A new coronavirus mutation, originally discovered in the UK, could trigger a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. About this Lente.ru was told by Professor Santiago Mas-Coma, expert World Health Organization (WHO) and President of the International Federation of Tropical Medicine.
Mas-Coma stressed that it is now too late to try to stop the spread of a new variety of SARS-CoV-2, which have already been infected in a number of countries in Europe, Asia and North America. “This new strain is likely to cause the third wave of the pandemic in Europe,” the scientist said.
He recalled that the mutant strain discovered in Italy in February triggered the first wave of a pandemic outside of China. At the same time, some studies indicate that the second wave of the pandemic in Europe began due to a strain that spread among migrant fruit pickers in northern Spain, the expert noted. “This second wave, which we are still experiencing, began even before the end of the first. Thus, the third wave can also overlap with the second,” Mas-Koma emphasized.
The scientist noted that one or two point mutations occur in the genome of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus per month, which is less than that of the influenza virus. However, according to the expert, at the moment there is no one hundred percent certainty about how the new mutation will affect the effectiveness of vaccines, and full-fledged research on this issue may take several weeks.
According to Mas-Coma, humanity continues to succumb to the virus, and we have yet to see if vaccines can slow its spread. “If they even help to reduce the number of severe cases and deaths, then this will already be an important step forward,” the expert said. .
A dangerous mutation of the coronavirus was first discovered in the UK in September, but it began to spread actively in December. The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the new strain could be 70 percent more contagious. The mutation affected the area of the spike protein on the surface of the coronavirus, which is responsible for attachment to cells located in the mucous membrane of the lungs and a number of other organs.