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LIVE: More Variants Are Coming, and the U.S. Isn’t Ready to Track Them | Top News
Posted
July 21, 2021
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6:22:51Now Playing(July 21) There’s no good place to stand inside the Pandemic Response Lab’s sequencing facility in Queens, N.Y. Take a wrong step, and you’re blocking a gowned-up lab tech as she ferries a plate with the RNA from 384 Covid-19 test samples to a machine that runs a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, identifies positives, and extracts them with a robotic arm.
A data scientist hurries by, bringing more RNA samples to a device that will convert them into DNA. In the corner are genomic sequencing machines that piece together chopped-up bits of that DNA to identify what form of SARS-CoV-2 a patient has. Name a mutation you’ve heard of, and this lab has seen it, as it takes part in the national and global efforts to sequence virus genomes, spot new and dangerous variations, and stem their spread.
Things are moving in this world with mind-bending speed. Earlier this year, the main concern was alpha, a variant originally identified in the U.K., which seemed to spread more easily than the original “wild type” coronavirus. Toward the end of April, the Pandemic Response Lab (PRL) spotted the delta mutation, first identified in India and believed to be even more contagious than alpha.
A variant like alpha or delta is distinguished by changes to its genetic code that have effectively altered the virus’s behavior. Delta has more than 20 differences in its genetic makeup, some of which may make it easier for the spike protein to bind to human cells and help the virus evade antibodies. Sequencing has shown that delta cases make up almost 70% of Covid positives in New York City. The CDC estimates the variant is responsible for 83% of cases nationwide.
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