WEBVTT - How Do Coronavirus Variants Work?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio,

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<v Speaker 1>Hey brain Stuff Lauren bogebom here. There have been multiple

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<v Speaker 1>coronavirus variants circulating around the globe since COVID nineteen first

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<v Speaker 1>emerged as a threat some eighteen months ago. The latest

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<v Speaker 1>one to create concern is the Delta variant, first detected

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<v Speaker 1>in December of Considered around sixty more transmissible than the

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<v Speaker 1>already highly infectious Alpha variant, Delta has spread to at

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<v Speaker 1>least eighty countries, including the United States, and is now

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<v Speaker 1>the UK's most dominant strain, responsible for n of new cases.

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<v Speaker 1>Designated by the World Health Organization or WHO as a

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<v Speaker 1>Global Variant of Concern, Delta is responsible for the second

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<v Speaker 1>deadly wave of infections that have decimated India, a country

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<v Speaker 1>that on June nine reached a world record daily high

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<v Speaker 1>of more than six thousand deaths in one day. So

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<v Speaker 1>let's talk about how these variants work. The novel coronavirus disease,

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<v Speaker 1>or COVID nineteen, is caused by a single species of

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<v Speaker 1>virus known as SARS cove two. When the original virus,

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<v Speaker 1>also called normal or wild type, replicates or copies itself,

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<v Speaker 1>the sequence of its molecules called nucleotides, sometimes changes from

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<v Speaker 1>the original virus. These changes are called mutations. Most of

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<v Speaker 1>the time these variations make the virus weaker, but sometimes

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<v Speaker 1>they can make the virus stronger, more contagious, or more

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<v Speaker 1>resistant to the actions of our immune systems. These variations

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<v Speaker 1>of the wild type virus or variance catch the eye

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<v Speaker 1>of health officials in the global SARS cove To Laboratory

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<v Speaker 1>network at the WHOSE Virus Evolution Working Group. The group

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<v Speaker 1>is tasked with quickly detecting variants and assessing their possible impact.

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<v Speaker 1>A Delta is the fourth global variant of concern that

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<v Speaker 1>WHO has ideaified since the pandemic began. The three others, alpha,

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<v Speaker 1>beta and gamma were first identified in the United Kingdom,

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<v Speaker 1>South Africa, and Brazil, respectively. Delta was first identified in India.

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<v Speaker 1>The WHO began naming these coronavirus variants after letters of

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<v Speaker 1>the Greek alphabet to simplify the scientific names, which I

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<v Speaker 1>have not included here because their long chains of letters

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<v Speaker 1>and numbers, and also to avoid stigmatizing the countries from

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<v Speaker 1>where the new strains originate. The delta variant has become

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<v Speaker 1>a variant of concern due to some mutations in its

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<v Speaker 1>spike protein, which formed the spiky looking protrusions on the

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<v Speaker 1>surface of the virus, which inspired the name coronavirus to

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<v Speaker 1>start with, and which in our bodies penetrate our cells

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<v Speaker 1>and cause infection. At least four different mutations in the

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<v Speaker 1>delta variant have been associated with faster spread and or

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<v Speaker 1>higher infectivity based on previous variants with similar mutations, and

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<v Speaker 1>it also seems to give people different symptoms. Oh. With

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<v Speaker 1>the original wild coronavirus, you can expect to have symptoms

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<v Speaker 1>including fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue,

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<v Speaker 1>muscle or body aches, a loss of taste or smell,

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<v Speaker 1>nausea or vomiting or diarrhea. However, the Delta variant appears

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<v Speaker 1>to be slightly different. Data gathered from the UK's ZOE

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<v Speaker 1>covid Symptoms study app showed the people in the UK

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<v Speaker 1>described headaches, sore throats, running noses, and fever to be

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<v Speaker 1>the most prevalent symptoms. Blood clots are also a concerning

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<v Speaker 1>complication of COVID nineteen, but a cardiologist in Mumbai, India

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<v Speaker 1>told Bloomberg that he's seen a surprising number and type

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<v Speaker 1>of blood clots in recent COVID nineteen patients across age

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<v Speaker 1>groups with no past history of abnormal clotting, and that

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<v Speaker 1>he and his colleagues suspect it's a result of the

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<v Speaker 1>delta variant. However, it is important to note that these

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<v Speaker 1>observations are anecdotal and not based on scientific research. At

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<v Speaker 1>this time, the m RNA vaccines are proving their worth

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<v Speaker 1>in countries where shots are more readily available. India, although

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<v Speaker 1>home to the world's largest vaccine manufacturer, is struggling with

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<v Speaker 1>a major internal shortage of shots. A little more than

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<v Speaker 1>ten percent of the country's population has received just one vaccine.

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<v Speaker 1>In the United States, as of late June, just over half,

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<v Speaker 1>or fifty three point oh three percent of the U

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<v Speaker 1>S population was fully vaccinated, and both new cases of

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<v Speaker 1>COVID nineteen and related deaths have been trending downward. But

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<v Speaker 1>in a White House COVID nineteen Response Team press briefing

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<v Speaker 1>on June twenty second, doctor Anthony Faucci, chief Medical Adviser

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<v Speaker 1>to the President, said cases of the delta variant have

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<v Speaker 1>doubled in about two weeks. In early May, the delta

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<v Speaker 1>variant accounted for just one point two percent of cases,

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<v Speaker 1>he said, and now it accounts for twenty point six percent.

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<v Speaker 1>He said that the US seems to be following the

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<v Speaker 1>same pattern as the uk A, where the delta variant

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<v Speaker 1>became dominant very quickly and now makes up of cases there.

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<v Speaker 1>The dominant strain in the US is currently the alpha variant,

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<v Speaker 1>but Fauci warned that delta could soon become the dominant

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<v Speaker 1>strain in the US as well, and so that it's

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<v Speaker 1>quote currently the greatest threat in the US to our

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<v Speaker 1>attempt to eliminate COVID nineteen one age group where cases

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<v Speaker 1>are climbing the most is among twelve to twenty year olds.

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<v Speaker 1>One reason maybe because this age group has been among

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<v Speaker 1>the last to get vaccinated. For the article, this episode

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<v Speaker 1>is based on how Stuff Work spoke with Dr Paul Getford,

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<v Speaker 1>a professor of medicine at the University of Alabama in

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<v Speaker 1>Birmingham and an expert in vaccine design. He said, Initially,

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<v Speaker 1>we try to vaccinate our older population, and rightfully so,

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<v Speaker 1>and we're seeing the benefits of that in decreased hospitalizations.

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<v Speaker 1>But now we're seeing infections that are mainly in younger people,

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<v Speaker 1>and we're focusing on the fact that it's not a

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<v Speaker 1>completely benign infection. In younger people, they're not as at risk,

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<v Speaker 1>but they have problems too with this, and some of

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<v Speaker 1>them get really, really sick. It's too early to say

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<v Speaker 1>for sure whether approved COVID nineteen vaccines protect against the

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<v Speaker 1>delta variant, but early data is promising. According to a

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<v Speaker 1>preprint study conducted in the UK, one dose of the

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<v Speaker 1>two dose Fiser vaccine provided about thirty three percent protection

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<v Speaker 1>against the delta variant. Two doses were eight eight percent effective.

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<v Speaker 1>No data has been published to date on the efficacy

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<v Speaker 1>of the other two vaccines approved by the Food and

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<v Speaker 1>Drug Administration or f d A for emergency use in

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<v Speaker 1>the US, being the two shot Maderna vaccine or the

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<v Speaker 1>one shot Johnson and Johnson vaccine against the delta variant,

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<v Speaker 1>but Fauci said in that June twenty second press briefing

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<v Speaker 1>that he believes in the vaccines efficacy quote the effectiveness

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<v Speaker 1>of the vaccines in this case, two weeks after the

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<v Speaker 1>second dose of Fiser was percent effective against the delta

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<v Speaker 1>and nine effective against the alpha. When you're dealing with

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<v Speaker 1>symptomatic disease, we have the tools, so let's use them.

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<v Speaker 1>And crush the outbreak. However, the CDC notes that the

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<v Speaker 1>delta variant might be able to avoid the antibodies that

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<v Speaker 1>our bodies produce after a vaccination or a coronavirus infection,

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<v Speaker 1>and for those who do get infected, the monoclonal antibody

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<v Speaker 1>treatments or treatments for those who have COVID nineteen might

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<v Speaker 1>be less effective against the delta variant. And that's scary

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<v Speaker 1>because a study published on June fourteenth in the science

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<v Speaker 1>journal The Lancet found that those infected by the delta

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<v Speaker 1>variant were about twice as likely to be hospitalized than

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<v Speaker 1>those infected by the alpha variant. Both Madernas and VISORS

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<v Speaker 1>COVID vaccines are made using mr NA technology. Previous studies

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<v Speaker 1>have shown that a full double dose of Visors or

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<v Speaker 1>Madernas vaccine provides and ent protection against the original virus, respectively.

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<v Speaker 1>Johnson Johnson's one shot vaccine, which uses a modified ADA

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<v Speaker 1>NO virus, was found seventy effective against the wild type virus.

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<v Speaker 1>Giptford said, these vaccines are remarkable. Even in older adults,

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<v Speaker 1>it works really really well, which is unusual for most

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<v Speaker 1>any vaccine that we have, So that's just remarkable. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>episode is based on the article Delta variant Maybe the

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<v Speaker 1>Greatest spread Eliminating COVID nineteen on how stuffworks dot Com,

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<v Speaker 1>written by Jennifer Walker. Journey brain Stuff is production of

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<v Speaker 1>iHeart Radio in partnership with how stuffworks dot Com and

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<v Speaker 1>is produced by Tyler Clang. The four more podcasts from

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<v Speaker 1>my heart Radio visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

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<v Speaker 1>or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.