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a12 health
Wednesday 20 January 2021
A new COVID-19 challenge: Mutations rise along with cases

By MARILYNN MARCHIONE ineffective, Mina said. Be-
AP Chief Medical Writer cause the United States
The race against the virus has so many cases, “we
that causes COVID-19 has can breed our own vari-
taken a new turn: Muta- ants that are just as bad
tions are rapidly popping or worse” as those in other
up, and the longer it takes countries, he said.
to vaccinate people, the TREATMENT, VACCINE, RE-
more likely it is that a vari- INFECTION RISKS
ant that can elude current Some lab tests suggest the
tests, treatments and vac- variants identified in South
cines could emerge. Africa and Brazil may be
The coronavirus is becom- less susceptible to antibody
ing more genetically di- drugs or convalescent plas-
verse, and health officials ma, antibody-rich blood
say the high rate of new from COVID-19 survivors —
cases is the main reason. both of which help people
Each new infection gives fight off the virus.
the virus a chance to mu- Government scientists are
tate as it makes copies of “actively looking” into that
itself, threatening to undo possibility, Dr. Janet Wood-
the progress made so far to cock of the U.S. Food and
control the pandemic. Drug Administration told re-
On Friday, the World Health porters Thursday.
Organization urged more The government is encour-
effort to detect new vari- aging development of
ants. The U.S. Centers for In this Jan. 12, 2021, file photo a pharmacist draws saline while preparing a dose of Pfizer’s multi-antibody treatments
COVID-19 vaccine in Sacramento, Calif.
Disease Control and Pre- Associated Press rather than single-antibody
vention said a new version drugs to have more ways
first identified in the United of antibody drugs as treat- crowd out other versions. version identified in Britain to target the virus in case
Kingdom may become ments. In March, just a couple also turned up on a differ- one proves ineffective, she
dominant in the U.S. by “We’re in a race against months after the corona- ent version “that’s been cir- said.
March. Although it doesn’t time” because the virus virus was discovered in culating in Ohio ... at least Current vaccines induce
cause more severe illness, “may stumble upon a mu- China, a mutation called as far back as September,” broad enough immune re-
it will lead to more hospi- tation” that makes it more D614G emerged that said Dr. Dan Jones, a mo- sponses that they should
talizations and deaths just dangerous, said Dr. Pardis made it more likely to lecular pathologist at Ohio remain effective, many sci-
because it spreads much Sabeti, an evolutionary bi- spread. It soon became State University who an- entists say. Enough genetic
more easily, said the CDC, ologist at the Broad Insti- the dominant version in the nounced that finding last change eventually may re-
warning of “a new phase tute of MIT and Harvard. world. week. quire tweaking the vaccine
of exponential growth.” Younger people may be Now, after months of rela- “The important finding here formula, but “it’s probably
“We’re taking it really very less willing to wear masks, tive calm, “we’ve started is that this is unlikely to be going to be on the order of
seriously,” Dr. Anthony Fau- shun crowds and take oth- to see some striking evolu- travel-related” and instead years if we use the vaccine
ci, the U.S. government’s er steps to avoid infection tion” of the virus, biologist may reflect the virus ac- well rather than months,”
top infectious disease ex- because the current strain Trevor Bedford of the Fred quiring similar mutations Dr. Andrew Pavia of the
pert, said Sunday on NBC’s doesn’t seem to make Hutchinson Cancer Re- independently as more in- University of Utah said Thurs-
“Meet the Press.” them very sick, but “in search Center in Seattle fections occur, Jones said. day on a webcast hosted
“We need to do everything one mutational change, it wrote on Twitter last week. That also suggests that by the Infectious Diseases
we can now ... to get trans- might,” she warned. Sabeti “The fact that we’ve ob- travel restrictions might be Society of America.q
mission as low as we possi- documented a change in served three variants of
bly can,” said Harvard Uni- the Ebola virus during the concern emerge since By Dave Green
versity’s Dr. Michael Mina. 2014 outbreak that made it September suggests that
“The best way to prevent much worse. there are likely more to 5 4 3 8
mutant strains from emerg- MUTATIONS ON THE RISE come.”
ing is to slow transmission.” It’s normal for viruses to ac- One was first identified in 7 8 2 6
So far, vaccines seem to quire small changes or mu- the United Kingdom and
remain effective, but there tations in their genetic al- quickly became dominant 9 5 8 2 1
are signs that some of the phabet as they reproduce. in parts of England. It has
new mutations may under- Ones that help the virus now been reported in at 2 8
mine tests for the virus and flourish give it a competi- least 30 countries, including
reduce the effectiveness tive advantage and thus the United States.
Soon afterward, South Af- 8 6 9 2
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