Why are there so many different strains of the virus now?
Why are there so many different strains of the virus now?
A virus is not a living thing. It is a small particle that needs a living cell to reproduce. When you breath in or consume a virus, the virus tries to attach and get inside your healthy cells. Once inside the cell, the virus instructs the cell to make many copies of itself. While viruses are not living things, they do contain genetic code that is shared with the host cell. This genetic code reprograms the living cell to make multiple copies, eventually causing the cell to rupture. These new copies seek out other cells and repeat the process: eventually producing thousands if not millions of copies. In essence, it turns the host cell into a virus making factory. Viruses can affect every living thing. Even smallest bacteria can become a host for a virus.
Occasionally the host cell makes a mistake and makes the copy different than the original. This is called a mutation. With so many copies being made, viral mutations happen all the time. Many times, these changes make the virus ineffective at repeating the process and they simply do nothing. Other times the changes may make the virus more infectious or even deadlier. These changes can also affect how they travel in the air, possibly making them more contagious. There is the probability that a mutation can make itself unrecognizable to your own immune system that was created by past vaccinations or infections.
It is impossible to know how many mutations have happened to the original Covid-19 virus that first appeared in Wuhan, China in late 2019. Scientists around the globe are constantly sampling viruses and checking for mutations. The original virus that we were fighting a year ago has been replaced by the more contagious Delta strain. According to the Cleveland Clinic, the Delta strain is more than twice as contagious and causes more severe illness in unvaccinated people than other variants. Currently it is the dominate strain in our area. And many hospitals are at capacity with sick patients. According to the Indiana Department of Health, unvaccinated individuals account for 98.1% of Indiana's 1.08 million total COVID-19 infections, 99.96% of COVID-19 hospitalizations and 99.98% of COVID-19 deaths since the first coronavirus case was diagnosed in the Hoosier State on March 6, 2020.
Most recently, a new troublesome variant was discovered in South Africa called Omicron. The Omicron variant seems to be 3 times more contagious than Delta. Omicron strain has many mutations from the original coronavirus. There are more than 30 mutations/changes to the spike protein. The spike protein is what current vaccines target. It is still too soon to know if it causes more severe illness. Some say it is as contagious as the Measles virus. Measles had the distinction for years as being the most contagious human virus. If true, we will all be exposed to the Omicron variant soon. United Kingdom researchers recently stated that people who are vaccinated and boosted were 85% less likely to develop severe illness from the highly mutated Omicron strain. But currently only 30% of US residents, that received the initial vaccine, have received a booster dose.
Unfortunately, these mutations will continue to happen. The only way we can stop the spread is to establish immunity. Vaccination is the safest way to establish immunity.
It is important for everyone to help control the rapid spread.
Stay home when ill, get tested if you have any symptoms,
wear quality face masks when in public.
Get vaccinated and boosted as soon as possible - even if you have had a previous case of Covid-19
I strongly recommend everyone age 5 and older get fully vaccinated and, in most situations, get a booster dose when it is recommended.
To find your preferred vaccine in your county you can do any of the following:
text your zip code to 438829
call 800-232-0233
For a vaccination at a Webb’s Family Pharmacy location, CLICK HERE to schedule your shot.
I appreciate the publication of this article by The Shopping Guide News of Fulton County. If you found it helpful, please check out previous issues or go to the blog section of www.WebbRx.com to read answers to other pandemic related questions.
Harry R Webb, Pharmacist