Although alarming, mutated COVID -19 strains not cause for panic

Despite Canada’s vigilance and suspension of incoming flights from the United Kingdom due to news of a new strain of COVID-19, the first known cases of this variant are being reported in Ontario. Indeed it may seem that each time when we appear to be closing in on this virus, it starts to make a comeback. However, mutations are not a novel biological phenomenon, and their presence in this pandemic should not invoke panic. Rather than fear, the best strategy forward now, as it was before, will be to focus on the things that are under our control.

Of the concerns floating into public conversation, a major one is that mutations may render current vaccines less effective.

Biologically speaking, mutations are changes to the genetic code — the DNA — of an organism. Mutations occur all the time. In fact, in a typical day, your body will encounter trillions of mutations. Similarly, for viruses, mutations happen frequently. For example, influenza is a virus that tends to evolve rapidly, and as a result, evades the human immune system in a process termed “antigenic drift.” Some mutations can significantly affect “spike” proteins of a virus, which are viral components that the immune system recognizes and uses to target the virus. Generally, this process tends to increase the transmissibility rather than lethality of a virus.

Since vaccines mimic the spike proteins of a virus, they are often engineered each year to respond to new strains of the virus. Over the course of decades, although influenza has escaped eradication, its impact on society has been mitigated through the development and regular adjustments of vaccines.

Similarly, while the H1N1 virus of the 2009 Swine Flu pandemic still persists to this day, it has become a seasonal flu which circulates at low frequencies.

Some scientists are concerned that SARS-Cov-2 is similarly exhibiting antigenic drift which may suggest the possibility that COVID-19 eventually becomes a persisting, yet less disruptive, seasonal disease similar to other flu strains.

At present however, BioNTech CEO Ugur Sahin says they have “scientific confidence” that immune response caused by the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine can protect from the new virus variant. What does this mean? Simply put, scientists believe that recipients of the presently approved vaccine would be protected from the variation of COVID-19 first seen in the UK, because single mutations generally have small impacts on immune response.

Additionally, Sahin suggests it will take two weeks of experimentation to determine if the current vaccine is truly sufficient to offer this protection. If not, given the groundwork that has been laid for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, Sahin says engineering a vaccine to mimic the new COVID -19 variant would only take a few weeks.

What we have seen throughout this pandemic is much speculation and uncertainty surrounding the virus’ behaviour; about airborne spread, survival on surfaces, immunity, and now mutations. As research has advanced, we’ve found answers to some of those questions. Yet, for our own sanity, we must focus more on personal responsibilities such as wearing a mask, washing our hands, avoiding crowds and getting vaccinated. For this pandemic has ultimately taught us that the things that are under our control are the ones that will best help us overcome this virus.

Anser Daud is a medical student at the University of Toronto who writes about health advocacy and human-rights issues. Peter Zhang is a candidate in the combined Doctor of Pharmacy/MBA program at the University of Toronto’s Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy and the Rotman School of Management.