Coronavirus Variants: What you need to know

As the global COVID-19 pandemic continues - viral variants have become the latest concern

But variants are complicated. Each one is made up of a collection of mutations, all of which have the potential to change the SARS-CoV-2 virus in unexpected ways.

So what do scientists mean when they talk about variants and what might this mean for the future of the pandemic?

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As the pandemic continues - variants
have become the latest concern

with notable examples detected
in South Africa,

Brazil and the UK.

But variants are complicated.

Each one is made up
of a collection of mutations,

all of which have the potential to change
the SARS-CoV-2 virus in unexpected ways.

So what do scientists mean when they talk
about variants

and what might this mean
for the future of the pandemic?

Viruses multiply by copying their genomes
over and over.

But like an old photocopier,
these copies aren’t always perfect.

Each of these imperfect copies
is a variant.

Normally the imperfections or mutations
don’t change how the virus behaves

and they can often make it less successful
than the original strain.

But very rarely mutations can
change the virus in some important ways.

It could become more infectious,
or more able to avoid the immune system.

The more a virus is allowed
to replicate unchecked,

the more chance it has to accumulate
these rare beneficial mutations.

That can occur when viruses are allowed
to spread quickly through a population,

or if they encounter a host
that’s less able to fight them,

such as people with compromised immune systems
from medical treatment or those who are HIV+.

If a particular set of mutations makes a variant
more successful, it might become more prominent than others

and that’s when it gets noticed.

Epidemiologists may even decide to label it
a ‘variant of concern’,

like the examples identified in Brazil, South Africa and the UK.

For months, scientists have been striving
to work out what’s changed in these variants,

and what those changes mean.

Because a variant spreading doesn’t necessarily
mean that it has an advantageous mutation.

For example a small number of people could,
by chance, move a variant from one region

to another, like tourists travelling back
from popular vacation spots.

This could cause that variant to start
spreading in a new location

even though there may be no significant
change to the biology of the virus.

This is called
the Founder Effect.

Understanding why a variant has emerged requires
a combination of studies.

Epidemiology can help detect and trace new variants and flag
new or worrying patterns of infection.

Meanwhile lab studies can start to pinpoint how the
mutations are changing the properties of the virus.

And studies like these are starting to identify
mutations that have given the virus an upper hand.

Some variants are faster spreading,
and there are hints that certain mutations

could start to weaken or even evade natural
and vaccine derived immunity.

For example, the D614G mutation, known to
virologists as Doug, spread widely in the

early days of the pandemic and can be seen
in almost all variants.

It affects the spike protein that coronavirus
particles use to penetrate cells. A mutation

in the genome changes one amino acid for another,

and makes the new variant more infectious than the original virus.

N501Y also known as Nelly, is another spike protein mutation
which appears to be associated with increased transmissibility.

This mutation has been detected in the B.1.1.7,
B.1.351 and P.1 strains - all variants of concern.

The worry of so-called ‘immune escape’ has also been hinted at with another spike protein mutation, E484K or Eek.

Eek has been spotted in B.1.351 and P.1, the
variants detected in South Africa and Brazil.

Lab studies in early in 2021 showed that the
variant could evade some virus-blocking antibodies,

while trials in South Africa suggested that
the variant reduced the efficacy of several vaccines.

Despite these worries, the coronavirus is
actually mutating very slowly compared to

something like influenza and it seems like
the vaccines developed so far will remain at least partly effective.

But scientists are still taking the threat
posed by variants seriously.

And there are several things that
can be done to help tackle it.

Firstly, to do anything researchers need data

- it’s very important to monitor and trace the emergence of
variants and that isn’t always simple to do.

Organisations like the COVID-19 Genomics UK
consortium, or COG-UK,

have stepped up their efforts to combine
fast sequencing with efficient data sharing.

COG-UK has already sequenced over 400,000 SARS-CoV-2 genomes.

Next, researchers need to look forward to
how these mutated viruses could affect global

vaccination efforts. Existing vaccines can be redesigned and
combinations of vaccines are also being tested

but it could be difficult to perform reliable
clinical trials amid the ongoing vaccination programmes.

Right now though, work needs to continue at
a national level.

Public health policies such as track and trace, social distancing and vaccine roll-outs

are powerful tools to interrupt transmission and keep tabs on new variants.

After all, every time the virus is prevented
from spreading,

it's also prevented from mutating,

nipping new variants in the bud
before they even have a chance to develop.