Cases of Covid-19 are on the rise worldwide, fueled by highly contagious variants of the coronavirus that appear far from where they were first detected.
According to scientists, the spread of these variants reveals how small, random changes in the virus’s genetic code threaten to undo progress in defeating a global pandemic that has killed at least three million people. Variants related to the United States and Canada, Europe and Latin America are extended.
Scientists claim that variants can be controlled with already known public health measures, such as the use of masks and social distancing, although there is evidence that some strains could elude the immune response triggered by vaccination or infection. past.
In the United Kingdom, for example, where a variant known as B.1.1.7 caused a new fatal outbreak in winter, new cases have been reduced to a drip after a strict blockage and rapid vaccination. .
Scientists also hope that current vaccine cultivation will limit at least the number of people who fall seriously ill and die from Covid-19, even if variants weaken the effectiveness of vaccines in preventing infection. Vaccine manufacturers are already testing new versions of their features that adjust to attacking variants.