One more strain called the South African COVID-19 variant has one side-effect that needs to be confirmed. A scientist states that it might cause antibody drugs as useless medication.
Viruses mutate all the time; some mutation is good or bad for it. Recently, the UK variant arose that is more infectious, not necessarily fatal. The South African strain is active in several places globally, and it has one more surprise for everyone.
Dr. Scott Gottlieb said that vaccinations had taken a new urgency as the strain from South Africa could negate the effects of antibody drugs. How the strain and the genome occurred is yet to be determined by scientists, reported CNBC.
Gottlieb, a former FDA in the Trump administration, says the South African Type COVID-19 is a concern because it can shut down the application of antibody medicines. When this happens, complications might occur and compound the 'upgraded' contagion. This was revealed in an interview last Tuesday night.
He added the strain is moving in warmer climes like South America and Brazil, where the contagion is raging. The occurrence of the South African strain is pervasive there, which is very concerning. The
variant called 501.V2 has replaced and become the dominant viral genome last year in November 2020. As many as 1.1 million COVID-9 infections and 30,000 deaths in the African continent. In mid-December, it is the most prevalent.
Gottlieb mentioned that scientists had investigated the South African COVID-19 variant in the Bloom Lab. The 501.V2 has been observed to override antibodies that fight the CCP virus with profound implications.
Also read: Super Spreaders: COVID-19 Variant in Several Cities in Northern China
Those who have been sick and used antibody drugs will still be vulnerable. Taking medications that might be blunted by the 501.V2 created a situation of an unpredictable infection.
The evolution from the first Sars-Cov-2 to the 501.V2 strain has changed a spike protein component. To bypass the cells' defenses, antibodies meant to fight the infection are made useless.
Vaccines might not be as effective since they were made before the South African variant was part of the equation, said Gottlieb. No one knows how fast or if the 501.V2 strain can move fast enough to infect a significant number of people. Vaccinations have no guarantee of their ability to negate antibodies.
The virus's evolution is part of the normal trajectory, which can impact how such a mutation easily bypasses cells. For the most part, COVID-19 will adopt the best modification to help it survive and revert if no beneficial.
According to Operation Warp Speed's director of supply production and distribution, Ret. Lt. Gen. Paul Ostrowski, more vaccines would be available by June. Supply has been slow, but 17 million Covid doses have been distributed to states, with only 4.8 million Americans getting inoculated, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Gottlieb added that vaccinating the most vulnerable parts of the population should be done fast. Another is more sites accessible for more Americans to get inoculated. It all depends on the supply of vaccines, and if the South African COVID-19 variant will affect antibody medicines. Even with the vaccines, strains like 501.V2 and the UK variants are changing.
Related article: New UK COVID-19 Mutation Detected in Colorado, Severity of Contagiousness not Determined
