Early data suggest that a coronavirus variant first detected in California may be more transmissible, possibly cause a worse disease, and may affect the effectiveness of the vaccine.
Study authors are awaiting approval from public health departments for the publication of a pre-print, although dr. Charles Chiu, co-study author and professor of laboratory medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, shared and elaborated the findings to Fox News.
“I’m worried, worried, but not panicking about this,” Chiu said. “This is something that needs to be further investigated and I really think at this stage we do not know enough to recommend changes to the standard public health measures we use to prevent infection.”
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The team compiled viral genomes of 2172 nasal samples from COVID-19 patients in 44 California provinces from September 1, 2020 to January 29, although the sequence was concentrated in major metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles, Alameda, San Francisco, and Santa Clara provinces. . .
The team analyzed nasal swabs from more than 2,000 genomes to collect findings.
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The variant, called B.1.427 / B.1.429 or 20C / L452R, increased to more than 50% of cases in different provinces during the five-month sampling period. The study noted that the variant was detected in 459 of the 2,172 genome samples, or about 21%. The first reported case of the variant occurred in July in Los Angeles, although the sequence analysis suggests that it probably appeared in May 2020. This variant contains a unique mutation called L452R that is not seen on other related variants as first identified in Brazil and South Africa. Africa, among other mutations.
“We have succeeded in obtaining evidence that it is a more contagious variant,” Chiu said, noting a twofold increase in patients’ viral concentrations in the nasal swabs. “It does not necessarily prove, but does suggest that it may be more contagious.”
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Another piece of evidence behind increased transmissibility was pseudoviruses that researchers genetically engineered to include the key L452R mutation.
“We found that the viruses were at least 40% more contagious than viruses that did not have the mutation,” Chiu continued. “The key mutation found in this variant appears to be at least more infected with the cells in the laboratory.”
Public health experts say the same mitigation measures, such as the use of masks, proper distance, hand hygiene and rapid, widespread vaccination, will help protect against different strains of the virus.
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Three pieces of evidence consist of clinical, laboratory, and other data that claim that the variant may be more inadmissible.
What’s more, when researchers examined 13 blood samples from recovering patients and vaccine recipients and tested how well the antibodies neutralized the variant compared to other strains, the antibodies in the blood of two of three recovered patients were four times less effective around the variant, and antibodies from six of eight vaccine recipients were twice as effective in neutralizing the variant.
Chiu said these vaccine recipients received two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.
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Studies have suggested that the South African variant reduced the neutralizing ability of the Pfizer vaccine by about two-thirds, while Moderna saw a six-fold reduction in neutralizing antibodies. Chiu notes that the California tribe had a “moderate” effect by comparison.
The authors of the study said that the coronavirus variant borrowed a ‘moderate’ reduction in the neutralizing power of the recently approved vaccines.
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The retrospective analysis determined for virulence, or serious strain-related illness, was a difficult analysis, but findings from 324 COVID-19 patients in a tertiary hospital were an increase in ICU stay. and death. More specifically, the variant was detected among 69 patients. Chiu said 11% of the hospital patients infected with the variant died, compared with 2% of the COVID-19 patients infected in the hospital with another strain. This difference is statistically significant, he said.
“As the number and severity of serious cases in our group were low, resulting in wide confidence intervals, further investigation is needed to confirm these findings,” the study reads. “In addition, it is difficult to distinguish whether the variant is inherently more virulent, or the higher risk of serious diseases is related to other factors, such as increased transmissibility, shown for B.1.1.7. [in] an influx of cases that could harness available health care resources. ‘
“This is still very preliminary data, but it suggests that there may be a possible link between a more serious disease due to infection of the variant,” Chiu said.
There are still unanswered questions, such as the exact mechanism behind the key L452R mutation. While the mutation is located in the same region (the receptor binding domain) as other mutations identified in global variants, it does not come into direct contact with the ACE2 receptor, compared to the N501Y mutation on the B.1.1.7 variant which was first detected in the UK, for example. Instead, the mutation comes close to the ACE2 receptor, and separate early data suggest that the mutation helps to stabilize the interaction between the vein protein and the ACE2 receptor.
Chiu said it is unclear at this stage whether the tribe is responsible for a sharp increase in virus cases in California. State data shows that California experienced a severe increase in cases from late December to mid-January, with more than 40,000 daily infections. Chiu said that a so-called ‘genetic drive’, or a random rise of the ‘right tension at the right time’ may also be behind the boom. Another odd piece is the timing behind the state case, when the variant probably emerged earlier last spring. Researchers are still answering this question.
The major L452R mutation was also previously found in Denmark, but it was not the same variant, offering its own set of unique mutations.
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The California variant has yet to emerge to the level of a ‘VOC’ or a worrying variant, probably due to the unknowns so far associated with it, the author said. This decision to reconcile the tensions of a ‘VOC’ should ultimately be left to the public health authorities and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Chiu said.
Chiu said researchers “urgently” need to collect more data to further confirm the findings, especially initial findings regarding infectivity, transmissibility and effect on the neutralization of antibodies.