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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsCoronavirus: This could prove to be problematic.
If I understand correctly, the vaccines work by freezing changes to the spike protein. What the scientists that developed the concept of preventing the spike protein from shifting in copies of the original invading virus theorized was that if copies of the invading virus had the same spike protein as the invading virus, vaccines could be made that would be effective against the invading virus and any copies that it managed to have human cells make.
What the article at the link details is that the mutant Coronavirus that was first found in South Africa can efficiently infect people that had gotten the virus and recovered, as I understand it, the antibodies that peoples bodies made dont affect the South African mutant, it infects people as if there is no immunity.
At least that is what I get from the article. To me, that outcome is not terribly surprising, the SARS-COV-2 is a distant cousin to the common cold, there is no known cure for the common cold.
https://apple.news/AN7MeX5DyR9ikZzJzfTby5g

Irish_Dem
(63,021 posts)The more people who get Covid, the more the mutations.
So we may have to get vaccinated every year.
Laelth
(32,017 posts)As you rightly note, there is no cure for the common cold, just as there is no cure for SARS-CoV-19. Our best hope lies in the virus mutation into less-lethal variants that then become dominant strains. That appears to be happening.
-Laelth
targetpractice
(4,919 posts)Laelth
(32,017 posts)-Laelth
targetpractice
(4,919 posts)Laelth
(32,017 posts)
-Laelth
Blue_true
(31,261 posts)Is it possible that when the common cold virus entered humans eons ago, it was a deadly virus that wiped out a large amount of the then humanoid population. Is it possible that some branches of humanids no longer exist because their bodies could not arrive at an accommodation with the common cold virus. My uneducated belief is that given time, our bodies will adjust to SARS-COV-2 and it wont be any more of a problem than a cold, the issue is how long would that take, a year+, ten years, a hundred years......
Laelth
(32,017 posts)I can only guess how long it might take. 10 years is my highly-speculative and relatively-uneducated best guess, but who knows?
Its not going away quickly. That seems certain.
-Laelth
Blues Heron
(6,313 posts)"the vaccines work by freezing changes to the spike protein. What the scientists that developed the concept of preventing the spike protein from shifting in copies of the original invading virus theorized was that if copies of the invading virus had the same spike protein as the invading virus"
ProfessorGAC
(71,377 posts)That's just the OPs term for what we chemists call end capping.
It's an attack on the reactive functional group that creates a permanent (so to speak) saturation of the electronic conformation of the functional atom.
Now, that atom in the molecule can't react with anything else.
The angiotensin enzyme can no longer contribute to the replication process.
The vaccine stimulates antigens that perform that end capping, rendering the most important reactive site(s) inert.
In a sense, it "freezes" the replication process.
Blues Heron
(6,313 posts)Laelth
(32,017 posts)Posts like these are what make DU great.
-Laelth
Blue_true
(31,261 posts)was that the spike protein in virus copies didnt have the same structure as the spike protein of the parent virus. He called it shape-shifting. Around 5-6 years later, while working as a professor and researcher, that scientist and a grad researcher figured out how to replace one of the chemical groups on the spike protein, that alteration caused the spike protein to stay that same when the virus caused human cells to make copies. With the spike protein no longer changing from parent virus to copies, the search was then on for a method of making vaccines that would take advantage of that advancement.
Blues Heron
(6,313 posts)Let's hope they're on top of it!
5X
(3,988 posts)like we have here in the US, the more chance of mutations that could get worse at any time.
Blue_true
(31,261 posts)I am more concerned about SARS-COV-2 cross-breeding with SARS or MERS, or a Coronavirus that has a long incubation rate and is very deadly once it is active, but has not yet infected (jumped to) any human beings. My last sentence, I believe, is why there is so much demand that China work world scientists to understand how SARS-COV-2 got into human beings. Trump made that demand a racist catcall, but rational people know that unless we understand how SARS-COV-2 made its way into human being, there is likely an even more deadly virus that may eventually make the same jump.
5X
(3,988 posts)They are created from RNA and infect the RNA of cells.
kirkuchiyo
(402 posts)Dr. Novella is the real deal.
https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/the-new-sars-cov-2-variants/
Blue_true
(31,261 posts)I like how he concluded that our most dangerous pandemic is misinformation.
I believe that governments around the world must cooperate to identify as many viruses as possible, a tall task of what I read that there are unknown viruses that exceed seven figures in number. We simply can have a Trump, a person that builds walls and racially insult the citizens of countries that we will need to work with in such an effort.
fearnobush
(3,960 posts)There are many virus that produce cold like symptoms know as the common cold such as Rhinovirus, RFC and yes Coronavirus to name a few. Roughly 35% of all common cold cases are from coronavirus so its not a monolith. Its just another bug of many that cause common cold symptoms.
And yes, eventually SARS 2 will mutate itself into one of its lesser cousins. But that doesnt mean some deadlier variants can not occur along the way either.
targetpractice
(4,919 posts)... is acting to create strains that that are more contagious, rather than more lethal. Makes sense... Selective pressure would act against more lethal strains. Natural selection favors more copies. Of course, I don't mean to imply intent or objective for SARS-CoV-19... It is what it is... The strain that makes and spreads more copies proliferates at the end of the day. Human bodies are COVID's survival machines. A highly lethal strain would makes less copies in a population over time.
Laelth
(32,017 posts)-Laelth
targetpractice
(4,919 posts)... Delayed full immunization gives the virus an opportunity to mutate between the two-dose vaccinations. Much like not taking a full-course of antibiotics creates super resistant strains of bacteria.
Blue_true
(31,261 posts)possibility that you raised would be pretty scary. Fortunately vaccine technology for mRNA viruses is pretty advanced (thanks Presidents Bush and Obama), so a new vaccine should be quickly made, and with Biden at the helm, a fast rollout COULD put COVID19 behind us. The big problem in that if the current virus gets rendered ineffective, the QAnon people and anti-vaxxers are going to latch on that to spread doubt about a replacement vaccine.
58Sunliner
(5,167 posts)Your body will recognize the virus in future infections and will react by producing more antibodies. The SA variant is supposed to be better able to pass undetected from the antibodies. Apparently some people are better able to have an immune response to this variant, if they have previously had exposure to C-19, than others who also have had exposure. Maybe they have already had exposure to this variant? The difference in response can be as much as 10 fold. Maybe they will find it is related to other things, like blood type, etc..
Blue_true
(31,261 posts)Could that potentially put us back where we were five months ago, only worse off?
58Sunliner
(5,167 posts)Apparently there is still some mystery as to the functions of the mutations of the spike protein that they do not completely understand. They do understand the prior variants and feel that all that may be needed is to tweak the vaccine. The scientists who were quoted said not to freak out, but they also are severely restricting travel out of SA to prevent it's spread. They are concerned. They are assuming it will be managed as soon as they understand the new variant. It would be helpful to understand the overall health and genetic predisposition of the majority in SA who have had this variant and of those who had a worse reaction to it. I also don't have a clear picture of their compliance with masks, etc...