If you’ve accidentally used the terms variant and mutation interchangeably this year, you’re not alone. But fear not! Our scientists are here to explain exactly why they are different when it comes to the spread of disease. We’re also unpacking different ways of measuring COVID-19 death rates, and we’re tackling the latest news on antibody responses in cancer patients. Don’t forget to share this issue with your friends and family.
Before we dive in, a reminder that Meedan’s Health Desk team is going to be at RightsCon 2021 this week. If you’re attending be sure to check out our sessions.
Now, here's some of what our scientists are covering:
Do vaccines and COVID-19 have similar death rates?
The clinical trials of major COVID-19 vaccines show that people who are vaccinated against COVID-19 have highly reduced risks of falling severely ill from COVID-19. Chances of hospitalization and death due to COVID-19 drop significantly in vaccinated people, data shows. As an example of real-life effectiveness, a study conducted in Israel showed that as vaccine coverage increased in the country, there was a decline in the cases of COVID-19 infection.
"Using one mortality rate to describe the impact of the pandemic around the world would not make for an accurate description of the situation. The number of confirmed COVID-19 deaths per million varies a lot from location to location, and depends on many factors. It also keeps changing over time. To give a comparative picture of the impact of the disease, the estimated case fatality rate (CFR) for SARS-CoV is 10%. Seasonal flu's case fatality rate in the U.S is about 0.1 to 0.2%, according to available data."
What are COVID-19 mutations and variants and how do they work?
Variants are different than mutations. A variant is a copy of the original virus that has one or more unique mutations. Thinking about this like a blueprint for a house, one variant may have a longer window on one floor than the first house. Another variant might have a slightly different chimney size than the original blueprints. Only small parts of the house changed but the foundation, number of rooms, doorways, and structure stayed the same. These houses are being built around the world and as each one copies itself, smaller changes like these will keep occurring. When a variant hurts a virus' chance of replicating or spreading to others, it tends to disappear. Think of this like a change in the house's design that no one wants to buy, so the architect won't build it again.
"We know that the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus (which causes COVID-19) mutates approximately every 11-15 days. This is roughly half the speed at which influenza mutates, and one-fourth the speed of HIV. So far, SARS-CoV-2 appears to have roughly 13,000 mutations and almost 4,000 variants."
Here's a look at what's on the horizon
World Health Organization (WHO) debuts new variant title system
On May 31, the WHO unveiled its new labeling system for variants of concern and variants of interest. This approach will replace older titles like B.1.1.7 with the Greek alphabet. Variants of concern will be titled in alphabetical order starting with the ones that were designated first. The B.1.1.7 variant was the first to be designated a ‘variant of concern,’ so it will now be named Alpha. The second one, B.1.351, will be called Beta, and so on.
This approach is meant to separate the variant from the country in which it was first detected, or in which it is widely circulating. While scientists will still use the traditional titles with a letter followed by numbers, the WHO urges non-scientists to use these “non-stigmatizing labels” for new variants. Due to increases in violence based on associations with COVID-19’s origins and its variants, we are hopeful this new naming system will prevent discrimination and allow people to separate the virus from specific regions or groups.
Cancer patients showing strong antibody response
A recent, small study out of Israel has shown that cancer patients are having strong immune responses to COVID-19 through vaccines. The study focused on a group of 102 patients with cancer who were receiving treatment and compared their outcomes to 78 others who did not have the disease. Both groups were given two doses of the BioNTech/Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. Their blood samples were measured at least 12 days after the second shot. Of the patients with cancer, 90% had adequate antibody responses, indicating a strong measure of future immune system protection against the virus. This is great news for people with a diagnosis of cancer, as fears about the efficacy of vaccines in people with compromised immune systems have been spreading. This will hopefully lead to increased vaccination rates in these populations and a reduced risk of other infections or complications from COVID-19 for people in cancer treatment.
And finally, our word of the week Keeping you up to speed on the ever-evolving glossary of COVID-19 terms and phrases. This week's term is "neutralizing antibodies"
"Neutralizing antibodies are made from plasma cells (a type of white blood cell). Antibodies are special proteins that are part of the immune system and help the body to fight viruses, bacteria, and other threats that can make people sick. Neutralizing antibodies are special antibodies that "neutralize" viruses and other harmful bacteria or toxins by making it so that they cannot infect cells and cause disease.”