The novel coronavirus seems to be here to stay for a while longer. It’s been just revealed that the Stanford University experts have found five new cases of a double mutant Covid-19 strain that has been discovered recently in the San Francisco Bay area.
CNBC notes that the doctors are suspecting that this strain could be more contagious compared to earlier strains, and it could also be resistant to the existing vaccines.
This new variant is original from India, and there it’s credited with a recent 55% surge in cases in the state of
Maharashtra, home to Mumbai, after months of declining cases.
Two key mutations
CNBC notes that It contains two key mutations, which scientists call E484Q and L452R, that have been found separately in other variants but not together in a single strain, according to Dr Benjamin Pinsky, medical director of Stanford’s clinical virology laboratory, which discovered the new variant in the U.S.”
“There’s a decent amount of information of how these mutations behave in viruses on their own, but not in combination,” Pinsky said in an interview.
It’s also important to note the fact that if this mutation makes the virus more resistant to antibodies, that could reduce the effectiveness of both vaccines as well as antibody treatments – these have become a critical tool for doctors in fighting Covid-19, according to Pinsky.
“I suspect that existing vaccines will be slightly less effective in preventing infection by this new variant,” he said, and then continued “, but all of the vaccines are extremely effective in preventing hospitalizations and deaths.”
Check out more details about the issue in the original article.
Make sure to learn about the fact that it’s been just revealed that a top European Medicines Agency (EMA) official said in an interview published Tuesday that there is a link between the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine and blood clots.
