Naniniwala ang British pharmaceutical company na AstraZeneca na maaaring epektibo laban sa kumakalat na bagong strain ng COVID-19 sa United Kingdom, ang kanilang dinevelop na bakuna laban sa coronavirus disease.
Ayon sa AstraZeneca, naglalaman ng genetic material ng spike protein ng SARS-CoV-2 virus o ang virus na nagdudulot ng COVID-19, ang isa sa kanilang vaccine candidate.
“AZD1222 (AstraZeneca’s vaccine candidate) contains the genetic material of the SARS-CoV-2 virus spike protein,” nakasaad sa statement.
Ilan daw sa inaashang epekto ng naturang bakuna ay ang pagpapalakas ng immune system ng taong matuturukan laban sa iba’t-ibang parte ng spike protein ng virus.
“(And) the changes to the genetic code seen in this new viral strain do not appear to change the structure of the spike protein.”
“Through vaccination with AZD1222, the body’s immune system is trained to recognize many different parts of the spike protein, so that it can eliminate the virus if it is later exposed.”
Ang spike protein ay parte ng virus na kumakapit sa cells ng tao, dito pinapadaan ng virus ang genetic material para kumalat sa katawang ng tao ang sakit.
Sinasabing 70% na mas nakakahawa ang bagong strain na tinatawag na B117. Pero ayon sa ilang British scientists, wala pang ebidensya na mas nakamamatay ito kumpara sa variant ng virus na matagal nang kumakalat sa buong mundo.
Ayon sa infectious diseases expert na si Dr. Edsel Salvana, walang dapat ikabahala ang publiko tungkol sa bagong variant ng SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Normal daw kasi sa life cycle ng coronaviruses ang mutation o pagbabago ng anyo. Pero makakabubuti na rin daw kung mag-iingat ang bawat isa, sa pamamagitan ng pagsunod sa health protocols.
“This variant (not strain, different nomenclature at play here and strictly speaking so far there is only one strain) seems to be replacing other variants in several areas in the UK. This is circumstantial evidence that it could be more transmissible. In other words, it looks like it, but there could be other factors at play… the new UK variant has multiple mutations, but the most important mutations are on the spike protein.”
Kind of like deja vu with this new SARS-CoV-2 UK variant that is making people panic. We don't know much yet, but it is…
Posted by Edsel Maurice Salvana on Monday, December 21, 2020
“No need to panic. Always best to be prudent and be proactive. Strictly adhere to minimum health standards and be smart about what activities you choose to participate in. We already had a double whammy last June from the downgrade of ECQ to GCQ plus the entry of D614G. Christmas holidays plus UK variant can replicate or exceed that. We all need to be vigilant and stick to the plan.”
Pinag-aaralan na rin ng mga kompanya sa Amerika na Pfizer at Moderna ang kanilang mga bakuna laban sa bagong strain ng COVID-19.
“We expect that the Moderna vaccine-induced immunity would be protective against the variants recently described in the UK; we will be performing additional tests in the coming weeks,” ayon sa Moderna.
Naniniwala naman ang Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ng Pilipinas na hindi makakaapekto sa mga ginagawang development ng COVID-19 vaccines ang natukoy na bagong strain ng sakit sa Britanya.
“Mukhang wala naman… the vaccine developers naman, they take this into consideration. So ang ginagawa nila usually, yung magiging effective sa main part ng virus na hindi nagmu-mutate para kahit matagal at ilang panahon ay magiging effective,” ani FDA director general Eric Domingo. (with reports from Reuters and CNN)
