Five reasons for optimism within the Corona plague

More than a year has passed since the corona plague began to spread around the world. More than 100 million people fell ill and nearly 2.2 million died from the virus. History has known severe epidemics and this is not the most severe, but the corona continues to surprise even the best of experts: from the rapid creation of mutant variants that alter the order of nucleotides on S proteins, to multisystem damage that signals not only the elderly but also pregnant women and babies .

In this difficult pandemic, which we doctors are still learning about in the morning, there is nevertheless a glimmer of hope: advanced science has made it possible to develop new ways to deal with the violent virus, which still finds new ways to escape and spread.

It is estimated that in the end there is a good chance that the disease, even if not completely eradicated, will be eradicated. Do not believe? Here are five reasons for cautious optimism:

The new strain was not the only one: at that time at least seven subspecies of the corona virus were known, each of which developed different mutations. This is not an unusual phenomenon: viruses tend to make genetic changes all the time. This phenomenon is an integral part of the characteristics of viruses – a kind of “internal engine” that increases their ability to survive and adapt to changing environmental conditions.

In recent weeks, panic has resurfaced, with the discovery of British and South African varieties. The British strain B1.1.7 has 17 mutations (and therefore the virus is a variant and not a “new mutation” as many mistakenly call it). The South African strain B1.351 has 10 mutations. Both strains spread rapidly and were estimated to cause faster infection.

And the reason for this is logical-scientific: a large part of the mutations in the new strains are genetically encoded into corona envelope proteins, leading to a significant evolutionary advantage in the virus: envelope proteins have a dramatic role in linking to the human cell. The more the virus manages to create mutations that will improve its ability to attach to a human cell, the faster and more effectively it will be able to infect it.

But beyond the panic of the new strains, cheers have been received from the two advanced vaccine companies: Moderna, the pioneer of mRNA vaccines, recently announced that tests have shown that the vaccine produces a wide range of antibodies that also neutralize the South African and British strains. The study showed that there was no significant effect of the new strains on antibody production. In modernity we noted that a six-fold decrease in the levels of neutralizing antibodies against the South African strain B.1.351 was observed compared to antibodies generated against other strains. At the same time, the overall level of neutralizing antibodies remained above the level required for protection.

Chances are that the corona virus will continue to produce more strains, but thanks to the mRNA technology that allows vaccines to be produced quickly, Modern and Pfizer declare that they will be able to adapt the vaccines within six weeks to each new strain that is discovered.

Influenza disease peaks in Israel, usually at the end of December, when infection rates even earlier are very high and lead to heavy workloads in hospitals. However, the corona plague that led to the rules of social distance and the wearing of masks, in fact, winter eradicated the flu in Israel.

According to the monitoring data of the Ministry of Health and the Clalit and Maccabi HMOs, no cases of influenza infection or deaths among those infected with influenza viruses have been reported so far. The main reasons for this are of course the closures, the closure of educational institutions known as “flu greenhouses”, the closure of Ben Gurion Airport, the masks and the social distance. But also the significant immunization data that reached an 11-year high: over 24% of the country was vaccinated against influenza.

The vaccine, both by injection and by spray, protects against the four most common strains of influenza this season and provides protection for an average of 11 to 13 months. Thus, when you are vaccinated now, you are protected from the flu until the beginning of next winter. Either way, against the flu it is recommended to get vaccinated every year anew. Apparently, alongside the flu vaccines next year we will also get the corona vaccine at a one-week interval between vaccinations.

The success of the corona vaccine campaign in Israel, which still ranks first in the world in the rate of vaccines, and the impressive immunization data for influenza vaccines, are a severe blow to vaccine refusers. Until recently, social networks were filled with conspiracy theories by many of them, which continued to fill the sites with false and misleading information. This continued even when the corona vaccine campaign began in Israel: Opponents of the vaccines continued to publish Pike News: from lies about the vaccines changing the personality, to arguments that the prime minister was actually vaccinated with the placebo vaccine and not with the real vaccine.

But that didn’t really help: this time the social networks themselves rallied to fight Corona and at least announced that they would remove any post that disseminated false and inciting information against the vaccines. The understanding that vaccines are safe and highly effective has also led Israelis to attack the vaccine centers. Yes, there is still a hard core that does not get vaccinated, especially among young people, and this matter must be resolved quickly.

Israel has been considered a vaccine powerhouse for many years: it started with the founding of the HMOs, which allowed every resident to receive medical services within walking distance of his place of residence, continued with the invention of “milk drop”, which has become an imitation model worldwide, and now Israel out of the plague.

Modern has made history this year and revolutionized the medical world: the Corona vaccine, which has shown 94.5% efficacy and is based on a molecule called mRNA, has brought about amazing results they did not even expect in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. However, it turns out that this development has been in modern society for many years and is used not only in the vaccine for corona.

In fact, a modern company has been working for years on the production of vaccines using mRNA and is in various stages of clinical trials in humans with a variety of vaccines that will change the face of medicine. Some vaccines protect against extremely violent viruses that cause serious illness, miscarriages, deafness and death – and the results so far are promising.

The process of producing the mRNA vaccine, the same molecule that “programs” the body to create an artificial corona shell, is unique. It is a genetic material that commands the human body to produce things – and is composed outside the body. In practice, this is a fairly simple and fast process performed by sophisticated and accurate machines.

The general idea behind the development is the construction of a skeleton on which a series of “nucleotide” sequences – organic compounds that together form the genetic material and cause the body to perform various processes. Such nucleotides exist on the DNA molecule that is in the nucleus of each cell, and also on the mRNA. The same Pfizer and Modern machines build these molecules in a certain order, adapted according to the genetic load of the corona virus.

And the data from the mRNA vaccines are nothing short of astonishing: Corona vaccines point to perhaps the highest efficacy vaccines have ever achieved. In modernity, as mentioned, they have been working on this “baby” for years, and have developed a variety of additional vaccines that are about to cause a real revolution. The company has developed an mRNA vaccine against the violent CMV virus. It is one of the “kiss disease” viruses that is especially dangerous for pregnant women: it can cause brain damage to the fetus, deafness and miscarriages.

The new vaccine is called mRNA-1647 and is built on a technology similar to the corona virus vaccine. The vaccine “mimics” the penetration of a virus into the body through mRNA, which commands the vaccinated cell to form a virus-like envelope, causing the immune system to produce antibodies that neutralize the vaccine and signal white blood cells to reach and destroy it. The antibodies remain in the body’s “immune memory,” attacking any other virus of the same type.

In 2019, the company began testing the first phase of the vaccine, and its results were recently published and found that the vaccine is safe to use and has even led to an increase in antibodies against the CMV virus, in both healthy people and pregnant women. The second phase of the experiment began several months ago with the participation of 252 volunteers. In light of the positive results so far, in an experiment that has not yet been completed, the company is already preparing for the third and final phase in which almost 8,000 subjects will receive the vaccine in the US and Europe. If successful, the company expects mass vaccination to begin later this year or 2022 at the latest.

Another vaccine developed by Modern is against the EBV virus, Epstein-Barr virus, the most common of the viruses that cause kissing disease (or in its medical name “mononucleosis”). The vaccine called mRNA-1189 is still in the experimental phase in animals, but is expected to move to the clinical phase within a few months. If there are no surprises, it is possible that in about two years we will be able to see this vaccine, which will revolutionize the prevention of millions of virus infections every year around the world.

Other advanced modern vaccines include the RSV vaccine, which causes very severe inflammation in the airways of newborns and toddlers, the affinity virus vaccine that causes severe damage to the fetus, and vaccines against cancerous tumors and metabolic diseases.

We are all already used to the fact that “Zoom” has become one of the most popular apps in the Corona plague. The closures and social distance have made the app an integral part of our studies, meetings and even our holiday meals. But the last year has also been the time of online medicine: in order to prevent crowds, HMOs have invested millions in developing remote medical services, after years of neglect and perhaps even reluctance in the field.

It turned out that in many cases it is possible to replace the visit to the clinic with an online consultation via video chat or a phone call. The funds have also completed the digitization transition of drug dispensations and today they are all transmitted directly to the magnetic card and to all pharmacies.

Recognition of the importance of remote medicine will lead to a variety of exciting developments in the coming years: the funds are already examining the possibility of purchasing advanced medical equipment and home tests that the patient can perform himself at home. The results will be transmitted to a doctor who can start treatment, call the patient to visit the clinic or refer him for further medical examinations.