While the variant of covid-19 is derived from the United Kingdom, Brazil and South Africa getting all the attention, there was a worrying tension that was quietly developing and spreading in California.
The new variant, to which scientists refer B.1.427 / B.1.429, which hit the radar in September 2020, is thought to spread faster than others. According to a limited but worrying new study, there are now concerns that it may be better to evade antibodies created by previous infection or a vaccine, and can cause serious illness.
But is this really a cause for concern?
What is causing the alarm about the California variant?
“This variant is of concern because our data show that it is more contagious, more likely to be associated with serious diseases and at least partially resistant to neutralizing antibodies,” says Charles Chiu, a doctor on infectious diseases and succession expert at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) who is the senior author of a pre-print report laboratory studies and epidemiological data.
The data suggest that the new strain “should probably be designated as variant of concern which justifies urgent follow-up research, ”the authors write in their preview, which has not been judged by a peer and which, according to them, is expected to be posted online soon. “The devil is already here,” Chiu told the LA Times.
In other words, there are limited evidence that the new strain found in California is more resistant to antibodies and more likely to cause serious illness or death.
Regarding the effectiveness of the vaccine, Chiu told the Times that “if we can get enough people vaccinated, we will be able to handle these variants easily because we will not be sent continuously. ‘
The same mitigation measures apply to new variants as the original coronavirus strain: wear a mask, social distance and do not spend time indoors with people outside your household.
Other scientists are more wary of California stress
However, Science Mag reported this week that other coronavirus experts say more data is needed before actual conclusions can be drawn, pointing out that the study among patients with the variant the less than 10 admitted to the ICU and less than 10 who died.
‘If I were a reviewer, I would like to see it more data from more infected people to substantiate this very challenging allegation, ”said David O’Connor, an expert on viral succession at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, who was not part of the research.
“I am increasingly convinced that these transmit more locally than others,” William Hanage, an epidemiologist at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health who was not involved in the research, told The New York Times, referring to the infectious variant found in the UK, Hanage added “But there are no evidence to suggest that it is in the same ballpark as B.1.1.7.“
For their study, between September 1, 2020 and January 29, 2021, the authors compiled 2172 genomes from virus samples captured from 300 patients in 44 California provinces.