7 New Coronavirus Variants: Could They Negate Vaccines?
7 New Coronavirus Variants: Could They Negate Vaccines?
These Covid variants are much more contagious.
Corona Virus Anxiety Stress (Unsplash)
Scientists have discovered seven different variants of the Coronavirus which they fear are much more contagious than the original. This could be even worse than the British variant uncovered a few months ago. But we have yet to get definitive proof of what these new variants mean.
The scientists released their findings about the variants in a study published in MedRxiv. The research was based on a study of Covid patients across the United States. These new variants are distinguished by mutations of the same amino acid. The concern here is that the mutations could make it easier for the virus to enter human cells. If so, it may be harder to treat those infected, and even moot many, if not all, of the precautions which people have been taking to prevent the spread of the infection.
“There’s clearly something going on with this mutation,” Jeremy Kamil, a virologist at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Shreveport and a co-author of the new study, told the New York Times.
“I think there’s a clear signature of an evolutionary benefit,” Dr. Kamil added.
But the big question right now is, how will this affect those people who have already been vaccinated and those who will be in the future?
Thankfully, as of now the answer is that the Covid-19 variants which have so far been discovered have not shown a resistance to any of the vaccines. The fact that they exist, however, is yet another argument in favor of pushing people everywhere to get vaccinated.
Today certain countries, such as Israel, have seen a significant drop in people coming out to be vaccinated. Israel could have had many more vaccinated people by now, but for anti-vaccination propagandists. For this reason Israeli authorities have begun a campaign to combat such myths as the idea that the cure may be worse than the disease.
Social media companies like Facebook have also taken a stand against such misinformation. Facebook and others have banned anti-vaxxer posts.
Read more about: Coronavirus, COVID-19
