By mid-2020 it was thought that a particularly deadly variant could have attacked the United States and Italy. Also, at the end of the same year, two more mutations were detected, one in the United Kingdom (B.1.1.7) and another in South Africa (501.V2).
Of these, the last two stood out for being highly contagious, increasing the chances of a rebound in cases in nations where they were already declining. However, the African variant is the one that has attracted the most attention from scientists and the one that has raised the most concerns.
Concerns about the new variant of the coronavirus
Both the mutant coronavirus 501.V2 and B.1.1.7 present variants that make us doubt the vaccines created against SARS-CoV-2. Both have changed in the area of the spike protein (the point that the virus uses to invade cells), so that in the long run they could become unrecognizable to the vaccine, rendering it ineffective against the disease.
Because of this, the South African mutant coronavirus is currently being studied to see if current vaccines will be efficient against it. If not, the COVID-19 pandemic could spread even further than it already has.
But ... could not vaccines be adapted to attack the mutant coronavirus?
In the case of mutations like B.1.1.7, however, vaccines like Pfizer-BioNTech's could make the necessary modifications in as little as six weeks. On the other hand, in the case of 501.V2, the task would not be so easy, since it has many more mutations in the spike protein than its British counterpart.
Still, pharmaceutical companies have expressed their determination to modify their vaccines in the event that 501.V2 is found to have changed too much to be vulnerable to their current composition.
How to know if vaccines can help us against the mutant coronavirus?
As a consequence of the above, science has found it necessary to initiate new experiments around the newly emerged mutant virus. As reported by The Associated Press (AP), neutralizing tests are already underway.
In summary, blood samples have been taken from vaccinated and immune people, as well as from immune people after they have contracted the disease. After this, they have taken the antibodies from the samples and exposed them to the South African mutant coronavirus to determine if natural immunity or that of vaccines can already circumvent the new version of SARS-CoV-2.
Should we worry?
At this time, the aforementioned trials are still underway, so there is no concrete answer. In other words, it is not yet clear if current vaccines will be effective against the mutant coronavirus, or if changes will have to be made to them.
For now, bodies like Public Health England from the UK Department of Health and Social Care clarified that there is no solid evidence to indicate that B.1.1.7 and 501.V2 are not vulnerable to existing vaccines.
Likewise, other experts have highlighted that, for such a large mutation to occur - such as for vaccines to no longer recognize the virus - it should take years and not months. Therefore, they believe that if vaccines are going to lose effectiveness, it will be gradually and not in a single instant. Consequently, right now, existing models should still be able to combat the new strains.
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