There is a new variant of covid, the B.1.1.529 variant which has 32 mutations in the spike protein, even more variants than flavours of ice-cream at the local supermarket. B.1.1.529, which for some reason brings to my mind B1 and B2 of Bananas in Pyjamas, may escape the present vaccines. But, not to worry, new booster jabs will be brewed up, and then they will be added to the endless cycle of jabs. There is no business, like vaccination business.
“Scientists have said a new Covid variant that carries an “extremely high number” of mutations may drive further waves of disease by evading the body’s defences.
Only 10 cases in three countries have been confirmed by genomic sequencing, but the variant has sparked serious concern among some researchers because a number of the mutations may help the virus evade immunity.
The B.1.1.529 variant has 32 mutations in the spike protein, the part of the virus that most vaccines use to prime the immune system against Covid. Mutations in the spike protein can affect the virus’s ability to infect cells and spread, but also make it harder for immune cells to attack the pathogen.
The variant was first spotted in Botswana, where three cases have now been sequenced. Six more have been confirmed in South Africa, and one in Hong Kong in a traveller returning from South Africa.
Dr Tom Peacock, a virologist at Imperial College London, posted details of the new variant on a genome-sharing website, noting that the “incredibly high amount of spike mutations suggest this could be of real concern”.
In a series of tweets, Peacock said it “very, very much should be monitored due to that horrific spike profile”, but added that it may turn out to be an “odd cluster” that is not very transmissible. “I hope that’s the case,” he wrote.
Dr Meera Chand, the Covid-19 incident director at the UK Health Security Agency, said that in partnership with scientific bodies around the globe, the agency was constantly monitoring the status of Sars-CoV-2 variants as they emerge and develop worldwide.
“As it is in the nature of viruses to mutate often and at random, it is not unusual for small numbers of cases to arise featuring new sets of mutations. Any variants showing evidence of spread are rapidly assessed,” she said.
The first cases of the variant were collected in Botswana on 11 November, and the earliest in South Africa was recorded three days later. The case found in Hong Kong was a 36-year-old man who had a negative PCR test before flying from Hong Kong to South Africa, where he stayed from 22 October to 11 November. He tested negative on his return to Hong Kong, but tested positive on 13 November while in quarantine.
England no longer has a red list to impose restrictions on travellers arriving from abroad. People who are not fully vaccinated must test negative before flying and arrange two PCR tests on arrival. Those who are fully vaccinated need to have a Covid test within two days of landing.
Scientists will be watching the new variant for any sign that it is gaining momentum and spreading more widely. Some virologists in South Africa are already concerned, particularly given the recent rise in cases in Gauteng, an urban area containing Pretoria and Johannesburg, where B.1.1.529 cases have been detected.
Ravi Gupta, a professor of clinical microbiology at Cambridge University, said work in his lab found that two of the mutations on B.1.1.529 increased infectivity and reduced antibody recognition. “It does certainly look a significant concern based on the mutations present,” he said. “However, a key property of the virus that is unknown is its infectiousness, as that is what appears to have primarily driven the Delta variant. Immune escape is only part of the picture of what may happen.”
Prof Francois Balloux, the director of the UCL Genetics Institute, said the large number of mutations in the variant apparently accumulated in a “single burst”, suggesting it may have evolved during a chronic infection in a person with a weakened immune system, possibly an untreated HIV/Aids patient.
“I would definitely expect it to be poorly recognised by neutralising antibodies relative to Alpha or Delta,” he said. “It is difficult to predict how transmissible it may be at this stage. For the time being it should be closely monitored and analysed, but there is no reason to get overly concerned unless it starts going up in frequency in the near future.”
The World health organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has cautioned even thew vaccinated not to fall into a false sense of security, and that over two million people might die of Covid-19 in Europe over the coming winter. Once more the now familiar fear that health systems overwhelmed by the surge. I am willing to bet him a can of baked beans, that this will not be so.
https://www.rt.com/news/541216-who-head-covid-vaccines/
“The World Health Organisation (WHO) chief has warned vaccinated people to remain cautious when it comes to catching Covid-19 and not fall into a “false sense of security.”
Europe's winter Covid deaths revealed
“In many countries and communities, we are concerned about the false sense of security that vaccines have ended the pandemic and that people who are vaccinated do not need to take any other precautions,” the WHO’s director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said Wednesday at a press conference on the Covid-19 crisis in Europe.
Tedros warned that “no country or region is out of the woods” and underlined the importance of making sure that the “right measures are in place to avert the worst consequences of any future waves.” He also called for proper sharing of the “fruits of science.”
On Tuesday, the WHO starkly predicted that more than 2 million people might die of Covid-19 in Europe over the coming winter and that most of the countries could see their health systems overwhelmed by the surge.
In light of coronavirus numbers spiraling across the region, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) made the decision to change its previous stance on booster vaccines, now recommending them for all adults.
Austria has already entered a new national 10-day lockdown while other countries, including Germany, are mulling new restrictive measures and even mandatory vaccination. This week, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued travel advisories telling Americans to avoid travel to Germany and Denmark due to the high-risk Covid situation.”