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Have a new story out about the scientific reasons why the UK (B.1.1.7) and South Africa (501Y.V2) variants are so deeply concerning, even for vaccine protection.
A short
to summarize: https://www.vox.com/22213033/covid-19-mutation-variant-vaccine-uk-south-africa
A short
to summarize: https://www.vox.com/22213033/covid-19-mutation-variant-vaccine-uk-south-africa
The variants carry many mutations, and specifically on the spike protein -- the part of the virus that fits into the receptor in human cells and also the target for the first approved vaccines.
With the S.A. variant, one mutation is of particular concern: the E484K mutation.
With the S.A. variant, one mutation is of particular concern: the E484K mutation.
We now have several pre-prints, in humans and cell culture, showing E484K can help the virus escape antibodies produced through prior infections. eg.
(h/t @VirusesImmunity)
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.12.31.425021v1
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.12.28.424451v1.full.pdf
(h/t @VirusesImmunity)
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.12.31.425021v1
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.12.28.424451v1.full.pdf
The senior author on one of those studies, Rino Rappuoli, said when he and his colleagues first ran the experiment, they didn’t know how relevant their findings would be to the real world. But then...
“when the South Africa and UK variants came along, we looked at [our data] and saw that, in real life, the first steps of what we saw in vitro are happening.” ... “If given enough time under immune pressure, this virus has the possibility to escape.”
People like @stgoldst point out that it'll probably be a while before the virus can entirely escape vaccine protection.
“The variants are kind of going down that road, but we’re not there yet," said @TheMenacheryLab
But we're on the road — when infections are soaring.
“The variants are kind of going down that road, but we’re not there yet," said @TheMenacheryLab
But we're on the road — when infections are soaring.
Meaning more chances for the virus to mutate and for the variants of concern to spread.
I think @EricTopol had it right. Simply put: this is an emergency. We — the public, politicians, policymakers — need to treat it as such. https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1346577705567887360
I think @EricTopol had it right. Simply put: this is an emergency. We — the public, politicians, policymakers — need to treat it as such. https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1346577705567887360
The good news: the vaccine developers say they can quickly adapt their tech to new variants if needed. And BioNTech/Pfizer and other research groups are studying to what extent the current vax immunizes against the variants. They should work well details 
https://www.vox.com/22213033/covid-19-mutation-variant-vaccine-uk-south-africa
https://www.vox.com/22213033/covid-19-mutation-variant-vaccine-uk-south-africa
We can also prevent the virus from spreading through social distancing, mask wearing, and rapid vaccination. As the @WHO urged this morning, countries need to act urgently and also beef up genomic monitoring / share data.
Allowing the virus to spread uncontrolled is not an option, even w/ vaccines.
“The bottom line hasn’t changed,” @stgoldst said: we need to suppress the virus. Outbreaks grow exponentially & we can't vaccinate exponentially but we can stop growth w/ social distancing/masks etc.
“The bottom line hasn’t changed,” @stgoldst said: we need to suppress the virus. Outbreaks grow exponentially & we can't vaccinate exponentially but we can stop growth w/ social distancing/masks etc.
For more excellent reporting on the new variants and what they mean for this phase of the pandemic, read this @kakape https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/01/viral-mutations-may-cause-another-very-very-bad-covid-19-wave-scientists-warn and this @umairfan @B_resnick https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/22192061/mutant-coronavirus-covid-19-uk-mutation-vaccine and this @carlzimmer https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/06/health/coronavirus-variant-tracking.html
