09:00 ص
Saturday 04 June 2022
Agencies:
New research suggests that looming new coronavirus mutations may keep infection levels high.
The next wave of coronavirus is likely to be caused by two new omicron sub-mutants, BA.4 and BA.5, first discovered in South Africa and found in the United States around late March, according to the gene-sequence-sharing website GISAID.
Recent research indicates that the two new sub-mutants evade immunity from previous vaccines and infections.
According to the latest updates from the US Centers for Disease Control and Control (CDC) and the genome company Helix, the BA.4 and BA.5 mutations together account for an estimated 6 to 7% of new infections in the United States, late May.
“This is a serious threat,” Dr. David Ho, professor of microbiology and immunology at Columbia University in New York City, told CNN. Just a month ago, it was 0.02%.
Prevalence of the BA.4 mutant has been identified in at least 30 countries, while samples of the BA.5 mutant have been found in 32 countries, according to the website Outbreak.info, which is operated by the Scripps Research Institute.
He and his colleagues finally tested antibodies in the blood of people who had received the full vaccination and the booster doses, as well as the antibodies of people who had recovered from COVID-19 infection, with mutated viruses BA.4 and BA.5 in vitro.
In each case, the results showed a decrease in activity against the BA.4 and BA.5 mutants.
The experts found that the BA.4 and BA.5 viruses were four times more likely to evade antibodies in people who received the full vaccination and the booster doses compared to BA.2.
The above means that the BA.4 and BA.5 mutants may cause the spread of infection, even among people who have been infected with “Covid-19” before.
Without improved vaccines or boosters, Dr. Hu expects more people to fall ill in the weeks and months that follow.
“I think we will see a lot of infections, but not necessarily more serious diseases or deaths,” Hu added.