A study published in the journal Science states that the Epsilon or Californian Variant reduces antibodies and evades the immunity of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines between 2 and 3.5 times and probably others based on mRNA or messenger RNA.
The worst scenario in a pandemic: Vaccines do not work with the new STRAINS
The arrival of the delta variant altered countries by being responsible for a disturbing increase in cases in nations such as Great Britain, being more contagious than other variants of the coronavirus.
Now another variant worries: epsilon, initially detected in California, United States.
The epsilon variant is a new mutation discovered in research coordinated by biochemist Matthew McCallum, of the University of Washington in Seattle, and published by the journal Science.
Identified for the first time in California, the variant has not spread widely in Europe at the moment and there are only two cases, for example in Italy, according to the international bank Gisaid, which collects the genetic sequences of the virus.
In America, the variant is found mainly in the United States and was also detected in Chile, Mexico and Argentina. According to the Argentine Interinstitutional Genomics Project (PAIS), by sequencing the entire genome, the epsilon variant was detected in six cases: four from the province of Córdoba (three from Río Tercero and one from Córdoba capital) and one from Santa Fe capital. According to the available information, none have a travel history or close contact with travelers.
The study published in Science was based on the analysis of 57 samples, and observed 3 mutations that make it resistant to antibodies and that are found in the Spike protein, the medium that the virus uses to enter cells.
The data indicate that, with its three mutations, the epsilon variant resists both the antibodies generated by messenger RNA vaccines – such as Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna – and those generated by the coronavirus.
This variant remains for now within the group of variants of interest (VOI), according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the United States.
In May, the epsilon variant had spread in 34 other countries and according to the Gisaid database for the last 4 weeks it is already present in 44 nations, such as the United States, South Korea, India and Japan.
According to Science Magazine
The epsilon variant of # SARSCoV2, first detected in California, carries three spike protein mutations that confer resistance to neutralizing antibodies generated by mRNA vaccines or by # SARSCoV2 infection, according to new research in Science.
This means that, until now, the virus had a single Spike or Pico protein, with which it attached to the human cell and infected it, vaccines are designed to attack that single protein but not the other two present, which results in the virus will continue to attack the cell no matter if vaccines are present.
The epsilon variant of #SARSCoV2, first detected California, carries three spike protein mutations that confer resistance to neutralizing antibodies generated by mRNA vaccines or by #SARSCoV2 infection, according to new research in Science. https://t.co/w4il4EtrE5 pic.twitter.com/3tZGCFq8Wf
— Science Magazine (@ScienceMagazine) July 1, 2021
The good folks @GISAID now have nearly 2 million #SARSCoV2 genomes posted publicly, and a vast variants collection:
Delta – B.1.617.2
Alpha – B.1.1.7
Beta – B.1.351
Gamma – P.1
Epsilon – B.1.429+B.1.427
Zeta – P.2
Eta – B.1.525
Theta – P.3
Iota – B.1.526 pic.twitter.com/gtP2KMqq0s— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) July 2, 2021
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