New variants of the coronavirus around the world could disrupt progress in the battle against the pandemic.
In recent weeks, several new strains have been found, including in the UK, South Africa and Brazil.
Scientists warn that these new variants could easily reinfect people who have survived COVID-19 because there is a possible resistance to antibodies, which eludes the immune system response generated by the first infection.
In addition, they warn that variants could force researchers to update vaccines often to the point that it becomes the flu as a necessary vaccine each season.
New coronavirus strains can prevent the immune response that COVID-19 survivors have developed and allow for easier reinfection. Pictured: ICU Medical Director Dr. Thomas Yadegar checks vital signs of Dr. Neil Hecht and his wife Mindy Cross (center) at Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center in Tarzan, California, on January 3
Vaccines may also need to be updated to target the mutations seen in the ear protein, which the virus uses to enter and infect cells. Pictured: A man receives a dose of Modern coronavirus vaccine at a vaccination site in the Bronx, New York, on January 10
Dr Nuno Faria, a virologist at Imperial College London and an associate professor at Oxford University, told Science Magazine that Manaus, Brazil, is a perfect case study on how variants can undo progress.
In December 2020, he co-authored an article that estimated that 75% of the city’s population had been infected with the virus, enough for the herd’s immunity.
However, around the same time, COVID-19 cases began to rise again and hospital beds were filling up.
“It was hard to reconcile those two things,” Faria told the magazine.
Looking at samples, he discovered that a new variant had been developed that had spread throughout the city.
Of the 31 samples collected in mid-December, 13 had the new lineage called P.1 and appeared to elude the immune response triggered by the virus that had infected people earlier in the year.
Of course, P.1 is not the only variant. Several have emerged worldwide, perhaps none more notable than B 1.1.7., First identified in the UK.
B 1.1.7., Which is believed to be up to 70 percent more transmissible than other variants, has infected about 100 people in 18 U.S. states.
And, last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report saying it could become the most prevalent strain in the country in March.
Another variant, called 501Y.V2, which was first detected in South Africa, has spread to several other nations, but not the United States.
B 1.1.7., Which is believed to be up to 70 percent more transmissible than other variants, has infected about 100 people in 18 U.S. states, along with some self-produced variants.
A pre-impression study found that the South African variant has mutations in the ear protein, which the virus uses to infect human cells, which reduced potency in convalescent plasma by 10 times.
Plasma is the liquid portion of blood that is transferred to patients with COVID-19 in the hope that they will develop antibodies needed to fight the virus.
The study’s author, Jesse Bloom, an evolutionary biologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, told Science Magazine that this necessarily means that people’s natural immunity has been reduced 10 times if they are infected with a new mutation.
He adds that the Brazilian variant, P.1, is worrisome because the mutations are similar and causes cases to increase in areas believed to have a high immunity threshold.
“Whenever you see the same mutations emerge and start spreading several times, in different viral strains around the world, this is a real test that has some evolutionary advantage in these mutations,” Bloom told Science Magazine.
“I would expect these viruses to have some advantage when a large population has immunity.”
There is currently no evidence that any of the variants is resistant to any of the Pfizer vaccines of Modern COVID-19.
However, the fact that new mutations continue to emerge is worrisome
“The not-so-good news is that the rapid evolution of these variants suggests that if it’s possible for the virus to evolve into a vaccine-resistant phenotype, this can happen sooner than we like,” said Philip Krause, president of ‘a WHO a working group on COVID-19 vaccines, told Science Magazine.
There is a sense of urgency to vaccinate people as soon as possible to at least deal with the most prevalent strains at this time.
If necessary, vaccines could be easily reformulated to respond to different mutations in the ear protein.
This means that they are likely to have to go through a Food and Drug Administration check before being authorized.
“To be clear: these are later considerations,” Krause told Science Magazine.
“The public should not think that this is imminent and that new vaccines will be needed.”