In the middle of the third wave, not all is bad news and not all bad news is true.
Over the past few weeks, news of new strains of the coronavirus has spread around the world: first in the UK, then in South Africa and Brazil .
The reports are alarming: At the start of 2021 when many were hoping for the vaccine, some infectious disease experts point out that the next 5 to 13 weeks can become the “darkest period of the pandemic” if we are not careful.
In some ways, it has returned to a time of scientific uncertainty, but not everything is bad news and not all bad news that runs through the networks is true. Pay attention to the following false myths about new variants of the coronavirus.
Myth 1: Coronavirus variants have taken public health experts by surprise
The recent explosion of new variants of the coronavirus in the media may make you think that they have come out of nowhere and by surprise, but this situation is not new and has already been anticipated since March. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “viruses are constantly changing through mutations and it is foreseeable that new variants of the virus will continue to emerge over time.”
“That there are variations is not unexpected,” says Priya Soni, an infectious disease specialist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. In addition, the coronavirus is mutating at a slower rate than other viruses, such as the influenza virus.
That said, the fact that some of these variants are already so widespread suggests that they were already among us before the specialists spotted them.
“Although the British variant was detected in November, right now it appears to be the predominant strain in the UK, responsible for 60% of cases,” says Soni. “That shows us that she was already with us long before we discovered her.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also note that some variants , such as the South African strain, had already appeared months before they began to receive international media attention.
Myth 2: New variants of the coronavirus are more lethal
Right now, the new variants cannot be said to be more or less aggressive or lethal.
Some scientists have suggested that they could be more lethal, while others say that their danger comes from their greater contagion capacity. In this way, it would be possible for this strain to cause more deaths, not because of the lethality of the strain itself, but because it infects more people. The increase in infections, in turn, would further saturate hospitals.
Experts are aware that more strains will appear as the pandemic unfolds, but they do not necessarily have to be more dangerous.
“In general, viruses evolve in such a way that they become more contagious and less virulent, ” explains Eric Vail, director of molecular pathologies at Cedars-Sinai. Viruses are not really interested in killing their hosts, since they want to keep transmitting.
For this reason “it would be unlikely that it would evolve into more lethal forms,” he reassures.
Myth 3: Current vaccines do not work against variants of the coronavirus
At this point, it is known that the vaccines that are being distributed in Europe also protect against the new strains to a greater or lesser extent.
Moderna and Pfizer have explained that their vaccines are somewhat less effective against the South African variant, but from there to say that they do not protect there is a world. However, scientists are already preparing updates to their respective vaccines to more specifically combat the new variants.
New data from Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine, which could be approved in the next few weeks, also suggests that it is somewhat less effective against the South African strain , but again, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t protect. In addition, this vaccine has the advantage that it takes full effect with a single dose and does not require such a low storage temperature.
In summary: experts are relatively calm because creating a new vaccine is not the same as adapting it to new variants, especially in the case of the new generation of messenger RNA vaccines, which are more programmable.
“Thanks to this new messenger RNA vaccine technology, updates can be applied very quickly, as soon as we can sequence the specific mutations,” says Soni.
Anyway, if it’s your turn to get vaccinated, do it, Vail insists: “Don’t wait. Don’t say: ‘I’d better wait for the updated vaccine.’
Myth 4: It is inevitable that these variants (or future ones) will expand
Yes, it is unquestionable that these variants are spreading very rapidly around the world, but there are ways to stop them. All the strategies that initially helped slow the curve of the first wave are still applicable today.
“Of course, it is possible to stop the spread of the virus,” says Vail, recalling the well-known measures of washing hands, keeping distance and wearing a mask.
But again, the most powerful tool we have is the vaccine, so be sure to get vaccinated when it hits you.
“We are immersed in a race with the variants of the coronavirus and our vehicle is vaccines,” Soni compares. “If we can accelerate the mass vaccination process, we will win the race and limit the potential implications of these new strains.”
