Additional scheme vaccines against the coronavirus will be needed in the future, said a leading British scientist studying the virus. An enhancer is an extra shot that enhances or renews the effect of an earlier vaccine. Amplifier is needed because the coronavirus is still changing, or changing.
Sharon Peacock is the Head of COVID-19 Genomics UK, COG-UK. She said countries should work together in their fight against the virus.
‘We will always need a booster doses; immunity coronavirus does not last forever, ”Peacock told Reuters.
She added that scientists have already modified the vaccine to fight viruses variant as they are found.
Peacock, a professor at Cambridge University in Britain, said she was sure regularly booster shots would be needed to handle future variants. However, she said the booster dosage could develop over time and be given to people.
Peacock set up COG-UK exactly a year ago with the help of British scientific chief adviser Patrick Vallance. The group consists of public health experts and scientists from various UK universities. It now contains more information on the genetics of the virus than anywhere else in the world. In places in Britain, scientists from COG-UK have done this order more than 349,000 genomes of the virus from a worldwide effort of about 778,000 genomes.
There are three main coronavirus variants first identified: Britain, known as B.1.1.7; Brazil, known as P1; and South Africa, known as B.1.351.
Peacock said she was most concerned about the South African variant. Not only does it spread more easily, but it also has a change in a gene mutation that can decrease immunity. The gene mutation is known as E484K.
With 120 million cases of COVID-19 worldwide, it’s becoming difficult to keep track of all the different variants and names. Peacock’s teams are therefore thinking of ‘constellations of mutations’, she said. ‘Constellation’ in this case means a group of people or things that correspond in some way.
She explained that scientists are thinking “about which mutations or constellation of mutations are going to be biologically important and different combinations that could have slightly different biological effects.”
Peacock added that she and other experts had to accept that they would be wrong about some of their COVID-19 predictions.
‘One of the things the virus has taught me is that I can often go wrong humble in light of the virus of which we still know little, ”she said.
“There may be a variant we have not even discovered.”
The coronavirus has killed 2.65 million people worldwide since it launched in China in late 2019.
There will be other pandemics in the future. Peacock hopes that scientists will take what they have learned from the coronavirus and be better prepared for the next global health crisis.
I’m Susan Shand.
The Reuters News Agency reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it to learn English. Ashley Thompson was the editor.
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Words in this story
mutate – v. To (change a gene) and create an unusual trait in a plant or animal
ruler – adj. happens over and over at the same time or in the same way
immunity – n. the power to prevent you from getting sick
dosage – n. the amount of medicine to be taken at the same time
variant – n. somehow different from others of the same kind
order – v. a group of things that come one after the other
humble – adj. do not think of yourself as better than others
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