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A new mutation of the coronavirus raises concern about the efficacy of vaccines

2021-01-22T00:13:33.929Z


This variant, detected in South Africa, can complicate the response to the pandemic, as well as another found in Brazil. We explain why scientists are alarmed and what to do.


The United States registered at the end of December the first confirmed case of a more contagious variant of the coronavirus, known as B.1.1.7 and originally detected in the United Kingdom.

However, health experts assured that it was no more deadly than the one known until then, and that it did not show resistance to the two vaccines approved so far (Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna). 

This week, however, US scientists began to show concern about another variant of the virus, located in South Africa and known as 501Y.V2.

Some experts see the potential for

this mutation, which to date has not been registered in the United States

, could complicate the response to the pandemic.

This concern is based on two studies published on Tuesday suggesting that mutations in the South African variant, already present in at least 23 countries, may lead to an increased risk of COVID-19 reinfection in people who have already been ill with it. virus and should have developed some immunity.

Scientists have not confirmed that this variant is more contagious, although the evidence points in that direction.

They are also concerned that 501Y.V2 could complicate the response to existing COVID-19 treatments.

CVS Pharmacy staff review notes before administering the COVID-19 vaccine at a nursing home in New York's Harlem neighborhood on Friday, January 15, 2021.

For example, Regeneron, a company that has developed a cocktail of two monoclonal antibodies as a therapy for patients with the disease, reported that 501Y.V2 could evade one of the antibodies in its mix.

But perhaps most alarming is the possibility that these mutations could limit the effectiveness of existing vaccines, one of the best tools to control the pandemic.

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Studies published Tuesday show that this variant is less susceptible to antibodies created by natural infection and by the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines.

Michel Nussenzweig, an immunologist at Rockefeller University in New York, who led one of the studies, told The New York Times that existing vaccines will continue to prevent the most serious symptoms and that people should continue to receive them:

"If the goal is to keep people out of the hospital, then this is going to work well," he said.

But

the vaccines might not prevent people from becoming mildly or asymptomatic with the variants

, Nussenzweig cautioned;

"They may not even know they were infected."

If these infected can still transmit the virus to other people who are not immunized, the virus would continue to claim lives.

They anticipate that in March the new strain of COVID-19 will be the most common in the United States.

Jan. 16, 202100: 28

South African scientists reported this weekend that, after performing laboratory tests on a group of 44 survivors of COVID-19, in almost half of them the vaccines did not destroy the new variant.

The samples that did succeed against the variant were taken from patients who had been hospitalized.

These patients had higher blood levels of so-called neutralizing antibodies (the subset of antibodies necessary to disarm the virus and prevent infection) than those who were only mildly ill.

The results "strongly suggest that

several mutations that we see in the South African variant are going to have a significant effect on the sensitivity of that virus to neutralization,

" said Penny Moore, a virologist at the South African National Institute of Communicable Diseases, who led the aforementioned study.

Another worrying mutation in Brazil

The federal government has suspended travel from some of the countries where new variants of COVID-19 have emerged, such as the United Kingdom and Brazil.

This Thursday, the president, Joe Biden, signed a dozen executive orders that include restrictions for international travelers arriving in the country.

The new Administration will require negative tests for COVID-19 before entering the national territory.

Travelers will also need to be quarantined upon arrival.

In addition to the one circulating in South Africa,

the Manaus, Brazil variant, known as P.1

, is also a source of concern.

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Researchers from this country documented the case of a 45-year-old COVID-19 patient with no other ailments who, months after her first infection with the disease, was re-infected with the new variant.

The patient experienced a more serious illness the second time.

Although so far the evidence is limited, "it could have important implications for public health policies, surveillance and immunization strategies," according to the Brazilian scientists.

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In Manaus, after more than three-quarters of the population was estimated to be infected with the virus during a spring surge, cases are piling up again and hospitals are filling up.

The researchers suspect that one cause could be the new variant.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, information on the characteristics of new variants in the world is emerging rapidly.

"Scientists are working to learn more about the ease with which they can be spread, if they could cause a more serious disease and if currently licensed vaccines will protect people against them," the CDC said on its official website.

"At this time, there is no evidence that these variants cause more serious disease or increased risk of death," he adds.

More than 400,000 people have died in the United States from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic in the country in March 2020. 

With information from The Associated Press and The New York Times

Source: telemundo

All news articles on 2021-01-22

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