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Experts Say Covid Vaccine Should Protect Against Mutant Strain of Virus in U.K.
Posted
December 21, 2020
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5:29Now PlayingDubbed the “B.1.1.7 lineage,” the strain has undergone almost a dozen genetic changes from the virus that emerged from Wuhan, China in late 2019 -- way more than typically observed. That includes changes in key areas of the virus involved in its ability to infect people.
Preliminary analysis in the U.K. suggests it may be as much as 70% more transmissible than other circulating SARS-CoV-2 strains and may be contributing to a spike in cases in the country. Maria van Kerkhove, the World Health Organization’s technical lead on Covid-19, told the BBC on Dec. 20 that the WHO is working to understand the extent to which the virus may spread more easily, along with other human behavioral factors that may be driving transmission. It’s also looking at whether the mutation causes more severe illness and can evade the antibodies generated by vaccination.
The extent to which SARS-CoV-2 may evolve to escape immunity induced by infection or vaccination isn’t currently known. Studies are under way to understand that better. The WHO’s van Kerkhove told the BBC that current information suggests that the new variant doesn’t have any impact on the vaccines being rolled out.
Over time, as more mutations occur, vaccines may need to be altered. This happens with seasonal flu, which mutates every year, and the vaccine is adjusted accordingly. Unlike flu, coronaviruses have a proof-reading mechanism that means they don’t mutate as quickly as the flu virus. Covid-19 vaccines that have so far proved effective in trials can be easily tweaked if necessary, the BMJ medical journal reported on Dec. 16.
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