(Photo: Meshi Ben Ami)
The viruses do not keep quiet: Their evolutionary goal is to spread around the world, and they do so by genetic diversity that is supposed to overcome body barriers, vaccines and drugs. So does the corona virus, which has already developed dozens of strains and thousands of different mutations.
However, vaccines thus seem to be able to overcome the mutations. Pfizer, in collaboration with the vaccine developer, the German company BioNTech, declares that their vaccine protects against the new dominant corona strains – British and South African.
The companies were based on research by researchers from the University of Texas and another study supported by both companies. The researchers compared the antibodies of twenty people vaccinated with two doses of vaccine during clinical trials to three variants of the corona virus that were reconstructed in the laboratory and included the main mutations of the British virus and the South African virus.
The study found that the plasma of people vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine neutralized all variants of the variants tested. The company found that the levels of neutralizing antibodies against the South African variant were slightly lower, but were still sufficient to neutralize the virus.
The two companies stressed in their announcement that they are continuing to monitor the mutations of the various variants, adding: “We believe that the flexibility of the mRNA vaccine allows new versions of the vaccine to be developed if necessary.
So what are the new variants that have been discovered in recent months, what is the difference between a variant and a mutation, and how does it affect us and the vaccines?
When was it discovered: In October 2020 in the UK samples taken about a month earlier. According to estimates by the Ministry of Health – about 40% of the new infected in Corona have contracted it.
The mutations: The British strain includes 17 mutations, of which eight are mutations in the envelope protein S.
the meaning: The variety is spreading in the world and becoming dominant in many countries. It is estimated that it does not cause a more serious disease, but is more easily contagious due to mutations in the shell proteins that cause it to bind rapidly to body cells. Very common in children, probably because it spread at the same time as the start of vaccinations. According to a statement from Modern and Pfizer companies, their vaccines protect against the British strain.
When was it discovered: December 2020 in South Africa. More than 20 verified ones were discovered in Israel with this variant.
The mutations: The strain has ten mutations that are all located in the envelope of the virus S.
the meaning: The strain began to spread in parallel with the British strain and caused great concern in the world, having caused the infection of healthy people without risk factors, including children. The strain also arrived in Israel, and so far about 30 people carrying it have been located. Despite the concerns, Pfizer and Moderna announced that their vaccines protect his face.
When was it discovered: August 2020 in Nigeria
The mutations: The variant includes a mutation called P681H which was also found in the British strain.
the meaning: It is found in about one percent of all corona cases that have undergone genetic sequencing in Nigeria, and apparently continues to spread there.
When was it discovered: January 2021 in Tokyo among four travelers who visited the Amazon. One week later, 13 more cases were found in Brazil.
The mutations: The virus has 17 genetic changes in amino acids that make up proteins, of which 10 are in envelope proteins.
the meaning: The virus is spreading around the world. It is currently located in Japan, Brazil, South Korea, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, the United States and Peru.
When was it discovered: July 2020 in the genetic mapping of hundreds of specimens collected in Los Angeles
The mutations: The genetic mapping has not yet been completed
the meaning: The virus is spreading in California, accounting for about 50 percent of corona cases in the state. The variant is still being studied, but its sensitivity to vaccines is still unknown. The high mortality rate in the country raises fears that the strain is more violent.
When was it discovered: November 2020
The mutations: Several mutations were found in the envelope proteins of the virus. Researchers have estimated that one of the mutations causes a reduced sensitivity of the antibodies that neutralize in the body against the virus, which may cause re-infection even in recovering patients. However this has not been proven.
the meaning: The strain has spread as far as is known from mongooses to humans. The Danish government has decided to destroy millions of miners. Following a close closure in Denmark, the government announced on November 19 that this strain was apparently extinct and no more patients carrying it had been identified.
When was it discovered: January 2021 among 35 Corona patients at the Garmisch-Partenkirchen Hospital in Germany.
The mutations: The virus has not yet been genetically engineered
the meaning: The strain is studied and its laws are not clear.
Unlike bacteria, which are living things in their own right, viruses cannot live outside a living cell. To reproduce they must infiltrate a living cell, take over the hereditary charge, “steal” it and replicate themselves to infect more cells.
The virus is constantly trying to change the structure of the cell envelope it invades, to more easily penetrate the body, and also to prevent the body from recognizing it. Thus, the virus becomes more contagious, and its reproductive capacity intensifies.
So does the new corona virus. Using the same “thorns” in the outer shell, corona viruses attach to receptors on the cells of the respiratory system, called ACE-2. This attachment transports the corona virus to a second stage, in which additional envelope proteins dissolve the human cell envelope, and thus the virus penetrates into the cell nucleus, replicating itself through the human cell’s hereditary charge – DNA, found in the nucleus.
However, the corona virus does not always succeed in its work: many people infected with the virus will not develop any symptoms at all. The virus will be present in their bodies, but the immune system will be able to destroy it even before it has managed to penetrate the cells and cause destruction. In others, the virus will cause a very mild illness that will likely lead to a fever. In this condition, the body raises the temperature to lead to an uncomfortable environment for the activity of the corona virus, while circulating white blood cells that will destroy the virus.
If the virus is able to penetrate the cells of the respiratory system, it will begin to multiply and infect more cells quickly, creating a condition called an “immune storm.” In this condition the body injects huge amounts of white blood cells towards the viruses, which rush towards them, destroying them, while also destroying healthy lung cells. This condition is known as pneumonia in which some patients get coronary heart disease.
In some cases the disease becomes very turbulent. More and more corona viruses are able to replicate rapidly, and the immune system is unable to cope with them. More and more lung cells are damaged, to the point of lung failure and the need for artificial respiration. The virus can also spread to the bloodstream, where it can cause sepsis – a common infection that leads to a drop in blood pressure – and later to cardiac arrest and death.
Why do corona viruses produce mutations?
Although the panic of corona mutations began about two months ago with the emergence of the new corona strain in Denmark, it was followed by the destruction of millions of mines containing the new virus that threatened to infect humans as well. But the truth is that since the corona plague broke out in China about a year ago, the virus has already produced 20 mutations that have spread around the world.
As mentioned, this is not an unusual phenomenon: viruses tend to create genetic changes all the time, as part of an evolutionary process that is supposed to increase their survival and adaptation to changing environmental conditions. The mutations are supposed to make the viruses more easily infect, and become more resistant so that they can spread as much as possible.
According to unproven hypotheses, the current mutations developed in chronic corona patients treated with antiviral drugs or antibodies. The corona virus was not destroyed, and as a result, the prolonged illness was enough to create the more violent new strain.
There is a terminological confusion between the two. A mutation is a genetic modification. A new strain of virus (“variant”), is a virus in which the same one or more genetic changes occur. A number of mutations have been found in the new corona strains. For example, 23 new mutations have been found in the British corona strain.
The new strains probably infect faster, especially those aged 20 and under, probably due to mutations in the virus envelope as well that allow it to bind to the human cell more quickly, penetrate it quickly, and reproduce quickly. According to data presented at the last cabinet meeting by the Ministry of Health, it appears that a corona patient infected with the British mutant strain apparently infected about six people around him. However, beyond the speed of infection, there does not appear to be a change in the nature of the disease itself that occurs with the same symptoms and complications known from the other strains.
By all estimates, both in the World Health Organization, the American Centers for Disease Control, and South African experts who have identified the mutation, there is no evidence to suggest that the new strains are resistant to vaccines, and that the vaccines themselves provide very broad immunological protection against current mutations. Also against future mutations. Recently, Modern and Pfizer also announced that tests they have performed – their vaccines also protect against the British and South African strains that are spreading in Israel.
In such a case, and thanks to the innovative mRNA technology, Pfizer and Moderna announced that within about six weeks they could complete a change in the vaccine so that it would be adapted to any possible mutation.
The same guidelines apply to mutations as well: wearing a mask, social alienation, and vaccination as quickly as possible of at-risk populations, medical staff, teaching staff, and service providers. The faster we get a herd vaccine, in which over 80% of the population is vaccinated, the lower the risk of the mutations spreading, and the development of additional mutations.