SARS-CoV-2 Variants - Coronavirus COVID-19 **NO DISCUSSION**

[margarita25]

“Is there a Nepal variant?
A mutated virus has been spotted in Nepal and elsewhere. But that doesn't mean a new variant of coronavirus has been found.

The WHO said it was "not aware of any new variant of SARS-CoV-2 being detected in Nepal", and the dominant variant there was the Delta or Indian variant.

A small number of cases of the Delta variant have been identified as having an extra mutation - called K417N.

The change is in the virus's distinctive spike protein and has been seen before, including in the so-called South African or Beta variant.”

'Nepal variant': What's the mutation stopping green list trips to Portugal?

 

[anneg]

Fauci Warns Dangerous Delta Variant Is The Greatest Threat To U.S. COVID Efforts

The dangerous Delta variant of the coronavirus is spreading so quickly in the United States that it's likely the mutant strain will become predominant in the nation within weeks, according to federal health officials and a new analysis.
....

"The Delta variant is currently the greatest threat in the U.S. to our attempt to eliminate COVID-19," Fauci said.

The variant, first identified in India, is the most contagious yet and, among those not yet vaccinated, may trigger serious illness in more people than other variants do, he said.
....

 

[anneg]

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
(Red color by me)
SARS-CoV-2 Variant Classifications and Definitions
Updated June 22, 2021

Key Points

• Genetic variants of SARS-CoV-2 have been emerging and circulating around the world throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Viral mutations and variants in the United States are routinely monitored through sequence-based surveillance, laboratory studies, and epidemiological investigations.
• A US government interagency group developed a Variant Classification scheme that defines three classes of SARS-CoV-2 variants:
  • Variant of Interest
  • Variant of Concern
  • Variant of High Consequence
• The B.1.1.7 (Alpha), B.1.351 (Beta), P.1 (Gamma), B.1.427 (Epsilon), B.1.429 (Epsilon), and B.1.617.2 (Delta) variants circulating in the United States are classified as variants of concern.
• To date, no variants of high consequence have been identified in the United States.
• Laboratory studies suggest specific monoclonal antibody treatments may be less effective for treating cases of COVID-19 caused by variants with certain substitutions or combinations of substitutions in the spike protein.
  • L452R is present in B.1.526.1, B.1.427 (Epsilon), and B.1.429 (Epsilon) lineages, as well as the B.1.617 (Kappa, Delta) lineages and sub-lineages.
  • E484K is present in B.1.525 (Eta), P.2 (Zeta), P.1 (Gamma), and B.1.351 (Beta), but only some strains of B.1.526 (Iota) and B.1.1.7 (Alpha).
  • The combination of K417N, E484K, and N501Y substitutions is present in B.1.351 (Beta).
  • The combination of K417T, E484K, and N501Y substitutions is present in P.1 (Gamma).

Viruses constantly change through mutation. A variant has one or more mutations that differentiate it from other variants in circulation. As expected, multiple variants of SARS-CoV-2 have been documented in the United States and globally throughout this pandemic. To inform local outbreak investigations and understand national trends, scientists compare genetic differences between viruses to identify variants and how they are related to each other.

(More at link.)

 

[margarita25]

 

[anneg]

Cross posting from the main thread.

American Dysfunction Is the Biggest Barrier to Fighting Covid
Opinion | American Dysfunction Is the Biggest Barrier to Fighting Covid

By Zeynep Tufekci

"Globally, the Covid-19 pandemic is a threat because of scarcity of vaccines, with the highly transmissible Delta variant threatening millions around the world who can’t get vaccinated.

In the United States, the threat is dysfunction, with unwanted vaccines ready to expire on the shelves as desperate people around the world die for lack of them.

“This is becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, recently said, as the data shows that almost everyone who died from Covid-19 recently was unvaccinated.

Certainly the severe consequences will fall mostly on the unvaccinated. But the dysfunction affects all Americans."

She discusses vaccine mandates and notes (BBM):
"A staggering 40 percent of workers at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities remain unvaccinated. This is terrible, considering that the elderly, even if vaccinated, would be expected to have more breakthrough infections.

People may have a right to take their chances with an infection but not to risk transmitting the virus to vulnerable others."

She addresses the lack of FDA full approval for vaccines:
"The lack of formal approval has allowed some anti-vaxxers to claim the vaccines are experimental. Polls show that a lack of trust in the vaccine is a rationale for some of the vaccine hesitancy. And without full approval, it might be easier to fight vaccine mandates, both legally and politically.

"Lack of full approval also helps feed a misunderstanding. Adverse reactions to some drugs can indeed occur long after we start taking them, especially after long-term use. However, vaccination is a one-time event (or two, if you count the booster). Immediate side effects, like allergic reactions, would occur fairly soon after inoculation. That’s why people are asked to spend 15 minutes in a waiting room postvaccination or 30 minutes if they’ve had a history of allergic reactions."

"Regulators require six months of safety data, not more. They have that now."

Regarding transmission of the Delta variant by vaccinated people:
"There is also a question about how likely the vaccinated are to transmit to others if they are infected with Delta. In May the C.D.C. stopped tracking breakthrough cases unless people became hospitalized. That was a mistake. Its explanation was that such cases were rare, and they may well have been when the decision was made. Delta is a reminder that the reason for surveillance is to be able to quickly notice changes in an outbreak."

Much more at link, well worth reading (I realize there's a paywall).

 

[weepingangel]

Delta variant: Here's why it's spreading so much faster - CNN

 

[weepingangel]

Is UK now a Covid variant breeding ground? - BBC News

Delta breakthrough cases: rarely deadly but equally contagious.

Vaccine Breakthrough Cases Rising With Delta: Here's What That Means

 

[weepingangel]

How these mutations made delta the most transmissible COVID variant yet

 

[margarita25]

The continuous evolution of SARS-CoV-2 in South Africa: a new lineage with rapid accumulation of mutations of concern and global detection
8/26/21

Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 variants of interest have been associated with increased transmissibility, neutralization resistance and disease severity. Ongoing SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance world-wide has improved our ability to rapidly identify such variants. Here we report the identification of a potential variant of interest assigned to the PANGO lineage C.1.2. This lineage was first identified in May 2021 and evolved from C.1, one of the lineages that dominated the first wave of SARS-CoV-2 infections in South Africa and was last detected in January 2021. C.1.2 has since been detected across the majority of the provinces in South Africa and in seven other countries spanning Africa, Europe, Asia and Oceania. The emergence of C.1.2 was associated with an increased substitution rate, as was previously observed with the emergence of the Alpha, Beta and Gamma variants of concern (VOCs). C.1.2 contains multiple substitutions (R190S, D215G, E484K, N501Y, H655Y and T859N) and deletions (Y144del, L242-A243del) within the spike protein, which have been observed in other VOCs and are associated with increased transmissibility and reduced neutralization sensitivity. Of greater concern is the accumulation of additional mutations (C136F, Y449H and N679K) which are also likely to impact neutralization sensitivity or furin cleavage and therefore replicative fitness. While the phenotypic characteristics and epidemiology of C.1.2 are being defined, it is important to highlight this lineage given its concerning constellations of mutations.

*more at link

 

[margarita25]

WHO says it is monitoring a new Covid variant called ‘mu’
9/1/2021

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Japan confirms first cases of COVID-19 mu variant
9/2/2021

 

[weepingangel]

A cancer survivor had the longest documented COVID-19 infection. Here’s what scientists learned

 

[weepingangel]

https://twitter.com/drericding/status/1451460633191460864?s=21
BAD SIGN—Something really bad happening in UK —especially notable in Wales — where hospitalization for #COVID19 resurging—but for first time since vaccine mass rollout—deaths newly spiking now as well . Possibly new Delta sub variant. Watching. bbc.com/news/uk-wales-…

 

[margarita25]

 

[margarita25]

Classification of Omicron (B.1.1.529): SARS-CoV-2 Variant of Concern

 

[margarita25]

 

[margarita25]

The omicron variant was in Europe a week before South Africa reported it

 

[margarita25]

Moderna CEO predicts existing COVID vaccines less effective against Omicron

“The head of drugmaker Moderna said that existing COVID-19 vaccines, in all likelihood, would prove to be less effective against the new Omicron variant causing worldwide concern.

“There is no world, I think, where [the effectiveness] is the same level… we had with Delta,” Stephane Bancel told the Financial Times in an interview published Tuesday.

“I think it’s going to be a material drop,” Bancel cautioned. “I just don’t know how much because we need to wait for the data.

“But all the scientists I’ve talked to… are like ‘this is not going to be good,'” he said.

On Monday, the World Health Organization warned that the new COVID-19 Omicron variant poses a “very high” risk globally.”

 

[margarita25]

“Bottom line, George, we don’t know yet what the level of severity will be.”

 

[margarita25]

Dr. Fauci slide show:

 

[margarita25]