The Threat of COVID-19 Mutations... 'Human vs Virus War'

UK, Emergence of Highly Infectious COVID-19 Variant
Competition Between Vaccines and Virus Mutations

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] As news of a new variant of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), known to be much more contagious than before, has emerged, health authorities around the world are on high alert. The UK government, which disclosed the spread of the variant COVID-19, has urgently established and implemented a four-tier response measure indicating lockdown, while European countries have taken emergency measures such as blocking transportation with the UK. Not only in the UK but also in South Africa, where the COVID-19 variant has already appeared, warnings are being issued that the war between humans and the COVID-19 variant has officially begun.

Electronic display board announcing the implementation of level 4 quarantine measures for the mutated novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19)
[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

On the 20th (local time), The New York Times (NYT) reported the scientific community's response regarding the rapid spread of the COVID-19 variant in the UK, South Africa, and other places. The scientific community's initial reaction was that the successive emergence of COVID-19 variants is "a cause for concern but not surprising." Researchers explained that thousands of mutations have occurred as COVID-19 has spread worldwide.

The concerning point is that as human response capabilities improve, COVID-19 can also dangerously evolve. As the number of people with immunity increases due to vaccine development, COVID-19 is likely to mutate to evade the immune system or to spread more rapidly.

Dr. Jesse Bloom of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center said, "(The UK case) is a warning that should be closely monitored," adding, "Since this variant is expected to spread, attention should be paid to what impact it will have."

Experts believe there is no immediate need to worry that this variant will be resistant to newly released vaccines and render previous responses ineffective. Dr. Bloom stated, "There is no need to fear that a single mutation will render all immune systems or antibodies ineffective," explaining, "For such a process to occur, multiple stages of mutations must accumulate, which could take years."

Additionally, there is analysis that the currently developed vaccines are strong against COVID-19 variants. Ketrick Chandran, a virologist at Albert Einstein College, said, "In fact, we have thousands of weapons against COVID-19," and added, "No matter how much the virus mutates, it is not easy for it to mutate in a way that can overcome all antibody characteristics."

However, it is also pointed out that the response to COVID-19 variants must still be conscious due to global vaccination efforts. COVID-19 can also respond with variants against vaccines.

Defti Gudasani, a clinical epidemiologist at Queen Mary University of London, said, "It has become clear that COVID-19 variants can occur within months," and predicted, "With large-scale vaccine exposure, variants will also occur more frequently."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.