Virus variants are found to be more deadly, contagious; some may block vaccines

(Reuters) – The following is a summary of some of the latest scientific studies on the new coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.

Various variants can “escape” vaccines

Antibodies caused by the Moderna Inc and Pfizer Inc / BioNTech SE vaccines are dramatically less effective at neutralizing some of the most worrying coronavirus variants, a new study indicates. Researchers obtained blood samples from 99 individuals who received one or two doses of one of the vaccines, and tested their antibody against introduced vaccine against virus replica to mimic ten worldwide circulating variants. Five of the ten variants were “very resistant to neutralization”, even when volunteers received both doses of the vaccines, the researchers reported in Cell on Friday. All five of the highly resistant variants had mutations on the virus surface – known as K417N / T, E484K and N501Y – which characterize a variant in South Africa and two variants that spread rapidly in Brazil. Consistent with previous studies, the proportion of neutralizing antibodies fell 5- to 6-fold compared to the variants discovered in Brazil. Against the variant discovered in South Africa, neutralization fell 20- to 44-fold. A variant now circulating in New York has the E484K mutation. “While studies of the New York variant are underway, our findings suggest that similar variants containing E484K may be more difficult to neutralize antibodies by vaccine,” said study leader Alejandro Balazs of Harvard University and the Massachusetts General Hospital said. “Despite our results,” he added, “it is important to consider that vaccines elicit other immune responses that can protect against the development of serious diseases.” (bit.ly/3bWB1Ko)

Variant identified in the UK is more deadly

The coronavirus variant first identified in the UK, known as B.1.1.7, is more lethal than other variants circulating there, a new study confirms. Researchers analyzed data on 184,786 people in England who were diagnosed with COVID-19 between mid-November and mid-January, including 867 who died. For every three people who died within four weeks after being infected with another variant, about five died after becoming infected with B.1.1.7, according to an article posted on medRxiv before peer review. Overall, the risk of death with B.1.1.7 was 67% higher than the risk for other variants in England, the authors said. As with earlier variants, the patient’s risk of death increased with age, male gender, and existing medical conditions. B.1.1.7 is now common in Europe and is predicted to occur in the United States. “Importantly,” the researchers wrote, “emerging data suggest that the currently approved vaccines for SARS-CoV-2 are effective against the B.1.1.7.” (bit.ly/3r2vpCE)

Variant identified in Brazil is doubly contagious

Between November and January in Manaus, Brazil, the frequency of COVID-19 cases with the P.1 coronavirus variant increased from non-existent to 73%, and the number of infections there tripled compared to what the city in the first wave the pandemic, according to a report posted on medRxiv before peer review. The greater contagion of the P.1 variant probably contributed to this, the report suggests. Based on national health surveillance data, the authors estimate that the P.1 variant is approximately 2.5 times more transmissible than previous variants distributed in Manaus. The spread of P.1 occurred despite the fact that 68% of the city’s population was already infected by the original strain of the coronavirus, the researchers noted. In their analysis, the risk of re-infection with P.1 was low. The ability of the variant to cause serious diseases, or their pathogenicity, is still unclear. “The P.1 variant has been detected in at least 25 countries,” the authors said. “This requires urgent … studies of the P.1 variant, as greater transmissibility and pathogenicity can cause even well-prepared health systems to collapse.” (bit.ly/38MGykw)

To prevent infection, the new CPR technique adds distance

To avoid coronavirus infection during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), medical professionals can increase their distance from the patient by performing chest compressions using the heel of the foot – known as leg-heel compression – instead of their hands. a new study before. Researchers had 20 medical professionals follow manual chest compression, followed by chest compression on the legs after a brief instruction on a cloth. There was no difference in any of the variables measured, including the correct placement of the heel for compression purposes, correct depth of the chest compression, and the compression speed. The study found that the distribution of breath droplets from the patient to the person performing CPR was likely to be reduced with the bone-heel compression. “Under special circumstances such as the COVID-19 pandemic, chest compression can be an effective alternative … compared to manual chest compression, while significantly increasing the distance to the patient,” the researchers said in an article released Monday. placed on medRiv, closed. for peer review. (bit.ly/3ltWgX4)

Open tmsnrt.rs/3c7R3Bl in an external browser for a graphical version of Reuters about vaccines being developed.