Just like Pfizer, China says vaccines can beat new strains

‘Virologists and vaccine specialists with China’s National Health Commission (NHC) said on Wednesday they had a detailed plan to upgrade homegrown vaccines against Covid-19 to “version 2.0” within two months to stop the spread of new mutant strains found across the United Kingdom and South Africa.

‘The claim coincided with Pfizer’s announcement on Wednesday that its Covid-19 vaccine works against mutated variants found in the UK and South Africa, according to a lab study. China’s claim comes as local firms SinoPharm and Sinovac crank out their Covid-19 shots for mass inoculations.’

Read here (Asia Times, Jan 28, 2021)

Emerging coronavirus variants may pose challenges to vaccines

‘The mRNA technology on which the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines rely can be altered in a matter of weeks, and far more easily than the process used to produce flu vaccines. But it would be wise to prepare for this eventuality [a time when the current slew of vaccines become less effective] now and think through not just the technical aspects of updating the vaccines, but the testing, approval and rollout of those vaccines, experts said.

‘Still, the best path forward is to prevent the emergence of new mutations and variants altogether, they said. "Imagine having to do catch-up like this all the time - it's not something desirable," Dr Iwasaki said. "If we can just stop the spread as soon as possible, while the vaccine is very effective, that's the best way."

Read here (New York Times/Straits Times, Jan 22, 2021)

Here's what Joe Biden can do about the Covid-19 pandemic starting on his first day as US president

‘If the pandemic unfolded in stages so too must it be contained that way. During the campaign, Biden promised swift action on such steps as testing, vaccine manufacture and distribution, and preventive measures like mask mandates. That, he’s said, will be followed by other steps like improving surveillance of emerging variants of SARS-CoV-2, extending unemployment benefits to people whose jobs were lost as a result of quarantining and lockdowns, extending the moratorium on evictions, and ensuring that people who contract COVID-19 and survive don’t face discrimination in insurance benefits. It would, the candidate promised, be nothing short of a stepwise, war-like mobilization...

‘If there’s a certainty in exactly how the Biden plan will unfold over the next 24 or 12 or even three months, it’s that there’s no certainty at all. Viruses are at once both mindless and clever—infecting and eluding, spreading and shape-shifting. It takes a set of policies that are equally adaptable, equally nimble to defeat them. The new president’s plan is an ambitious first step. A lot of sure-footed steps remain before the pandemic is defeated.’

Read here (Time magazine, Jan 20, 2021)

Three questions and the emerging answers about Covid-19 vaccine protection

‘As the COVID-19 vaccine rolls out, three big questions loom. First, can someone who has been vaccinated still spread the disease? Second, will the vaccine remain effective as the virus itself evolves? And third, how long will the vaccine's protection last?

‘Answers to these questions lie in our immune systems. And the answers aren't straightforward because our immune systems are both remarkably adept and remarkably challenging to predict.’

Read here (NPR, Jan 18, 2021)

The coronavirus is evolving before our eyes

‘Even if we cannot contain this particular variant, we’re learning from its spread. Preventing more virulent strains from becoming dominant—when they inevitably do arise—may be possible if we can track genomic patterns more widely, so that we have the context needed to determine whether a strain is indeed uniquely dangerous. If we can take steps to contain a new threat early enough, it may never become widespread. If we miss these opportunities, we risk repeating the kind of mistake that allowed the original SARS-CoV-2 strain to escape China in the first place.

‘Last week, Eddie Holmes reflected on the fateful moment when he tweeted the virus’s original genetic code. It was a moment of triumph for collaborative science, but the work was just beginning. The triumph must be repeated daily. “What worries me most of all is if politics gets in the way of data sharing and science,” he told Medscape. “Step one has to be immediate, rapid, open data sharing. Speed is of the essence in a pandemic. Any barrier to working together makes this a much less safe world. That should be the lesson of this outbreak.”

Read here (The Atlantic, Jan 15, 2021) 

Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine appears effective against mutation in new coronavirus variants: Study

‘Pfizer Inc and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine appeared to work against a key mutation in the highly transmissible new variants of the coronavirus discovered in the UK and South Africa, according to a laboratory study conducted by the U.S. drugmaker.

‘The not-yet peer reviewed study by Pfizer and scientists from the University of Texas Medical Branch indicated the vaccine was effective in neutralizing virus with the so-called N501Y mutation of the spike protein.’

Read here (Reuters, Jan 7, 2021)

Fast-spreading UK virus variant raises alarms

‘The U.K. lineage of SARS-CoV-2 has apparently acquired 17 mutations that lead to amino acid changes in its proteins all at once, a feat never seen before in the coronavirus. Crucially, eight of them were in the gene that encodes spike, a protein on the viral surface that the pathogen uses to enter human cells. “There's now a frantic push to try and characterize some of these mutations in the lab,” says Andrew Rambaut, a molecular evolutionary biologist at the University of Edinburgh... Read the story for more details.’

Read here (Science magazine, Jan 1, 2021)

The mutated virus is a ticking time bomb

‘There is much we don’t know about the new COVID-19 variant—but everything we know so far suggests a huge danger.

‘A more transmissible variant of COVID-19 is a potential catastrophe in and of itself. If anything, given the stage in the pandemic we are at, a more transmissible variant is in some ways much more dangerous than a more severe variant. That’s because higher transmissibility subjects us to a more contagious virus spreading with exponential growth, whereas the risk from increased severity would have increased in a linear manner, affecting only those infected.’

Read here (The Atlantic, Jan 1, 2021) 

World's media ask how it went so wrong for 'Plague Island' Britain

‘In the eyes of the world’s media, Britain – a “Plague Island” led by a man who thinks “optimism is a substitute for hard truths and proper management” – is currently getting a good lesson in “what ‘reclaiming sovereignty’ means”...

‘Much of the blame was on Boris Johnson, whose U-turn on Christmas had “once more shown the yawning gulf between the prime minister’s airy promises and the real world,” said Germany’s Die Welt. That vacuum, however, is now “fast being filled with the anger and fear of a nation hit ever since by horror story upon horror story”. The continental blockade could well be “preparing the British for what Brexit might actually mean”, the paper said, “since there is still no agreement on a trade deal, 10 days before the deadline.”

‘The Netherlands’ NRC Handelsblad said that no one in the UK would have a normal Christmas: “not even a tiny bit of one. The ports are closed; London’s stations witnessed a veritable exodus; tens of kilometres of trucks are stranded on the country’s motorways; ministers are publicly saying the virus is out of control.”...

The Sydney Morning Herald: ‘Britain’s response to the pandemic had been “mired in inaction, plagued by failures of the state to mobilise and Johnson’s own destructive habit of promising false dawns simply because he cannot stand to be the bearer of bad news”.’

Read here (The Guardian, Dec 22, 2020)

There are thousands of Covid strains, so this new scare is NOT a big deal, but politicians just love their new authoritarianism

‘Let me set the scene. The world (we are told) is in the grip of a deadly plague. Health services (we are told) are on the brink of collapse. And just when you think things cannot get any worse, the horrific news comes down from on high that our invisible enemy has mutated into an even scarier form. Although it is too early to know anything of substance about it, it is entirely possible that it is more contagious, or more dangerous, or – who knows – maybe both.

‘Was that the situation at the weekend as the UK was plunged into what’s rapidly become its worst crisis since World War II (and certainly the worst self-induced one), just ahead of Christmas? No, this was the precise situation FIVE MONTHS AGO, when I wrote about Spike D614G, a mutant variant of coronavirus that we were told could be up to NINE TIMES more contagious. You may not remember because that mutant strain turned out to be a total nothing burger. So why would this one be any different?’

Read here (RT, Dec 21, 2020)

New Covid strain in the UK: What we know in 500 words

‘European countries ban UK passengers in bid to contain new mutation, which is 70 percent more infectious and ripping through London...

‘Vaccines should still be effective against it and the new strain is not believed to be any more deadly, but people are increasingly worried because this mutation appears to be 70 percent more infectious. The new variant, which has been named VUI-202012/01 (the first Variant Under Investigation in December 2020), is thought to have first occurred in mid-September in the country’s southeast, in the capital London or the county of Kent.

‘Susan Hopkins of Public Health England said the agency notified the government on December 18 when modelling revealed the full seriousness of the new strain. The UK submitted its findings to the World Health Organization the same day.’

Read here (Aljazeera, Dec 20, 2020)

Denmark to cull millions of minks over mutated coronavirus

‘Denmark, the world's biggest producer of mink fur, said Wednesday it would cull all of the country's minks after a mutated version of the new coronavirus was detected at its mink farms and had spread to people. The mutation "could pose a risk that future (coronavirus) vaccines won't work the way they should," Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told a press conference, adding: "It is necessary to cull all the minks."

“The mutated virus could thereby have serious negative consequences for the whole world’s response to the ongoing pandemic,” she said. Danish police estimated that between 15 and 17 million minks would need to be put down. Twelve people are currently registered as infected with a mutated form of the coronavirus in Denmark, according to news wire Ritzau. The mutated virus is reported to respond weakly to antibodies.’

Read here (The Local, Denmark, Nov 4, 2020)

Early tests mean Covid-19 patients detected at ‘more infectious’ phase: Noor Hisham

‘Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said swift action to detect Covid-19 cases may have led to patients being detected at an earlier, highly infectious phase of the disease. However, he does not rule out the possibility that the high level of infectivity may be due to the virus’ D614G mutation. He said this in response to a question from the media asking why patients’ samples from the current third wave have a lower cycle threshold value (Ct) when tested, compared to samples from the first two waves of the outbreak in Malaysia.’

Read here (Malaysiakini, Oct 16, 2020)

The coronavirus is mutating — does it matter?

‘Different SARS-CoV-2 strains haven’t yet had a major impact on the course of the pandemic, but they might in future...

‘It’s even possible that the D614G change could make the virus an easier target for vaccines, Montefiori’s team found in a study posted to bioRxiv in July 13. Mice, monkeys and humans that received one of a number of experimental RNA vaccines, including one being developed by drug maker Pfizer in New York City, produced antibodies that proved more potent at blocking G viruses than D viruses.

‘With G viruses now ubiquitous, the finding is “good news”, says Montefiori. But as a scientist who has watched HIV mutate to elude many vaccines developed against it, he remains wary of the potential of SARS-CoV-2 to evade humanity’s responses. Luban agrees: “We need to keep our eyes open for additional changes.”

Read here (Nature, Sept 8, 2020)

What the D614G mutation means for Covid-19 spread, fatality, treatment, and vaccine

‘We are facing the global shift of the SARS-CoV-2 variant — from D614 to G614. The G614 variant is more infectious in laboratory settings; whether it means increased viral spread in humans is unconfirmed. Current evidence says that the G614 variant is not any deadlier than D614. And so, treatment options should not be any more different. Both the D614 and G614 variants should react similarly to vaccines, studies suggest, as the mutation does not change the immunogenic part of the spike protein; that is, the receptor-binding domain (RBD).’

[This is a survey of literature by a young post-grad Malaysian. It gives a rounded picture of the D614G mutation without using too much jargon. Must counter check the accuracy of what's stated against the originals.] 

Read here (Medium, July 31, 2020)

China’s new outbreak shows signs the virus could be changing

‘Patients found in the northern provinces of Jilin and Heilongjiang appear to carry the virus for a longer period of time and take longer to test negative, Qiu Haibo, one of China’s top critical care doctors, told state television on Tuesday. Patients in the northeast also appear to be taking longer than the one to two weeks observed in Wuhan to develop symptoms after infection, and this delayed onset is making it harder for authorities to catch cases before they spread, said Qiu, who is now in the northern region treating patients.’

Read here (Bloomberg, May 20, 2020)

Genetic mutation study finds new coronavirus spread swiftly around the world in late 2019

‘A genetic analysis of samples from more than 7,500 people infected with Covid-19 suggests that the new coronavirus spread quickly around the world late last year and is adapting to its human hosts, scientists said on Wednesday (May 6). A study by scientists at University College London's (UCL) Genetics Institute found almost 200 recurrent genetic mutations of the new coronavirus - Sars-CoV-2 - which the researchers said showed how it may be evolving as it spreads in people.’

Read here (Straits Times, May 6, 2020)

The problem with stories about dangerous coronavirus mutations

‘There’s no clear evidence that the pandemic virus has evolved into significantly different forms—and there probably won’t be for months...

‘As if the pandemic weren’t bad enough, on April 30, a team led by scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory released a paper that purportedly described “the emergence of a more transmissible form” of the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. This new form, the team wrote, “began spreading in Europe in early February.” Whenever it appeared in a new place, including the U.S., it rapidly rose to dominance. Its success, the team suggested, is likely due to a single mutation, which is now “of urgent concern.”

‘The paper has not yet been formally published or reviewed by other scientists. But on May 5, the Los Angeles Times wrote about it, claiming that “a now-dominant strain of the coronavirus could be more contagious than [the] original.” That story quickly went … well … viral.

‘But “the conclusions are overblown,” says Lisa Gralinski of the University of North Carolina, who is one of the few scientists in the world who specializes in coronaviruses. “To say that you’ve revealed the emergence of a more transmissible form of SARS-CoV-2 without ever actually testing it isn’t the type of thing that makes me feel comfortable as a scientist.” She and other virologists I’ve spoken with who were not involved in the Los Alamos research agree that the paper’s claims are plausible, but not justified by the evidence it presents. More important, they’re not convinced different strains of the coronavirus exist at all.’

Read here (The Atlantic, May 6, 2020)

US launches SPHERES consortium to monitor, conduct genomic research and share information on the Coronavirus

CDC is leading the SARS-CoV-2 Sequencing for Public Health Emergency Response, Epidemiology and Surveillance (SPHERES), a new national genomics consortium to coordinate SARS-CoV-2 sequencing across the United States. Large-scale, rapid genomic sequencing of the virus that causes COVID-19 will allow public health experts to:

• Monitor important changes in the virus as it continues to circulate.
• Gain important insights to support contact tracing.
• Provide crucial information to aid in identifying diagnostic and therapeutic targets.
• Advance public health research in the areas of transmission dynamics, host response, and evolution of the virus.

Read here (US CDC, April 30, 2020)

Coronavirus’s ability to mutate has been vastly underestimated, and mutations affect deadliness of strains, Chinese study finds

• The most aggressive strains of Sars-CoV-2 could generate 270 times as much viral load as the least potent type
• New York may have a deadlier strain imported from Europe, compared to less deadly viruses elsewhere in the United States

“Drug and vaccine development, while urgent, need to take the impact of these accumulating mutations … into account to avoid potential pitfalls.”.

Read here (South China Morning Post, April 20, 2020)