The mutations have complicated and likely extended the timeline for crushing the pandemic (File)
The road to herd immunity from the coronavirus suddenly looks longer. The emergence of more transmissible, potentially vaccine-evading variants threatens to extend the global health disaster and make 2021 feel too much like 2020. A complicated mix of good news and bad news makes any forecast for the coming months fuzzy, but scientists have one clear and sobering message: The pandemic is a long way from over.
The mutation-laden variants are on the move, and that includes one first identified in South Africa and confirmed in a Baltimore-area adult, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, said Saturday. It was the third known case in the United States of the variant, following two cases announced Thursday in South Carolina. The person in Maryland had no travel history, which is evidence of community transmission.
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News that at least three new variants of SARS-CoV-2 have emerged in three separate continents have sent a chill throughout the scientific community. All viruses mutate but the speed and scale of the changes and the fact they occurred independently, is seen as a wake-up call.
Genetic sequencing in South Africa first raised the alarm about the version of the virus that was racing through populations in the Eastern and then Western Cape.
Scientists at the country’s KwaZulu-Natal Research and Innovation Sequencing Platform, KRISP, were struck by the sheer number of genetic mutations, many of which were on the all-important spike protein. This is where the virus binds to human cells and where neutralising antibodies, our immune system’s defences, also mount their defence. Any changes there, researchers knew, could be bad news.
Some experts recommend two face coverings as COVID-19 strains emerge
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and last updated 2021-01-29 21:04:25-05
SAN DIEGO (KGTV) â We ve been wearing masks for months now, but recently, some health officials have been saying that two might be better than one.
Dr. Allessandro Sette, with the La Jolla Institute for Immunology, says that recommendation basically comes down to increasing protection. With new, more contagious strains of the coronavirus emerging, increasing safety is top of mind. I started to, when I go out, to double mask, Sette said.
But is a double mask really necessary?
The efficacy of a mask really boils down to fit and filter. Surgical masks have good filters but don t always fit well â which could alter how effective they are on a face.
Covid-19: C.D.C. Order Requires Masks for Travel in U.S.
Last Updated
Feb. 6, 2021, 10:02 a.m. ETFeb. 6, 2021, 10:02 a.m. ET
Countries are tightening borders to evade virus variants. A hospital refrigerator malfunction in Seattle led to a frenzied overnight inoculation drive.
Here’s what you need to know:
Passengers on a bus in Brooklyn in April. A new order looks to enforce masks on public transportation.Credit.Jonah Markowitz for The New York Times
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued an order requiring travelers in the United States to wear masks as part of a new initiative aimed at stemming outbreaks of the coronavirus.