In the last few weeks Coronavirus Variants are the big news. Xmas has been canceled, UK and other countries are back to harsh locked-down and unlicensed vaccines are approved for emergencies use (which the UK gov has made legal in Oct 2020 and at the same time removed any liability from Vaccine producing companies.) Vaccines are now getting into peoples’ arms as they like to say here, starting with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine followed by AstraZeneca and today joined by the Moderna vaccine – All admit in one way of another their vaccines will not stop transmission or infection, but rather reduce symptoms in those infected. Please follow the links to each vaccine papers to learn more of their trial volunteers, results, and list of ingredients especially if you consider having the vaccine.
But not all vaccines are equal, or are using the same technique, Pfizer/BioNTechand and Moderna are the harbingers of a new kind of vaccines – mRNA vaccines. Here is a quick explanation from the horses mouth so to speak:
AstraZeneca and the Russian SputnikV vaccines are based on more traditional methods: The Mechanism of action of “COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca is a monovalent vaccine composed of a single recombinant, replication-deficient chimpanzee adenovirus (ChAdOx1) vector encoding the S glycoprotein of SARS-CoV-2. Following administration, the S glycoprotein of SARS-CoV-2 is expressed locally stimulating neutralising antibody and cellular immune responses.”
In other words a combination of genetic materials from chimpanzee adenovirus and SARS-CoV-2. In the case of SputnikV vaccines the adenovirus is of a human origin.
Reading the AstraZeneca INFORMATION FOR UK HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS, I found out that the Vaccines trials were conducted in 3 countries: The UK, South Africa, and Brazil…
All of a sudden a thought popped into my mind – Is it possible the vaccine trial in those countries contributed to those mutations which are supposedly more virulent or/and more transmissible? so I did a search for Brazil and hey presto here we go! I found the following headline: Brazilian coronavirus variant shares South African mutation that could make vaccines less effective.
A mutation (dark blue) seen in the coronavirus variants found in Brazil and South Africa may help them ‘escape’ antibodies triggered by vaccines or prior infection more often (shown in dark blue, rising with how frequently the mutation ‘escapes)DailyMail.
This new variant (light green) was first spotted in Brazil in October and accounted for a growing share of infections there in November DailyMail.
“The variant now spreading in Brazil, the one coming out of South Africa and the one devastating the UK (and now in at least eight US states) all share a mutation that makes them better at latching onto receptors on the surfaces of human cells, writes the health editor of the DailyMail.
I have no proof that cause and effect are at play here, but the correlation between the location of vaccine trials and the locations of the new Coronavirus Variants seems too close for comfort.
More on the development of Coronavirus vaccines
- Coronavirus vaccine trials: what’s the progress with future vaccines?
- Repurposing Adenoviruses as Vectors for Vaccines
