A New Coronavirus Strain

 About the UK originated virus strain: B117

    The release of promising vaccines in December 2020 has provided hope to many people that things may begin returning to normal in 2021. However, news of B117, a new and fast spreading UK-originated mutant coronavirus strain, has flooded social media networks and caused growing concern about the virus and what this mutation means for the COVID-19 pandemic. How did this mutation occur? Will the vaccine still work on the new strain? Is the new strain more infectious? How worried should everyone be? With the B117 strain comes a series of questions and confusion over what information should be believed. This post uses research taken from scientific publications and research institutions to provide detailed information and answer common questions about the mutation.

What is B117

    The B117 strain is not the first mutation in the coronavirus and will not be the last. In fact, scientists have known and expected that the coronavirus, like all other viruses, would mutate over time. Some mutations are very weak and die out quickly while others persist in a population before dissipating. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the B117 variant "has a mutation in the receptor binding domain of the spike protein where amino acid asparagine (N) has been replaced with Tyrosine (Y). The shorthand for this mutation is N501Y." B117 also carries other mutations including a double deletion on positions 69 and 70 of the spike protein.

    This particular variant was first identified in England in September 2020 and has accounted for an estimated 60% of new infections in London by December 9, 2020. As of January 1, 2020, B117 has spread to 33 other countries including the United States and a similar variant has been identified in South Africa.

    

Does the new strain spread faster?

    The new coronavirus strain has been associated with places that are seeing an increased rate of COVID-19 cases (such as the UK) and this data suggests that the new variant may spread faster than previous strains of the coronavirus. However, the mutation is only correlated with increased COVID-19 cases and there is not enough evidence to label the B117 variant as the causation. Some even believe this correlation may be down to chance. Scientists had a similar concern that a rapidly spreading variant from Spain was more transmissible but it was later discovered that the increased spread was due to travellers who had spent their holidays in Spain. According to Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at Georgetown University, it's possible that something similar could be happening with B117.  

   Scientists have also stated that there are too many unknowns about the mutation that need to be answered before conclusions can be made at the moment. Currently, research is being conducted on the B117 variant with hopes that scientists will gain a better understanding of how the mutation came to be and how this affects the new variant's function.

Edit: On January 7, 2021, a study published in Eurosurveillance  found that the B117 strain "is 75% more transmissible compared with the 501N strain", which is another variant of the coronavirus. On January 15, 2021, the CDC also released a statement saying "multiple lines of evidence indicate that B.1.1.7 is more efficiently transmitted than other SARS-CoV-2 variants." In other words, yes; new evidence suggests that the B117 strain does spread faster than other coronavirus strains.

Is B117 more lethal?

    According to the CDC there is no evidence that the new coronavirus strain is more lethal or causes more severe illness than other variants of the coronavirus.

Will the vaccine still be effective?

    The possibility that the B117 variant has the ability to resist the effects of a vaccine is probably the most concerning hazard that the mutation poses. Fortunately, there is no evidence that the vaccine will be less effective for the B117 strain. Although the new strain has mutations to the spike protein which is targeted by leading vaccines, a publication in the British Medical Journal states that "vaccines produce antibodies against many regions in the spike protein, so it's unlikely that a single change would make the vaccine less effective." Therefore, it's very likely that current vaccines will still be effective against B117. (see Drugs/Vaccines/Treatment for more information about vaccines)

How worried should everyone be?

    The formation of virus mutations over time is a natural occurrence and current evidence collected about B117 indicates that the new strain will not play a significant role in hindering the pandemic control progress. However, as with any other virus, scientists will continue to keep a close eye on B117 and other mutations that evolve from SARS-CoV-2 to ensure that testing and vaccines will still work. Essentially, there's no need to stress over the new mutation. The important thing to focus on is continuing to stay at home and stay safe, with or without the new strain. 

Sources

1. “Interim: Implications of the Emerging SARS-CoV-2 Variant VOC 202012/01.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/more/scientific-brief-emerging-variant.html. 

2. Kupferschmidt, Kai, et al. “Mutant Coronavirus in the United Kingdom Sets off Alarms, but Its Importance Remains Unclear.” Science, 20 Dec. 2020, www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/12/mutant-coronavirus-united-kingdom-sets-alarms-its-importance-remains-unclear. 

3. “A New Strain of Coronavirus: What You Should Know.” Johns Hopkins Medicine, 28 Dec. 2020, www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/a-new-strain-of-coronavirus-what-you-should-know. 

4. Wise, Jacqui. “Covid-19: New Coronavirus Variant Is Identified in UK.” The BMJ, British Medical Journal Publishing Group, 16 Dec. 2020, www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4857.