The New Strain Of Covid-19 All you need to know, Viruses mutate all the time, leaving new variants in their wake. The coronavirus was not left out. Since the pandemic began, the coronavirus has been mutating. In September 2020, a new variant of the coronavirus is detecting for the first time. By November 2020, most Covid-19 cases diagnosed in London were the new variant of SARS-Cov-2. The numbers of cases of the new variant of coronavirus are rising rapidly. Having studied the new variant of the coronavirus, reports from scientists are quite distressing. These reports say that the new strain of Covid-19 is growing more rapidly than the previous one ever did and is more infectious.
Boster Bio tells us that most of the time, the mutations of the covid-19 produce strains that go undetected. Recently, the new strain produced is better at infecting individuals and causing them to be sick. The new strains of coronavirus have spread so swiftly that the reported new cases, when tested, all come up with being positive to the new strain.
Many studies recommend the use of ELISA kits to determine if you have been exposed to the new strains of the coronavirus. It is a step in the right direction that empowers the medical experts to devise the best course of treatment.
Medical experts say that the new strains of coronavirus have mutations that can make it easier for the virus to easily bind to the human cells. Although these new strains have shown no evidence of affecting the vaccine’s evidence, medical practitioners are keeping a careful watch on the virus.
Here are some of the new strains of covid-19;
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The D614G Variant
This Covid-19 strain showed up in India and Australia in May 2020. The D614G variant might be more transmissible than the original strain, but there are no significant findings of this variant being responsible for a severe form of the disease.
The B.1.1.7 Variant
This new strain of the coronavirus was initially discovered in the United Kingdom in December 2020. Experts think that this new strain is 50 times more contagious than the other variants before it.
Reports say that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) foresees this variant as the US’s dominant variant by March 2021. This prediction is because of 195 cases of the B.1.1.7 variant of coronavirus is discovering in the US.
Previous research on the new strains of coronavirus indeed stated that the variants didn’t cause more severe disease. However, new findings from the cases reported in the United Kingdom show that the B.1.1.7 variant maybe 30 percent deadlier and virulent than the previous strains.
The new strain of covid 19 all you need to know, Medical experts also say that there are so many uncertainties revolving around the mutation theories. So it is hard to determine how infectious most of the new variants are due to the limited data.
The B.1.351 Variant
This new strain of coronavirus, which will be discover for the first time in South Africa, is reporting to have mutations in its spike protein, which gives it the ability to bind to human cells.
Experts say that even though mutations do not change a virus’s behavior, the chances of that virus surviving are significantly increasing. Let’s look at it this way; a group of the virus with different mutants, even though weakened by the vaccine, has a great chance of surviving because specific mutations improve the virus’ performance. Therefore the vaccines might weaken these new strains but may not get rid of them.
THE VACCINES AGAINST THE NEW STRAINS OF CORONAVIRUS
Medical experts will work so hard since the coronavirus’s first strain to produce vaccines effective enough to silence the virus and make it non-transmissible. Some groundbreaking research brought into existence the vaccines that are now available worldwide.
These vaccines target the virus’ spike protein to attenuate it. However, with the new strains, which result from the continuous mutation of the coronavirus, experts fear that the vaccines produced might not be as effective as it was on the first strain.
Let’s look at the situation from a different angle. Imagine trying to shoot an animal that morphs into various forms; your shots might not be effective as you might not hit the target, or even if it hits, the animal it hit might have protective features to repel your shots. The good news is that the vaccine gives the individual a broad immune response, which any variant will recognize and respond to.
CONCLUSION
The bottom line is that these new variants are deadlier and might not succumb to the vaccines’ restraining powers like the first-ever variant for which the vaccines were initially formed.