Written By: Longjam Dineshwori | Updated : February 15, 2021 10:41 AM IST
Even though the spread of COVID-19 has declined, the emerging variants are seen as a new threat.
With aggressive variants of coronavirus reported across Canada, the country's health experts have warned of the possibility of a third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The UK B.1.1.7 variant, which is known to be highly infectious, has been detected in all 10 provinces in Canada, officials announced Saturday. As of February 13, Canada has confirmed 429 cases of the U.K. variant. Also referred to as the Kent variant, it has also been detected in around 60 countries, including India. In addition, Canada has so far reported 28 cases of the South African B.1.351 variant, and one case of P.1 Brazilian strain, according to Xinhua news agency.
Even though the spread of COVID-19 has declined, Canada's chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, has been urging the provinces to maintain strict vigilance in public health measures and individual practices, citing the presence of these variants of concern.
"Although it is normal for variants to emerge as viruses continuously evolve, some variants are considered 'variants of concern' because they spread more easily, some may cause more severe illness, or current vaccines may be less effective against them," IANS quoted Tam as saying in a statement released on Saturday.
She noted that maintaining the strictest vigilance in public health measures and individual practices will "help to prevent these variants from re-accelerating the epidemic and making it much more difficult to control."
Several experts including Sharon Peacock, head of the UK's genetic surveillance program, have raised concern that B.1.1.7 variant the coronavirus variant that was first found in the British region of Kent could undermine the protection given by the current vaccines.
Peacock, director of the COVID-19 Genomics UK consortium, recently told the BBC that this coronavirus variant was likely "to sweep the world."
Scientists have revealed that the B.1.1.7 variant is mutating again and warned that new mutations could affect the effectiveness of current vaccines used to fight the pandemic. Specially, they have detected a mutation called E484K, which may enable the virus to escape parts of the immune system called antibodies. The mutation, which occurs on the spike protein of the virus, is also found in the South African and Brazilian variants.
First identified in Bristol in southwest England, this new mutation has been identified a "Variant of Concern," by the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group. The United Kingdom has reported more than 20 cases of that variant with E484K mutation.
Speaking to BBC, Peacock also noted that while vaccines were so far effective against the variants in the UK, new mutations could potentially undermine the shots.
Scientists are particularly worried about three new coronavirus variants: The South African variant (B.1.351); the U.K. or Kent variant (B.1.1.7); and the Brazilian variant, known by scientists as P.1.
In studies, the COVID-19 vaccines developed by Pfizer/BioNTech and AstraZeneca have shown efficacy against the UK variant. However, the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine was found less effective against mild and moderate disease caused by the South African variant in another randomised, double-blind study.
Citing clinical trials conducted in South Africa, Johnson & Johnson and Novavax have also revealed that their vaccines are less effective against the South African strain.
While Moderna vaccine was found effective against the UK strain, it showed a slightly diminished response against the South African variant.
Over 150 Indians have tested positive for the B.1.1.7 variant. Luckily, so far, no reports of either the South African variant or the mutation E484K have been reported in India.
Studies have found that both Bharat Biotech's Covaxin and AstraZeneca vaccines, the two vaccines approved in India, can work against the new UK variant as well. This means India is perhaps currently safe from the threat of the variants of concern and the third wave of Covid-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, total 82,63,858 people have been vaccinated against Covid-19 in India, as reported by the Health Ministry on February 14.
With inputs from agencies
Disclaimer: The content on TheHealthSite.com is only for informational purposes. It is not at all professional medical advice. Always consult your doctor or a healthcare specialist for any questions regarding your health or a medical condition.
