN THERE. OK.
DR. ABBY, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
GREAT TO SEE YOU. HAPPY NEW
YEAR. BEST OF LUCK. LET'S HOPE
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