Scientists have recently reported that a new variety from California has become a mainstay in that state. In a study of their database, they were first identified in the early summer of last year, lying dormant until the winter rose sharply across the state. According to researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), this particular variation grew from 0 percent in September to 50 percent at the end of January.
This new variant has been found in many other U.S. states and has reached locations as far afield as the UK, Singapore, and Australia. It has mutations in its spike protein that seem to make it not only more potent but also help it avoid antibodies generated by the COVID-19 vaccines.
Scientists have named the new variant as the CAL.20C variant covering series B.1.427 and B.1.429. It is associated with a mutation in its receptor binding domain called L452R.
Professor Charles Chiu is the lead author of a study that reports on the growth of the CAL.20C variant among 8,000 residents in the Mission Area of San Francisco, and found the initially changed on December 31. He told the media, “This change is worrying. because our data show that it is more contagious, more likely to be associated with severe disease, and at least to some extent opposed to neutralizing antibodies. … The devil is here already. I wish it were different. But science is science. ”
Speaking to the Los Angethe Times, Dr. Chiu pointed out that it would be necessary to reduce diseases as much as possible while moving fast in order to vaccinate the population. This assessment was raised by Dr. Angela Rasmussen, a Georgetown University geologist, said, “The [UCSF] decisions deserve a closer look at this change. … They emphasize the importance of removing all stops in terms of both exposure reduction and increased vaccination circulation and accessibility. ”
In a study of 324 people with COVID-19 treated at UCSF clinics or its medical centers, after adjusting for various variables, such as age, gender, and race, those infected with the difference CAL.20C is almost five times more likely to require ICU admission and 11 times more likely to die. A study from nasal swabs also showed that patients with CAL.20C carry twice the viral load. Moreover, during in vivo studies, the variant was four times more likely to receive antibodies from previously infected people and twice as likely to receive antibodies from people who received the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine.
The infectious disease physician Dr. Robert “Chip” T. Schooley, who has been advocating for the Biden Administration, recognized the important role of aerosol release in the release of SARS-CoV-2 , states, “Biology at a higher level of virus… would certainly correspond to the thesis that humans would not do well. Here in Southern California we are seeing more people… for a longer period of time in our ICUs. ”
There is no doubt that the results of the study need to be confirmed in a broader epidemiological study but they do highlight the risks these diseases pose to communities. Critics noted the number of cases requiring admission to the ICU or resulting in death, although they were statistically significant compared to previous COVID infections. , small and they happened at the height of the scene when health systems went in, and that may have contributed to those decisions.
Modifications B.1.427 and B.1.429 share three identical mutations at their spike protein that appear to stabilize the interaction between the virus and the receptor on the cell. human to which he is attached before he enters. In particular, the L452R mutation, which is mainly circulating in California, was not found in the other variables that are commonly discussed. But analysis from GISAID-deposited genomes has found several “independent L452R transporter lines that have recently emerged worldwide,” suggesting that the mutation benefits responsive to the virus.
UCSF scientists conducting mountain studies on this variant invented the coronavirus with the L452R mutation. They discovered the mutated virus created an infectious lung tissue 40 percent easier than the common mutations that had been circulating.
As the B.1.1.7 variant that first came out in the UK along with the various rural variants has spread rapidly across the United States, concerns are growing among scientists if these changes become infectious at the same time, the viruses may exchange. their mutations and strain releases are even more dangerous than the current versions of SARS-CoV-2, a condition they describe as “a nightmare condition. ”
The proliferation of more infectious variants of the coronavirus is a direct result of the total disregard shown by the controlling elite for the threats to herd immunity, which means establishing the infectiousness as endemic, so that its all open to him and those who survive back. working and making profits.
Despite the unprecedented death toll caused by the pandemic in the United States since March 2020, the emergence of these new strains that are more mobile, lethal, and immune, sets a calamitous legacy. to the working class, when linked to the drive to open schools and resume classroom teaching at “close pace.”
Just yesterday, Michigan reported that 81 students and staff at 18 school districts, including two colleges, were infected with COVID-19 in school-related incidents. Data from Quebec showed that, after January 18, children aged nine or younger experienced the highest rate of relative increase in COVID-19 infections. Data show that version B.1.1.7 has the highest attack rate for younger people. While these diseases do not appear to cause more serious illness in children, the data mean that not only are children critical in community transmission, but they could be an essential part of the these variables have selective advantages.
With nearly 30 million COVID-19 infections reported, the U.S. has the largest spread of cases in a single country worldwide. However, in the absence of a robust national genomic program for monitoring these microbial mutations, these changes will continue to spread largely unnoticed. Countries need to develop the capacity to systematically track these developments in real time in order to make rational decisions regarding public health.
The genomic coverage in the US, however, is quite grim. according to Nature, the number of SARS-CoV-2 genomes distributed in the United States on GISAID is less than 0.3 percent of the total number of COVID-19 diseases, or about 90,000. In comparison, the UK and Denmark have ordered and stored 45 per cent and 7 per cent, respectively, of the 360,000 SARS-CoV-2 genomes on GISAID.
World Health Organization technical director Dr Maria Van Kerkhove warned, “We need to expand this [genomic sequencing], so we have a better eye on the changes in this virus that occur, especially in the areas where transmission is more intense. ”
Dr Oliver Pybus, an infectious disease specialist at Oxford University, said Nature, “Genomic epidemiology has come of age through this pandemic.” However, it is not science that has failed humanity, but the understanding that the fruit of science belongs to all of humanity to this fragile world. to make it a more welcoming home for all.Without implementing an international global pandemic surveillance program, the potential for future outbreaks will hamper the world.