New COVID-19 Strain

— McCartney Fix, Co-News Editor

The light at the end of the tunnel seemed fast approaching entering 2021. As Pfizer and Moderna each unveiled to the public and swiftly began distributing vaccines for the novel Coronavirus, the world at large prepared for a return to normalcy. Then, in late January reports emerged of a fresh strain of Covid-19 discovered in the UK, furthermore, initial suspicion was that it was not only more contagious than the first strain but perhaps, even deadlier. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC “Viruses constantly change through mutation, and new variants of a virus are expected to occur over time,” The CDC said. “Sometimes new variants emerge and disappear, other times, new variants emerge and persist.” A major concern relating to these new, more contagious strains is how they might affect the process of rolling out vaccines, as not only would it require new precautions to be taken; concerns were also raised relating to possible vaccine immunity from the new strain. “So far, studies suggest that antibodies generated through vaccination with currently authorized vaccines recognize these variants,” The CDC said. “This is being closely investigated and more studies are underway.” The three strains most highlighted are the P.1 variant, the B.1.1.7. Variant, and the B.1.351 strain, known as the Brazilian, British, and South African strains respectively. These strains are of great concern due to their increased transferability, harsher symptoms, and potential for vaccine immunity, according to Mayo Clinic. Much has been made of that first point, particularly with the UK strain. “Most of the evidence comes from the UK, where they found the rate of transmission is higher in places where the new strain is prevalent,” Dr. Dean Blumberg said. “Exactly how much faster it spreads is still unclear. Most scientists are using the 70% estimate.” Another concern with the UK variant is that lock downs particularly very intense and strictly enforced ones may be necessary to contain it. “If our parameter estimates are correct it seems like [tier 4] alone is not enough, so something else might need to be done on top of that,” Dr. Nick Davies said. “We have looked at school closures because that is sort of the next obvious thing to do on top of those restrictions.” The question now seems to be not if this new strain is more contagious, or more extreme, but if America as a whole is willing to submerge itself in another wave of strict lock downs to contain it.

Doctors believe that all currently authorized vaccines will be effective against the new strains. Photo by McCartney Fix