Since late December of 2019, Covid-19 has heavily impacted the world. Fortunately, the long-waited COVID-19 vaccine has been developed and has proved to be unlike any precursor vaccines. The two vaccines currently in use employ mRNA technology. While previous vaccines work by administering a harmless form of a disease/virus, enabling the body to form antibodies against the said virus, the COVID vaccine works quite differently. Messenger RNA or mRNA is the genetic instructions to build proteins. After being ‘read’ or translated by ribosomes, the body will build a specific protein. In this case, a microbial protein that will fight against the COVID-19 virus is formed.
Two very different companies have led the initiative to find a vaccine: Pfizer and Moderna.
While having the same end goal, both vaccines differ in some aspects.
- While both vaccines require two doses set a few weeks apart, the Pfizer vaccine must be 21 days apart; the Moderna vaccine’s second dose is given 28 days after.
- Due to the structure of clinical trials, the Pfizer vaccine is found to be 95% effective in adults (16 years old and older). The Moderna vaccine was 94.1% effective in a clinical trial of adults 18-years and older. Studies about the vaccine’s effect on children must be done before it is deemed safe.
- Pfizer’s vaccine administered 30 mg of the vaccine while Moderna administered 100 mg of the vaccine.
- It is unknown if the vaccines are safe for those who are pregnant. Moderna and Pfizer have only conducted animal tests on this subject which have found no negative signs.
- Both vaccines have different storage and thaw methods. The Pfizer vaccine should store at -94 degrees Fahrenheit, but when administering the vaccine it can only be left at room temperature for 30 minutes. The Moderna vaccine should store at -4 degrees Fahrenheit and must be used within 12 hours of being kept at room temperature.
- There have been some documented side effects. Most common between the two vaccines is injection-site pain, fatigue, headache, muscle pain, joint pain, and chills. Some very rare cases of Bell’s palsy following the administration of the vaccine were detected. There have also been very rare allergic reactions following injection of the Pfizer vaccine.
- Due to the limited stock of vaccines, the US has allowed states to administer the vaccine on a need basis
While Pfizer and Moderna are the only vaccines in use within the US, more are on their way. Currently, 3 other vaccines (AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, Assen’s COVID-19 vaccine, and Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine) are in Phase 3 of their clinical trials. Just yesterday December 30th, the UK allowed AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine to be administered. Despite the work to create and administer the vaccine, recent challenges regarding a new variant of COVID-19 have raised many questions regarding the vaccine.
What is the variant?
The nature of any virus is to mutate. In fact, the version of the coronavirus that was detected in Wuhan is not the same as the one in the United States today. As you may know, the spikes on the surface of the virus are what give the large family of coronaviruses their name. The spikes are the parts that bind to human cells when the disease is contracted. Changes to the spikes or any other part of the virus indicate a mutation.
Since September, when the variant was first detected in London, cases of this mutation have risen rapidly. In December, around two-thirds of cases were of the coronavirus variant. After scientists in Kent conducted an investigation researching the reason for the rapidly rising cases in November, it was discovered. Researchers believe this version of the virus originated in an immuno-compromised patient whose body became a place for the virus to freely mutate. This specific variant has 17 different mutations in its code. Eight of these are in critical areas of the virus itself- the spike protein.
The COVID-19 variant detected in the UK is not new to the mutations of this virus, it is merely one in the many that have occurred over the past year. The reason that this version of the SARS-COV-2 variation seems to be gaining attention is that it may be spreading the infection more easily from person to person. Earlier reports in London have shown that around 6 in 10 cases were caused by the new variant. According to BBC, Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister of the UK stated that “from what we see so far it is growing very quickly, it is growing faster than [a previous variant] ever grew, but it is important to keep an eye on this”. This mutation (B.1.1.7) is claimed to be up to 70% more transmissible than other variants. So far, there is no evidence that this variant is more severe to the body than others.
Unlike the others, this variant more infectious
A Guardian article on the new variant mentions a study conducted by Dr. Michael Kidd. In the study, it was found that the variant is associated with significantly high levels of the virus, shown through how 35% of the B117 patients had high levels of the virus. This was extremely high compared to only 10% of individuals with high levels of the virus without the variant. Due to this, the virus may cause prolonged infection because it is able to duplicate faster in the body, making it easier for the virus to be transmitted from person to person. Though this study still needs to be peer-reviewed, it only guarantees claims made by others.
The UK is not alone in encountering threatening mutations of this virus. The mutation N501Y is currently rapidly spreading in South Africa. This variant binds the virus more tightly to human cells, NPR article concludes. The new version has been detected in around 90% of patients since November. However, many believe that even though the mutation of the virus is lethal towards rising infection rates, human behavior plays a big role in this issue. If people don’t properly mask up, socially distance themselves from others, and stay away from big crowds, the variant will spread more rapidly than ever.
Where has the variant spread?
Public health officials in the UK and around the world are working hard to study the variant and control its spread. Prime Minister Boris Johnson stated, “when the virus changes its method of attack, we must change our method of defense”. Many countries have begun to announce travel bans to the country until further notice.
It is believed that the variant either emerged from a patient in the UK, or it was imported from a surrounding country. Nevertheless, the B117 mutation has been found in Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, etc., and spread all the way to Australia, Canada, and Japan. The variant has also been found in the US, the first patient from Colorado with no known travel history. Due to this, Colorado Governor Jared Polis believes the virus has been spreading through the community for some time.
Implications of the variant on the vaccine
Along with the variant and it’s greater infectiousness, there is the worry that a new version will not be blocked with the already existing vaccines. Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has been the US’s top infectious disease expert, expresses to the public that some studies done in Britain have found that the vaccine seems to still be effective. Michael Worobey, a biologist at the University of Arizona, and other scientists have raised concerns about the variant’s implications of the vaccine due to the sheer abnormality of its composition.
Different that the rest
Over time COVID-19 has mutated, as the virus spreads deletions and mutations in its make up have resulted in different versions of the virus spreading. This variant has an unusual amount of changes, 17 in total. In a recent CNN article by Elizabeth Cohen, Dr. Ugur Sahin, the CEO of BioNTech, explains that he does not think the virus will cause many problems but assures the public that “if required, [it is possible] to adjust the vaccine exactly to this new virus variant if this is needed”. In general, the variant, according to many experts should not be feared greatly as the chances of it not being blocked by the vaccines is low. Vaccines work to train the immune system to attack the virus, so even though part of the variant’s spike proteins has mutated, the vaccines should still work.
Amid the confusion of the variant and vaccines, the process in which vaccines are being administered has been chastised by President-elect Joe Biden and Dr. Anthony Fauci. Biden feels that the Trump administration’s efforts to distribute the vaccine are too slow and “not progressing as it should”. Despite having shipped 11 million doses of the vaccines only 2.9 million people have received vaccinations since December 14th (CDC).