England Strain

[Hards Alumni]

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/21/health/new-covid-strain-uk.html

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-55388846

https://www.axios.com/covid-19-mutation-uk-england-what-we-know-99ad5c35-51f7-4aab-9a16-ceff8d18ca88.html

I know it was briefly brought up in the main thread, but this may deserve its own thread.

UK may be locked down, but I would be absolutely shocked to find out that this strain hasn't arrived in the US.

[tower912]

Of course it will.   Get the vaccine.

[Hards Alumni]

Of course it will.   Get the vaccine.

I'd love to.

Will the vaccines work against the new variant?

Almost certainly yes, or at least for now.

All three leading vaccines develop an immune response against the existing spike, which is why the question comes up.

Vaccines train the immune system to attack several different parts of the virus, so even though part of the spike has mutated, the vaccines should still work.

"But if we let it add more mutations, then you start worrying," said Prof Gupta.

"This virus is potentially on a pathway for vaccine escape, it has taken the first couple of steps towards that."

Vaccine escape happens when the virus changes so it dodges the full effect of the vaccine and continues to infect people.

This may be the most concerning element of what is happening with the virus.

This variant is just the latest to show the virus is continuing to adapt as it infects more and more of us.

A presentation by Prof David Robertson, from the University of Glasgow on Friday, concluded: "The virus will probably be able to generate vaccine escape mutants."

That would put us in a position similar to flu, where the vaccines need to be regularly updated. Fortunately the vaccines we have are very easy to tweak.

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

The good news is that our new vaccine platform can change almost as quickly as the virus should it prove to be a major move.  The more I read about the mRNA platform, the more impressive it is. 

[tower912]

Viruses almost always mutate.   COVID already has several variants.    This one being more contagious is simply natural selection, evolution happening before our eyes in real time.   

As we ponder this one and watch the frantic race for a vaccine amid the pandemic, know the next one might be worse. 

Never stop sciencing.

[Hards Alumni]

Viruses almost always mutate.   COVID already has several variants.    This one being more contagious is simply natural selection, evolution happening before our eyes in real time.   

As we ponder this one and watch the frantic race for a vaccine amid the pandemic, know the next one might be worse. 

Never stop sciencing.

Outside of being more lethal, this is the worst possible mutation.

[tower912]

Agreed.   But will this be enough to change those still in denial?

[Hards Alumni]

Agreed.   But will this be enough to change those still in denial?

We can always hope, but I doubt it.

[Jockey]

Viruses almost always mutate.   COVID already has several variants.    This one being more contagious is simply natural selection, evolution happening before our eyes in real time.   

As we ponder this one and watch the frantic race for a vaccine amid the pandemic, know the next one might be worse. 

Never stop sciencing.

You believe in evolution?

[tower912]

Duh.   Even Pat Robertson can evolve a little.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

I read something yesterday that it will take a number of years not months for the coronavirus to mutate before the vaccine developed is no longer effective.

[4everwarriors]

Mutations are more virulent, but less contagious. Covid-19 vaccine should give more than adequate protection, hey?

[forgetful]

Mutations are more virulent, but less contagious. Covid-19 vaccine should give more than adequate protection, hey?

The bolded is not true. Mutations are random. They could be more virulent, or less virulent. More contagious, or less contagious.

Usually mutations that are more contagious are selected for, as they lead to increased spread of that strain that eventually dominates over the others.

[rocky_warrior]

UK may be locked down, but I would be absolutely shocked to find out that this strain hasn't arrived in the US.

Sure seems likely it's the same (or similar) one ripping through California right now.

[Hards Alumni]

Sure seems likely it's the same (or similar) one ripping through California right now.

I was going to speculate the same

[Billy Hoyle]

"England Strain" sounds like some boiled dish served at a grungy pub in Sunderland.

[lostpassword]

As we ponder this one and watch the frantic race for a vaccine amid the pandemic, know the next one might be worse. 

Never stop sciencing.

I couldn't help but think of the below when I read this.  Transciprtion from 19:18 into this podcast:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/druid-hills/id1119389968?i=1000501944194
The lone success story in the pandemic thus far has been medical science.  We have vaccines available just over a year after the pandemic started.  That's bananas.  But we shouldn't draw the lesson from this that science is fast.  Science only looks fast.  It's actually really slow.  The quote/unquote sudden development usually has 20 years of work behind it.  And you can't order up progress.  Because sometimes the magic happens only at the end of a wandering serendipitous journey that may have looked like folly before it became a success.  And what all this means is that progress doesn't come from ideas.  It comes from places... where smart people have the time and freedom to wander around and make mistakes and pursue interesting ideas that one day may end up saving your life.

[Hards Alumni]

I couldn't help but think of the below when I read this.  Transciprtion from 19:18 into this podcast:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/druid-hills/id1119389968?i=1000501944194
The lone success story in the pandemic thus far has been medical science.  We have vaccines available just over a year after the pandemic started.  That's bananas.  But we shouldn't draw the lesson from this that science is fast.  Science only looks fast.  It's actually really slow.  The quote/unquote sudden development usually has 20 years of work behind it.  And you can't order up progress.  Because sometimes the magic happens only at the end of a wandering serendipitous journey that may have looked like folly before it became a success.  And what all this means is that progress doesn't come from ideas.  It comes from places... where smart people have the time and freedom to wander around and make mistakes and pursue interesting ideas that one day may end up saving your life.

It also helps that the work was properly funded this time around.  Imagine what we could accomplish as a species if we'd stop blowing each other up with increasingly expensive weapons.

[tower912]

Imagine what we could accomplish as a species if we'd stop blowing each other up with increasingly expensive weapons.

Or made consistent funding of R & D a higher priority than stock options, dividends, mansions, and yachts.

[jesmu84]

It also helps that the work was properly funded this time around.  Imagine what we could accomplish as a species if we'd stop blowing each other up with increasingly expensive weapons.

It's amazing what the US can accomplish in a short amount of time with proper funding and will - this vaccine, the apollo program, etc.

Imagine everything we could do that would greatly benefit our society instead of the crap burger we deal with thanks to Washington politics.

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

It's amazing what the US can accomplish in a short amount of time with proper funding and will - this vaccine, the apollo program, etc.

Imagine everything we could do that would greatly benefit our society instead of the crap burger we deal with thanks to Washington politics.

This wasnt really a US effort.  It was more of a global effort led by industry. 

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

Here is an initial summary of a recently published article on the mutation.

https://twitter.com/billhanage/status/1341857733633581063?s=21

[Skatastrophy]

Second new strain, this one from SA (also detected in the UK).

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/12/23/uk-to-widen-covid-lockdowns-as-new-strain-from-south-africa-found

"This new variant [from South Arica] is highly concerning, because it is yet more transmissible, and it appears to have mutated further than the new variant has been discovered in the UK"

[real chili 83]

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/21/health/new-covid-strain-uk.html

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-55388846

https://www.axios.com/covid-19-mutation-uk-england-what-we-know-99ad5c35-51f7-4aab-9a16-ceff8d18ca88.html

I know it was briefly brought up in the main thread, but this may deserve its own thread.

UK may be locked down, but I would be absolutely shocked to find out that this strain hasn't arrived in the US.

Can we really call this the England strain?   

[Hards Alumni]

Can we really call this the England strain?

I fully realize that this is bait, but I'll continue because it will be fun.

That is where it was version of Covid19 was detected, so yes, it is an English variant of the virus.