South African coronavirus mutation might be a threat to vaccines

[Chris Smith]

• British health officials are more worried about the South African coronavirus mutation than the UK mutation.
• British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said of the South African strain that it is a ”very significant problem,” and that’s why the UK blocked travel to the country.
• Researchers still need to determine whether current vaccines will work on both strains, but some worry that the South African strain might not be affected by the vaccines.

Viruses like SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, mutate all the time. The novel coronavirus developed a significant mutation early in the pandemic, believed to have increased its infectivity. Researchers are following these mutations closely for many reasons. For starters, mutations are important for vaccine research, as the drugs will have to be adapted for new strains just as it happens with the flu. Secondly, genetic sequencing can prove reinfection with the novel coronavirus, and COVID-19 immunity is another topic the world needs more data on. Finally, knowing exactly how these strains evolve and mutate is important for crafting new protocols to prevent and deal with infections.

Two countries announced two significant coronavirus mutations in the final weeks of 2020. The UK’s B.1.1.7 and South Africa’s 501.V2 both made the news in a matter of days. Both are more infectious than their progenitors, initial reports said, but we mostly focused on the UK variant. However, British experts believe the South African strain might be more dangerous than B.1.1.7, as it could have developed changes that would allow it to evade vaccines.

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South African coronavirus mutation might be a threat to vaccines originally appeared on BGR.com on Mon, 4 Jan 2021 at 17:12:39 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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