Anupama Nair
Variants of viruses occur when there is a change or mutation to the virus’s genes. It is the nature of RNA viruses such as the coronavirus to evolve and change gradually. “Geographic separation tends to result in genetically distinct variants. Viruses constantly change through its mutation. When a virus has one or more new mutations it’s called a variant of the original virus. Currently, several variants of the virus (SARS-CoV-2) that causes coronavirus or COVID-19 are creating concern across the world. Some of the variants are:
Delta (B.1.617.2):This variant is now the most common COVID-19 variant in the world. This variant is nearly twice as contagious as the other variants and might cause severe illness. The greatest risk of transmission is among non-vaccinated people. It has been found that even vaccinated people with breakthrough infections accompanied by symptoms can spread the infection to others. This variant also might reduce the effectiveness of some monoclonal antibody treatments and the antibodies generated by a COVID-19 vaccine.
Alpha. (B.1.1.7):This COVID-19 variant appeared to spread more easily, with about a 50% increase in transmission compared to the previous variants. This variant has an increased risk of hospitalization and death.
Gamma (P.1): This variant reduced the effectiveness of some monoclonal antibody medications and the antibodies generated by a previous COVID-19 infection or a COVID-19 vaccine.
Beta (B.1.351): The variant appeared to spread more easily, with about a 50% increase in transmission compared to previous circulating variants. It also reduced the effectiveness of some monoclonal antibody medications and the antibodies generated by a previous COVID-19 infection or COVID-19 vaccine.
Early research from the United Kingdom suggested that after complete vaccination, the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine was 88% effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 virus caused by the delta variant. The research also showed that the vaccine is 93% effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 virus caused by the alpha variant.
(to be continued…)
Good information.