LONDON (Reuters) – The coronavirus variant first found in the British region of Kent is of concern because it mutates and could undermine vaccine protection against the development of COVID-19, said the head of the British genetic monitoring program .
She also said that the British variant is dominant in the country and probably “to sweep the world, in all probability”.
The coronavirus killed 2.35 million people and turned normal life around for billions, but a few new worrying variants out of thousands raised fears that vaccines would need to be adapted and that people might need shots.
Sharon Peacock, director of the COVID-19 Genomics UK consortium, said vaccines have so far been effective against variants in the UK, but that mutations could potentially undermine the shots.
‘What is worrying about this is that the 1.1.7 variant that we have been spreading for a few weeks and months is starting to mutate again and get new mutations that could affect the way we handle the virus in terms of immunity and efficiency of vaccines. “Peacock told the BBC.
“It’s about the fact that the 1.1.7, which is more transmissible, which swept the country, is now mutating to have this new mutation that could threaten the vaccination.”
The new mutation, first identified in Bristol in the south-west of England, has been identified by the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group as a “Variant of Concern”.
Patrick Vallance, chief scientific adviser to Britain, said the Bristol variant had the same mutations as the South African. “It is not surprising that this has happened and that it will happen elsewhere,” he said on Wednesday.
‘By getting the variant, it makes the chance that it looks different from the immune system, so we have to pay attention, we have to measure it, we have to pay attention and test the vaccine effects. in this situation. ”
To date, there are 21 cases of the variant with E484K mutation, which occurs on the vein protein of the virus, the same change as seen in the South African and Brazilian variants.
‘One must be a realist that this particular mutation has now originated at least five times in our kind of common garden genus – five different times. And so it’s going to keep popping up, ‘Peacock said.
British citizens should expect to receive repeated vaccinations against COVID-19 in the future to keep up with mutations in the virus, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday.
There are three important known variants that worry scientists: the South African variant, which is known by scientists as 20I / 501Y.V2 or B.1.351; the British variant known as 20I / 501Y.V1 or B.1.1.7; and the Brazilian variant known as P.1.
The British variant, which is more contagious but not necessarily more deadly than others, would probably ‘overwhelm the world’, Peacock said.
‘Once we get on top (the virus) or it mutates itself because it’s virulent – which causes disease – we can stop worrying about it. But I think if we look into the future, we’ll be doing it for years. We are going to do that in my opinion for another ten years. ”
The two COVID-19 vaccines developed by Pfizer / BioNTech and AstraZeneca protect against the most important British variant.
Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Edited by Kate Holton and Nick Macfie