Growing Concerns About Spread of Variants - Could Undermine RI’s Shrinking Cases & Hospitalizations

Growing Concerns About Spread of Variants - Could Undermine RI’s Shrinking Cases & Hospitalizations

The race against the COVID-19 variants is in jeopardy. Beyond the UK, South African and Brazilian variants have all been detected in the United States and others are emerging.

Now, a new strain has been identified in New York City and another in California that has researchers scrambling and evaluating if these variants are more contagious, more deadly and if the existing vaccines are effective. In Rhode Island, hospitalizations and cases have declined over the past month, but experts worry these trends could quickly reverse and the state could face a third wave this spring due to spread of the new variants.

“A new form of the coronavirus is spreading rapidly in New York City, and it carries a worrisome mutation that may weaken the effectiveness of vaccines, two teams of researchers have found,” reports the New York Times.

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“The new variant, called B.1.526, first appeared in samples collected in the city in November. By the middle of this month, it accounted for about one in four viral sequences appearing in a database shared by scientists,” reported the Times.

Two new studies -- neither peer reviewed -- have similar findings “One study of the new variant, led by a group at Caltech, was posted online on Tuesday. The other, by researchers at Columbia University, is not yet public...consistent results suggest that the variant’s spread is real,” according to the Times.

Dr. Michael Fine on Wednesday said he sees data in Rhode Island that may be an indicator that one or more of the more contagious variants may be spreading in Rhode Island.

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A GoLocal review found that Rhode Island Department of Health is doing among the least amount of DNA sequence testing of any state in the country.

“Sadly, but not surprisingly, Rhode Island is far off the goal, doing genomic sequencing of only 0.18% of all samples – an appalling 28 times less than is needed.  Rhode Island has submitted only 216 SARS-CoV-2 gene sequences to the Centers for Disease Control, out of a total of 123,145 positive COVID cases. With such a miniscule level of genomic testing, Rhode Island is clueless about the extent of variants in the state. We have no idea of where or how widespread they are,” writes Nick Landekic a retired scientist and biotechnology executive in the pharmaceutical industry in a recent MINDSETTER™.  

 

California Variant

In California there is great worry about a separate variant emerging. “New research strongly suggests that the coronavirus strain now dominant in California not only spreads more readily than its predecessors, but also has the ability to evade antibodies generated by COVID-19 vaccines or prior infection. It’s also associated with more severe illness and death,” reports the LA Times.

"Those attributes have some scientists worried that the homegrown variant could reverse the state’s recent progress in reducing new infections — especially if it’s able to swap mutations with other threatening strains. Experts said it underscores the need to vaccinate people as quickly as possible and to continue wearing masks, maintaining social distance and following other public health precautions as the state begins to reopen more," according to the LA Times.

 

Pfizer Testing Vaccine Against New Variants

On Wednesday, Pfizer announced that the study "will draw upon participants from the Phase 1 study in the United States who will be offered the opportunity to receive a 30 µg booster of the current vaccine 6 to 12 months after receiving their initial two-dose regimen. The study is part of the Companies’ clinical development strategy to determine the effectiveness of a third dose against evolving variants."

“While we have not seen any evidence that the circulating variants result in a loss of protection provided by our vaccine, we are taking multiple steps to act decisively and be ready in case a strain becomes resistant to the protection afforded by the vaccine. This booster study is critical to understanding the safety of a third dose and immunity against circulating strains,” said Albert Bourla, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Pfizer. “At the same time, we are making the right investments and engaging in the appropriate conversations with regulators to help position us to potentially develop and seek authorization for an updated mRNA vaccine or booster if needed.”