New Coronavirus Strain: What Does it Mean for Us?
Just when two vaccines received emergency use authorization, the UK sounded the alarm due to a new COVID-related threat
Experts discovered that the coronavirus has mutated again
This time, it resulted in a strain with very high transmissibility than the original strain
And to make it worse, this is not the last time the virus will mutate
According to The New York Times, scientists aren't surprised about the mutations but they are worried
Within a year, experts recorded thousands of tiny changes in the genetic material of the virus
These are a result of its constant movement across the globe
Some variants are more common in human circulation due to luck
However, none of them boosted the virus in any manner
The most likely reason for the changes is survivability
As more humans develop immunity against it, the coronavirus looks for ways to spread easier or to better dodge the immune system
Jesse Bloom, an evolutionary biologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, said: "It's a real warning that we need to pay closer attention"
Here's what researchers identified in the UK variant
It contains 20 mutations, including the ones affecting how the virus locks and infects human cells
Muge Cevik, an infectious disease expert, linked these mutations to higher chances of transmission than the original strain
Currently, the new strain has higher transmissibility of up to 70%
That figure is only estimated in modeling. No findings yet from lab experiments
In South Africa, scientists detected a similar version of the British strain
It shared one mutation of that UK variant
It's also found in up to 90% of samples genetically sequenced since mid-November
So, what does it all mean?
While it can take years of mutation before the coronavirus renders vaccines useless, the world cannot afford to be irresponsible
Scientists fear one thing: the genetic changes that will give the virus a big edge
When that happens, antibodies and vaccines may become inefficient against such a deadly strain
Right now, minor genetic changes appear to help the coronavirus
One of those affects antibody susceptibility
Scientists observed 69-70 deletions in its genetic code
These are missing letters and will impact antibodies, which need exact matches
This change has been identified in Danish minks, in Britain, and an immune-suppressed patient, who became less responsive to convalescent plasma therapy
Their case was published in the journal medRxiv