Time is of the essence... Increased nasopharyngeal proliferation = increased viral load on transmission = likely worse disease progression / clinical outcomes.
The current vaccines will not roll out fast enough and wide enough to halt the pandemic; all they will do is select for a mutated virus that the vaccinated won't be protected against, which will become the dominant strain, and likely be able to infect those that have already been infected. At that point, hyperimmunity becomes a huge concern... will the second time around, with a similar but not quite the same strain, result in increased severity / death, like Dengue?
The current vaccines will not roll out fast enough and wide enough to halt the pandemic; all they will do is select for a mutated virus that the vaccinated won't be protected against, which will become the dominant strain, and likely be able to infect those that have already been infected. At that point, hyperimmunity becomes a huge concern... will the second time around, with a similar but not quite the same strain, result in increased severity / death, like Dengue?
Quote:SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, mutates regularly and acquires about one new mutation in its genome every two weeks, according to the CDC. This particular variant, known as B117, has several mutations that affect the so-called "spiked protein" on the virus surface that attaches to human cells.
Researchers believe current COVID-19 vaccines will likely protect against the new variant, but data is needed. The virus would "likely need to accumulate multiple mutations in the spike protein to evade immunity induced by vaccines or by natural infection," according to the CDC.
Earlier this month, Vivek Murthy, President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee for surgeon general, urged Americans not to let concerns over the variant shake their faith in vaccination. "There’s no reason to believe that the vaccines that have been developed will not be effective against this virus as well," Murthy said on NBC’s "Meet the Press." {'No' reason? Try again, Vivek. That specific strain, perhaps, but that strain is set to increase spread and thus, mutation frequency... It's grandchildren will likely be the ones to overcome vaccination}
The emergence of a new variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus isn’t surprising, said Dr. Monica Gandhi, a professor of infectious disease at the University of California, San Francisco. "A virus that can spread more readily from human to human has an evolutionary advantage," she said.
This mutation appears to produce a high viral load in the nose and the mouth, which are the main ways COVID-19 spreads. The more virus, the higher chance of infecting someone else.
3
