As we transitioned from 2019 to 2020, and 2020 to 2021, the world saw and experienced the first-hand chaos and distress of a pandemic. Unfortunately, this is still ongoing, as the governments of the U.K. and South Africa have confirmed new variants of the coronavirus. The article, “What We Know About The New U.K. Variant Of Coronavirus — And What We Need To Find Out”, has stated that “this new variant now accounts for more than 60% of the cases in London. And scientists say the variant is likely more contagious than previous versions of the virus.” The variant scientists first detected in September was later announced in December of 2020 by England’s Secretary of Health, Matt Hancock, prompting headlines on the “Mutant Covid.” Since then, England has been in lockdown to avoid the further spread of the new variant.
According to bmj.com, "this new variant has 17 mutations, and one of the most significant changes is an N501Y mutation in the spike protein that the virus uses to bind to the human ACE2 receptor. Changes in this part of spike protein may, in theory, result in the virus becoming more infectious and spreading more easily between people" (Wise, 2020). Moreover, according to npr.org, "this new variant in the U.K., called B.1.1.7, has acquired mutations much quicker than scientists expect...These mutations, combined with the fact that B.1.1.7 acquired many changes simultaneously, suggest this new variant didn't arise by chance, but rather the mutations are giving it an advantage. They are helping it adapt to humans" (Doucleff, 2020).
In addition to B.1.1.7’s adaptability, one of the mutations in this variant has caused it to replicate two-fold. According to health correspondent James Gallagher, “the other mutation - an H69/V70 deletion, in which a small part of the spike is removed - has emerged several times before, including famously in infected mink. Work by Prof Ravi Gupta at the University of Cambridge has suggested this mutation increases infectivity two-fold in lab experiments. Studies by the same group suggest the deletion makes antibodies from the blood of survivors less effective at attacking the virus.” This variant can create many changes within itself, making it more infectious, transmissible, and dangerous than Covid-19.
One explanation of the occurrence of B.1.1.7 is from a Covid patient with the weakest immune system, who was unable to beat it, which then allowed the body to be breeding grounds for this variant (Gallagher, 2020). This variant has appeared independently in South Africa, the UK, spreading to different countries like the Netherlands, Denmark, and some have even speculated that it is in the US. For now, London has the most cases of this variant. Despite the alarming news of this variant, the vaccinations do have the ability to work against it, unless the variant has developed more mutations or vaccine escapes in which the variant changes to avoid the full effect of the vaccine. According to Professor Ravi Gupta at the University of Cambridge, "This virus is potentially on a pathway for vaccine escape, it has taken the first couple of steps towards that.” This serves as another reminder to wear masks and follow the restriction rules to avoid Covid-19.
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Written by: Erum Khan
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