What are the Covid-19 Variants?
The pandemic of Covid-19 continues to affect our lives and thankfully vaccines are coming with hope to fight this pandemic. However, new versions of the Covid-19 virus are reported and put us in a stressful place again.
Let’s see what is the variant Of Covid-19 and how does it affect us?
The mutation is responsible for the formation of new variants of the virus and some of these variants continue to spread and some of them are disappeared.
As we know, new variants of Covid-19 are reported. One of them is detected in the UK and called B.1.1.7. It is more contagious when compared to their variants.
Last October, in South Africa, named with B.1.351 variant was determined and lastly, P.1 variant was detected passenger from Brasil at the airport in Japan.
Easily and fast spreading of these variants cause the number of infected people, a requirement of the health services, hospital admission, and finally to death.
Therefore, protective strategies such as physical distance, mask, hand hygiene, isolation, and quarantine limit the spreading of the Covid-19 virus and protect public health.
- Published in News
What about the Vaccines?
Current vaccines were based on the previous version of the virus. However, scientists believe that they would be effective for new types of viruses.
The first result of BioNTech/Pfizer vaccines provides protection but less effective to new variants.
Two new vaccines (from Novavax and Jannsen) to be approved sooner would provide the protection as well. Experts from Oxford-AstraZeneca explained that their vaccine is protective against to new English variant.
Experts state that although this vaccine still provides protection against severe Covid-19 diseases, it is less effective against the South African variant.
Preliminary results from Moderna also show that the vaccine is effective against the South African variant. However, experts point out that the immune response may not be strong and long-lasting in this variant.
Experts say that many different variants may emerge in the future, but even in the worst-case scenario, vaccines can be redesigned or modified within a few weeks or months.
It is stated that the flu vaccine is updated to cover new strains every year, as well as the coronavirus vaccines, can be renewed.
- Published in News