Covid-19
We need to talk about the Covid-19 variants
3 things you must know
By Ava Mainieri, PhD
Senior Director of Research, She/her
Scientists are working right now to learn more about new variants. Keep reading to learn what we know (and what we want you to know too).⠀
1. Virus mutations are normal
Viruses are constantly changing through mutations & creating new variants. Viruses that have mutated, or new variants, sometimes improve the virus (eg. infectiousness or lethality) but most often do nothing. It’s very rare, in a short period of time, that mutations will increase both the infectiousness and lethality of the virus.
These variants spread more easily and quickly!
More
Transmissibility means more efficient & rapid spread
2. It’s time to double down on pandemic precautions
3. The vaccines still protect from the new variant
The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines both elicit high levels of antibodies that target diverse regions of the
Spike protiens enable the virus to infect human cells.
It would take many mutations in the spike protein and several years for the virus to change enough to evade a vaccine response.
The longer we allow the virus to spread, the more time we let it accrue mutations. The faster we achieve herd immunity, the less time we allow for new variants to arise. It is even more important to get as many people vaccinated as quickly as possible!
Bonus Science
Stay tuned for more Covid updates & information!