At the same time as the first vaccines against coronavirus disease were approved and received in December 2020, health officials in the United Kingdom announced a new strain of the virus.
The variance was initially reported to be up to 70 percent more contagious. A few days later, another version of the coronavirus was announced in South Africa – already the country with the highest incidence of COVID-19 cases on the continent at more than 15,000 per day.
And in January another variant was discovered in Brazil, coming from the northern state of Amazonas, where most of the capital’s population was captured.
According to Dr Deepti Gurdasani, a clinical epidemiologist and senior lecturer at Queen Mary University in London, a variant was developed in February-March last year in Wuhan called D641G.
“That variance was related to an increase of around 20-30 percent which quickly became the world’s leading variable,” Gurdasani told Al Jazeera.
“This shows the ability of this virus to change.”
But let’s start at the beginning.
What is a variable?
Differences are mutations of a virus. All viruses circulate as they are copied until they spread and thrive. Most mutations are important, some can damage the virus, while others can make a variant that makes it more susceptible.
To break it down further, a mutation is a change in the genetic material of the virus – or something called ribonucleic acid (RNA).
A virus spreads inside the body by attaching to a cell, and then entering it. They then make copies of their RNA, which helps them expand. If there is a copy error, the RNA changes and that is what scientists call a mutation.
Brooke Nichols, an assistant professor at Boston University’s School of Public Health, said that mutations occur much more frequently with RNA viruses because the RNA does not have the “proof-of-reading” capability and therefore cannot correct the errors made during viral reproduction. ” .
“This can be a problem when the virus selects mutations that allow the virus to reproduce more efficiently,” Nichols told Al Jazeera.
“For example, if a person has been infected before, the virus can opt for mutations that can circumvent that immunity, or opt for mutations that allow the virus to become more susceptible.”
What does it mean for coronavirus and humans?
The coronavirus infection has been on several mutations since the beginning of the pandemic.
All three found in the UK, South Africa and Brazil have undergone changes in their spike protein. This is the part of the virus that binds to human cells and makes it better at capturing and spreading cells.
Although scientists agree that the mutations found in the three variants make the coronavirus more contagious, there is no evidence that they reduce the disease or are more likely to cause death.
“The variables don’t seem to make coronavirus disease more deadly,” Nichols said. “But these changes are making the virus more mobile. This could mean that more people can become infected more quickly – thus putting too much pressure on healthcare systems. ”
B.1.1.7
On 14 December, UK health officials reported a new variant to the World Health Organization (WHO).
The variant, known as B117, was first discovered in September in Kent, southeast England. By December the strain accounted for 60 per cent of new COVID-19 cases in the UK, becoming the most common version of the coronavirus.
While preliminary evidence suggests the variant could be up to 30 percent more lethal, experts say the data is limited and there is still little information to confirm its infectivity.
It was initially reported that the variance could be up to 70 per cent more widespread, but the latest research by Public Health England puts it between 30-50 per cent.
Early research seems to show that vaccines are effective against this variant. Last week, Novavax and Johnson & Johnson tests showed they were 86 percent and 66 percent effective, respectively.
In late January, scientists said Moderna vaccine tests appear to be working against the opposite.
The UK strain has also been found in more than 50 other countries, including China, India and the United States
Recently, experts said that the variable present in South Africa is mutated – the E484K, which is thought to help the virus to suppress parts of the immune system and antibodies.
B1351
Medical worker attends COVID-19 patient at special ward at Arwyp Medical Center as South Africa has reached the milestone of one million infections [File: Shafiek Tassiem/Reuters]
Days after the new variant was announced in the UK, South African authorities said on December 18 that a new version was spreading rapidly in the Eastern Cape, Western Cape, and KwaZulu-Natal.
The B1351 variant first appeared in the country in October and has now become a major coronavirus strain in South Africa.
This variation has been found in at least 20 other countries, including the UK.
Research has shown that the variable also has the E484K mutation, as well as the N501Y mutation – which seems to make it more infectious or easy to spread.
Recent tests have shown that vaccines are less effective against this variant.
The vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University appeared to offer only limited protection, the British drug dealer said.
Novavax reported that clinical trials showed that the efficacy of its vaccine was 60 percent, and Johnson & Johnson reported that its vaccine trial was 66 percent effective. Both are single-dose vaccines and have not been approved by regulators.
On Jan. 25, Moderna, which has already released it, said it is improving its augmented outlook after discovering that its vaccine worked against the South African counterpart but was less effective. It is currently testing whether the third elevation view may be beneficial.
B11248
The variant of the coronavirus found in Japan originating from the Brazilian state of Amazonas is already widespread in the capital Manaus, confirming initial suspicions that it may be more contagious [Marcio James/AFP]
In mid-January, a third variant was discovered in travelers coming from Brazil to Japan.
The origin of the B11248 variant was traced back to the northern Brazilian state of Amazonas where it was first discovered in its capital Manaus in December.
It also has an E484K mutation.
“We know it has independent and shared mutations with the UK and South African variable,” said Dr Deepti Gurdasani.
This particular variability relates to “because in the laboratory it has been associated with much less neutralization of antibodies that have been targeted for previous changes”, she continued.
During the first wave of the virus, 76 percent of people in Manaus were exposed to it.
“But we are still seeing huge waves of disease and it is not clear at this stage why that is,” Gurdasani said. “This could be because we are dealing with a new version so it is more mobile which increases the threshold of herd protection. But it may also be that this variant escapes at least for some people with the immune response to the previous type. ”
The variance was present in 51 percent of samples taken from coronavirus patients in December, he said. By mid-January, it was 91 percent.
Scientists do not understand why the variant has spread so explosively in Brazil and why it carries a very dangerous set of mutations.
Will vaccines work on the new strains?
Variants help the virus avoid antibodies or get rid of them.
However, vaccines train the immune system to attack several parts of the virus. That is, the antibodies of the vaccines target many parts of the spike protein, so even though part of the spike has declined, the vaccines should still offer a degree of protection.
On 28 January, Pfizer said its vaccine will be less effective on different changes in the UK and South Africa.
Even in the worst case scenarios, vaccines can be redesigned and tweaked to become better matches in a few weeks or months, if necessary, medical experts say.