'Only 8 Types' of COVID Variants "No Immediate Impact on Vaccines, But..."

Increased Infectivity Leads to Rapid Surge in Confirmed Cases
Concerns Over Emergence of Evasive Virus

Image source=Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] As the new variant of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) reported in the UK has also been detected in South Korea, concerns are growing that the number of confirmed cases may surge. This variant virus is found to be 70% more transmissible than the existing strain and can increase the infection reproduction number, which indicates how many additional people one confirmed case infects, by up to 0.4. Since the initial outbreak of the COVID-19 virus was confirmed in Wuhan, China on December 31 last year, it has evolved over the course of a year into a total of eight types. Experts predict that "the virus will continue to mutate in order to survive."

According to the Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data (GISAID), operated by the World Health Organization (WHO) on the 29th, the COVID-19 virus is classified into types such as S, V, O, L, G, GH, GR, and GV based on amino acid changes caused by differences in genetic nucleotide sequences.

Coronaviruses that cause COVID-19, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) all have spike proteins in the form of protrusions on their surface. Among these spikes, the key regions with high infection potential attach to receptors on intermediate hosts such as wild animals or human cells, causing infectious diseases. Mutations occur as the amino acid components constituting the spike protein change. These have been categorized into a total of eight types. The variant virus identified in the UK belongs to the GR group and is characterized by a change in the 501st amino acid of the spike protein from asparagine (N) to tyrosine (Y).

Domestic and international experts expect that even if part of the spike protein changes, it will not immediately affect vaccine efficacy, but they are concerned that more mutations could pose problems. Professor Kim Woo-joo of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Korea University Guro Hospital pointed out on a YouTube channel, "If mutations continue and expand in scope, 'escape viruses' that evade vaccine efficacy and continue to infect people may emerge." Professor David Robertson of the University of Glasgow in the UK also predicted, "The coronavirus will produce mutations that escape vaccines," adding, "In this case, it may become necessary to periodically update COVID vaccines, similar to influenza vaccines."

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