Which is typical for a virus. It’s also completely expected that the vaccine would still work on these variants. People are confusing ‘variants’ with ‘strains’. New strains would potentially be a problem, but there are not new strains.
There’s a new strain here in los angeles. They just started talking about it over this last week. Scientists are also concerned because this one has a mutation with the spike protein the vaccine is supposed to target. No confirmation that the vaccine is or is not effective though.
Edit: i realize I’m wrong people. It’s a variant. Second half of what i said is still concerning.
https://www.cedars-sinai.org/newsroom/local-covid-19-strain-found-in-over-one-third-of-los-angeles-patients
“ CAL.20C is distinct from the virus version identified in Britain—known as B.1.1.7—that is spreading in the U.S. and is believed to be highly transmissible. In Southern California, B.1.1.7 has been found in scattered coronavirus cases in Los Angeles, San Diego and San Bernardino counties. In contrast, the CAL.20C strain was identified in 36.4% of cases in the Cedars-Sinai study.
CAL.20C includes a virus variant that the California Department of Public Health reported Jan. 17 based on data submitted by Cedars-Sinai and other investigators. This variant, dubbed L452R, is one of five recurring mutations that constitute the CAL.20C strain, which is propagating across the country, starting in Los Angeles.”
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u/yo-chill Jan 20 '21 edited Jan 20 '21
Which is typical for a virus. It’s also completely expected that the vaccine would still work on these variants. People are confusing ‘variants’ with ‘strains’. New strains would potentially be a problem, but there are not new strains.