'The situation is out of control': a new, more contagious strain of coronavirus identified

More and more countries are stopping rail and air links with the UK because of the new VUI-202012/01 coronavirus strain, the first cases of which were recorded there. Writes about it Air force.

Photo: Shutterstock

The new strain is more infectious and spreads faster than the previous one. However, there is as yet no evidence that it causes high mortality.

More than 10 cases of the new strain have already been discovered outside Britain - in Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia and Italy.

The emergence of a new strain alerted the World Health Organization, whose experts are in constant contact with British specialists.

British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that the situation with the new strain of coronavirus is “out of control” of the authorities. The mutated virus spreads very quickly.

According to him, the government had to "act decisively." Enhanced measures can last for several months until vaccination begins.

Which countries have closed posts?

Countries that have closed communications with Britain include France, Germany, Austria, the Baltic states, Switzerland and Turkey.

The Netherlands said it would cut off flights with Britain until January 1.

France decided to stop accepting passenger flights from Britain for two days. Also, road traffic is prohibited, including the movement of trucks. Thousands of trucks run between countries every day.

The German government has confirmed a ban on passenger flights from Britain until December 31.

Italy decided not to accept flights from Britain until January 6, and Turkey and Switzerland have temporarily banned all flights from the UK.

Israel has barred all but Israelis from entering Britain.

Ukraine will not close communications with Britain for now, but the government should consider this issue, Channel 5 reports, citing the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry.

On the subject: Coronavirus mutations: is it true that strains of SARS-CoV-2 are becoming more dangerous

Russia will suspend flights with the UK from midnight on December 22 for one week, the Federal Coronavirus Operations Headquarters said. Writes about it «Medusa».

According to the headquarters, the situation with the emergence of a new strain of coronavirus is being carefully studied, further decisions will be made following its consideration.

British citizens will be able to leave Russia through third countries "or on so-called outbound cargo-passenger flights," Interfax reported, citing a source at one of the airlines. It has not yet been finally decided.

US reaction

The United States is watching a new strain of COVID-19 emerging in the UK, several US officials said on December 20, adding that it is unclear if the mutated variant made it to America. Writes about it Reuters.

“We don't know yet. We are looking at this very carefully,” said Dr. Moncef Slaoui, head of the U.S. COVID-19 vaccination program.

Sloughie, the Trump administration's chief scientific adviser at Warp Speed, said it was "very unlikely" that the mutation in the UK would be resistant to current vaccines. He said, "We cannot exclude her, but now she is not."

Other health officials from the outgoing Trump administration and the new Biden administration also said they are monitoring the situation. US President Donald Trump's chief surgeon, Jerome Adams, said that while virus mutations are not uncommon, any new strain of COVID-19 means Americans need to be more vigilant when washing their hands, wearing masks, maintaining distance, and avoiding crowds.

"Right now, we don't have any indication that this will hurt our ability to continue vaccinating people or that it is more dangerous or deadly than the strains that we know about," Adams told CBS News.

Asked about the potential impact on US and UK travel, US Assistant Secretary of Health Admiral Brett Giroar said: “I don't think there should be any cause for concern right now. We continue to watch. "

“We don’t know that it’s more dangerous,” added Giroir, a member of the White House coronavirus task force. “Right now, it looks like the vaccine should work as far as we know.”

Why is this new strain causing concern?

As explains Air force, a combination of three factors attracts special attention of scientists:

• It quickly displaces other strains of the same virus;
• The mutation occurs in parts of the virus that are of particular importance;
• Some of these mutations have already demonstrated in vitro the increased ability of the virus to enter cells.

All this together suggests that the virus can spread faster.

Nevertheless, there is no absolute certainty about this yet.

New strains can only become more prevalent because they are in the right place at the right time. For example, in London, where until recently there was a second level of restrictions. The introduction of the fourth and highest level of restrictions is due to the desire to reduce the spread of this new option.

“We need to conduct laboratory tests. But will we wait weeks, or even months? Probably not, given the current circumstances,” Professor Nick Loman from the British Medical Association for Decoding the Genome of the New Coronavirus (Covid-19 Genomics UK Consortium) explained the logic of events to the BBC.

How fast is it spreading?

This new strain was first identified in September. Already in November, approximately 25% of all infections in London were just this variant of the coronavirus. And by mid-December their number had increased to over 65%.

On the example of the results of tests made in the British laboratory Milton Keynes Lighthouse Laboratory, it is clear how this strain began to dominate laboratory analyzes.

Mathematicians are trying to calculate the behavior of other strains of coronavirus in order to understand how much more aggressive a new one might be. However, here it is necessary to take into account not only the behavior of the virus itself, but also how people will behave.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the new strain could be 70% more infectious, which is why the reproductive index (which shows whether the number of infections is increasing or decreasing) could rise by 0,4.

Dr. Eric Foltz from Imperial College London spoke about this 70% last Friday. During the speech, he said: "It's too early to draw conclusions... but from what we're seeing so far, it's spreading very quickly, much faster, so it's important to continue to monitor it."

There is no definite number that accurately indicates how much more infectious this new strain is.

“The data that is publicly available is completely insufficient to draw a clear and unconditional conclusion that the virus has become more transmissible,” says Professor Jonathan Ball, a virologist at the University of Nottingham.

How widely has it spread?

To date, it is believed that this strain either originated in a patient in the UK or was imported from another country where coronavirus mutations are not closely monitored.

This strain is now found throughout the United Kingdom with the exception of Northern Ireland, with concentrations in London and the counties in the south and east of England. In other areas, it seems, he did not take root very well.

Data from the Nextstrain international project, which monitors the genetic code of all viral samples from around the world, suggests that the new coronavirus strain, which appeared in Denmark and Australia, came from Britain.

The Netherlands has also documented several cases of this strain. A similar variant, originating in South Africa, has some of the characteristics of the new strain, but does not appear to be related to the British one.

Have such mutations happened before?

Yes. The coronavirus first identified in the Chinese city of Wuhan is not the same one that is now being detected around the world.

The mutated D614G strain emerged in Europe in February, becoming dominant in all countries of the world.

Another, the A222V, has spread throughout Europe with holidaymakers in Spain this summer.

On the subject: White House security chief amputated part of leg due to COVID-19

What do we know about mutations in the British strain?

The published initial analysis of the new strain suggests potentially important changes in 17 characteristics. The changes concern the spike protein, a kind of key that the virus uses to unlock the door to cells.

One of the mutations, N501Y, is responsible for the most important part of this spine, known as the receptor binding domain (RBD). It is here that the thorn first comes into contact with the cell surface. Any changes that help the virus get in will likely give this strain an edge.

“By all measures it looks like this is an important adaptation,” says Professor Lohman.

Another mutation (the H69/V70 deletion) has also been repeatedly documented, particularly in infected minks on farms in Denmark, which destroys a tiny part of the spine.

Research conducted by Professor Ravi Gupta of the University of Cambridge shows that in laboratory conditions, this mutation doubles the infectivity of the coronavirus. In the course of the same experiments, scientists suggested that these mutations make it less effective to treat patients with blood transfusions from patients who have had covid.

"The cases are going up and up and it's worrying the government, it's worrying us, it's worrying all the scientists," Professor Gupta told the BBC.

Where did the new strain come from?

This strain has undergone unexpectedly many mutations. The most likely explanation for this is that it originated in a patient with a weakened immune system who was unable to overcome this virus. Instead, this person's body has become a kind of favorable environment for the mutation of the coronavirus.

Has the covid become more deadly?

So far, there is no evidence that this could be the case. But the situation must be kept under control.

However, even the fact that the number of infected people is increasing can create problems in hospitals. If the new variant is easier to pass, more patients will need hospital treatment.

You may be interested in: top New York news, stories of our immigrants and helpful tips about life in the Big Apple - read it all on ForumDaily New York.

Will vaccines be effective against the new strain?

We can almost definitely say yes. At least for the near future.

All three of the world's leading vaccines trigger the body's immune response to the existing coronavirus spike protein. They tune the immune system to attack the various constituents of the virus, which means that even though part of the thorn has mutated, vaccines will still be effective.

“However, if we miss a number of more mutations, then we will have to worry,” says Professor Gupta.

“This virus is potentially designed to evade the protection provided by the vaccine. He has already taken a number of steps towards this,” says the scientist.

This can happen if the virus mutates so much that the vaccine is ineffective, and the virus continues to infect people. And this is probably the most worrying about the new coronavirus and, in particular, the new strain showing that it can adapt to infect an increasing number of people.

“This virus is likely to be able to produce mutants that can resist the vaccine,” Professor David Robertson from the University of Glasgow concluded his presentation with these words last Friday.

And then we find ourselves in the same situation as with the flu, when the vaccine needs to be regularly modified.

Fortunately, the coronavirus vaccines we've already received lend themselves easily to this.

Read also on ForumDaily:

In Denmark, minks killed by coronavirus 'rise' from the ground

Antibiotics for COVID-19: why it is useless and even dangerous

Russian virologist infected himself with COVID-19 twice: why does he need it

How vaccines changed the world: the history of vaccinations from the XNUMXth century to the present day

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.