The new strain and vaccines.. by Dr. Mohamed Fathi Abdel Aal

Britain's announcement of a new strain of the emerging corona virus led to a state of panic around the world, as several countries around the world closed their airspace, and the announcement came in the wake of a state of hope that accompanied  the discovery of vaccines. But this announcement struck that state of hope amid fears that the virus, in its mutated form, will spread again and quickly, with an expectation of that happening up to 70%, which threatens to get out of control again, and questions arise about the feasibility of current vaccines.

According to initial studies, the mutation has occurred in the spike protein, which gives the emerging virus its famous crown shape in addition to being the key to the virus entering the cells of the body, as well as being the main target for the current main vaccines and for antibody treatment, and the N501Y mutation occurred in the most important part of the spike protein, which is related to contact and association With the cells of the body, a receptor binding domain, which facilitates the penetration of the virus into the cells of the body and makes it more severe and capable of infection. In addition to other studies indicating another mutation is the deletion of a small part of the spike protein, which is H69 / V70, and it was previously discovered in mink animals infected with Corona, which makes the antibodies in the bodies of the recovered less effective in blocking the new mutated form of the virus.

The idea of Pfizer- Biontech and Moderna vaccines is based on the use of an artificial copy of the genetic material of the emerging corona virus, which is the messenger RNA, which stimulates the body's immune system to produce antibodies capable of responding to the real virus when it attacks the body, as it is similar to the message directed to the immune system so that the body is in a state of readiness Despite the safety of the vaccine in theory, it is still too early to judge in practice the novelty of this technology. Children and pregnant and lactating women were excluded from the vaccine due to insufficient studies on the safety of use in these cases.

The Pfizer- Biontech vaccine has obtained an Emergency Use Permit from the US Food and Drug Administration and requires two injections 21 days apart.

According to the two manufacturers, the effectiveness rate of the Pfizer- Biontech vaccine is 95% after seven days from the second dose. This means that more than 95% of people who will receive the vaccine will be protected from severe disease caused by the emerging corona virus, but the vaccine needs to be kept at minus 70 degrees Celsius, which made it not the best choice for some developing countries.

On the other hand, the Chinese vaccine, Sinopharma, is an ideal choice for some developing countries, as it is kept in regular refrigerators in a severe blur with regard to its effectiveness and safety, in the absence of adequate studies about it, and it is based on the traditional idea in the vaccine industry of relying on the injection of dead, inactive viral particles.

With the British announcement of the new strain, Germany hastened to reassure the world and announce that the current vaccines have sufficient efficacy to confront the new strain. This optimism is due to the fact that vaccines Pfizer Biontech and Moderna train the immune system to attack the spike protein of the virus from several parts to overcome the issue of possible mutations in it. In my opinion, it is a matter that needs to be paused and more time to prove it effectively and realistically.

The virus is new and we learn new information  from it every day, according to PAHO.

Regarding the baffling question nowadays about the continuation of the smear positivity in some people despite their recovery from the new Corona and being free of symptoms, a team of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University succeeded in providing an interesting explanation for this that may turn the balance around the diagnosis of Covid 19, where the study went and was published In the journal Science indicated that the RNA genome of Covid 19 can merge with the DNA of human chromosomes in vitro using the reverse transcription enzyme gene, which converts RNA into DNA and thus the virus remains hidden in an unexpected place inside the chromosomes of human cells, but not permanently. This experiment yields results on The well-known disagreement among scientists is that viruses introduce their RNA into infected cells, but it remains in isolation from the DNA of the cell.

In fact, if this study is confirmed, it may turn the issue of long-term safety and security of Pfizer - Biontech and Moderna vaccines upside down.

Dr. Mohamed Fathi Abdel Aal

Former Head of Quality Department at the General Authority for Health Insurance, Eastern Branch, Egypt, previously.

Patient Safety and Risk Management Officer at Al Falah International Hospital, Riyadh, previously.

Egyptian writer and researcher