Another new strain of coronavirus has been found. New strain means a new form of corona. Just a few days ago it was found in the UK and now these new strains have come out in Nigeria along with South Africa.
During these reports, India has made the RT-PCR test of passengers from the UK mandatory. So that they do not become new strain carriers and new corona does not spread in their country. Amidst all this, the new strains are raising many questions. For example, will the coronavirus spread faster with new strains? Can current methods of detection detect these strains? Will this vaccine affect the new strain? Let's understand what the experts say about this ...
Will these changes affect the vaccine?
At the moment, I will not have to. According to Dr. Raman Gangakhedekar, former scientist of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the vaccine that is being made keeping in mind the entire spike protein. At this time, a part of the virus has shown changes. Based on this, we cannot say that a new vaccine will be needed.
So will the vaccine that is being made work?
Yes, of course. Dr. Gagandeep Kang, Professor at Christian Medical College, Vellore, the country's top vaccine scientist, says that the vaccine that is being made targets different parts of the spike protein. Neutralizing antibodies against the virus. At this time, some changes have been observed in the virus, which should not affect the vaccine affixation. But he also warned that these mutations are being monitored. If it grows rapidly and continues in large numbers, then we may have to work on making a new vaccine. But there is no need to panic. This change will not happen suddenly. It may take months or even years. Scientists are currently studying. Strategy will be made according to the situation.
What are the vaccine companies saying?
Most companies, including Pfizer, Moderna, which is making the vaccine, claiming that their vaccine will also work on Corona's new strain. Changing viruses are not going to affect the effectiveness of their vaccine. According to the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC), if a virus has to avoid the effects of a natural infection or vaccine, its spike protein will have to undergo many more mutations. WHO has also said that laboratory studies are being done. It is seen whether there is any change in the biological properties of these new viruses. At this time there is not enough information related to strain on the efficacy of the vaccine.
What are the changes in Coronavirus?
Like every living being, there are changes in the virus. Proteins in RNA viruses such as SARS-CoV-2, coronaviruses, are formed from specific sequences of amino acids. In simple words, if the virus is a wall, then the bricks and amino acids in it. Viruses like corona have 30 thousand base pairs i.e. 30 thousand bricks. As the position of these base pairs changes, the size and behavior of that virus changes. In particular, the behavior of spike proteins that affect the human body changes. The variant found in the UK has been named VUI 202012/01. Research so far has shown that it spreads 70% faster than before. An in-depth investigation revealed 14 changes and 3 sequential deletes in the genetic material compared to the old virus.
Why have these changes increased the danger?
Changes in the shape of the coronavirus have taken place from where it enters the human body. That is, affects the body. The sequences of amino acids that have been deleted are also at the point from where they attach to humans. The WHO states that the deletion of amino acids may affect the performance of some RT-PCR tests. Still, nothing can be said with the claim.
What kind of changes have happened so far?
Coronavirus has undergone many changes. Some of these are as follows-
N501Y: This strain is found in Britain. The amino acid in it is written as N. It was at position-501 in the genetic structure of the coronavirus. Y has now replaced it.
P681H: Amino acid P has been replaced by H on position-681 in this coronavirus strain found in Nigeria. According to the CDC of America, this position has changed many times.
HV 69/70: This strain results in the deletion of amino acids at positions -69 and 70 in the coronavirus. France and South Africa have also shown this change in the virus.
N439K: This new variant was reported by researchers from the Covid-19 Genomics Consortium (CoG-UK) in the UK. In this, the amino acid N located at position-439 is replaced by K.
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