Image for production purposes only
Scientists scan virus samples taken from infected people to look for mutations, through a process called genome sequencing. This is the same method that researchers have been using for years to study bacteria, plants, animals and humans.
Worldwide, researchers have discovered more than 500,000 genomes of the covid-19 virus so far. Viruses can circulate and replicate themselves after being infected. By sequencing virus samples over time, scientists can look for recurrent changes in the genome. “If we don’t know those things, we’re running blind,” said Sara Vetter, deputy laboratory director for the Minnesota Department of Health. Most infections are meaningless, but others can make a virus more contagious, deadly or resistant to vaccines and treatment.
ALL LOCATIONS: BioNTech will begin production of the Covid-19 vaccine at a new facility in Marburg, Germany
Health experts are particularly concerned about three changes that were first discovered in the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil. They appear to spread more easily and research is underway to see if they cause a more serious infection. Evidence shows that routine vaccines still working against the variables although perhaps not as well against the muta version that first appeared in South Africa. Different countries are in their genomic study.
Britain, for example, follows about 10 percent of positive samples for the coronavirus, compared to less than 1 percent in the US.