By Dr. Stuart Weiss, Intelligent Crowd Solutions – Rapid Test Center of NY

Rapid Test Center of New York
Dr. Stuart Weiss, FACEP, FAAP, CBCP

February 25, 2021

CoViD-19 News and Information you can trust.Welcome new readers from the Rapid Test Center.

Topics: The new strain in town

New Testing Centers Open!We have opened our testing center in Chelsea in Manhattan and lower Westchester County . They are going great and we’re planning several more. Stay tuned.

The new strain in town Today, the news was full of reports about a new SARS-CoV-2 strain circulating in New York City. The new strain is a member of the Pangolin lineage B.1.526 so that is its name now. It has an E484K and/or an S477N mutation in its spike protein which may make it less susceptible to current treatments. So what do we know about B.1.526. Well not so much so far. It was first discovered back in November 2020 but it stayed at a very low level. Over the past two weeks, it has quickly grown to be detected in 12.3% of the cases studied by researchers at Columbia University as reported in a paper they put out today. The researchers at Columbia, including the HIV pioneer, Dr. David Ho, said that they have found this variant in samples from across the region. The E484K mutation, also seen in the South African (B.1.351) variant and the Brazilian (P.1) variant helps the virus evade vaccine protection and certain monoclonal antibody treatment. Some researchers out of Caltech, also looked at variants circulating in NYC through a database called GISAID. They found another mutation circulating with a S477N mutation. This change in the spike protein allows the SARS-CoV-2 virus to bind to human cells more tightly. Both the E484K and the S477N mutations are part of the B.1.526 variant although not all samples had both mutations at the same time. The somewhat concerning aspect of this is the rapid rise in prevalence over the past two weeks. Does this mean that this variant is more contagious than previous versions of the virus and could this push New York City back into higher new case numbers. Its too early to tell but we do need to watch this closely. Lastly, in case you are wondering what all these weird mutation category numbers like E484K mean let me explain. One of the most important part of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is its spike protein. That is the part of the virus that attaches and gets the virus into our cells and allows it to replicate itself and infect us. It is also the area that is targeted by vaccines. In these variants, the virus has changed the amino acids in its spike protein and these small but important changes confer certain advantages to the newer virus. It may bind more tightly to human cells or it may look different to circulating antibodies so those antibodies don’t attack so well. The way to notate those change is by a numbering code which basically lists the original amino acid, position in the protein and new amino acid. As you may remember from high school biology there are 20 amino acids that occur naturally in proteins. Each one has a code letter. So when we talk about the E484K mutation, we are saying that glutamate (E) was changed to Lysine (K) at the 484th amino acid position of the spike protein. Correspondingly, S477N means Serine to Lysine at position 477. So now you know. When you are eligible, get your self vaccinated so we can get through this together. . Dr. Stu Weiss

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COVID-19 HEADLINES FOR TODAYCoronavirus update for February 25, 2021 World Wide Updates UK lowers Covid alert level from 5 to 4 due to numbers “consistently declining” Europe’s vaccine rollout “will continue to be difficult” the next few weeks, official says Coronavirus deaths down 20 percent worldwide last week, WHO says Hungary facing “most difficult two weeks” of the pandemic so far, prime minister says Global coronavirus death toll surpasses 2.5 million Dubai plans to work with Emirates airlines to verify passengers’ Covid-19 tests AstraZeneca CEO “very confident” vaccine yield will improve in second quarter  Moderna CEO says current vaccine numbers “far from indicative” of future production European Health Commissioner says EU’s goal is to vaccinate 70% of adults by summer Bahrain approves single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine for emergency use UK Covid-19 cases fall nearly 80% in 6 weeks of lockdown Guatemala authorizes emergency use of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine Syria to administer first Covid-19 vaccines to frontline workers next week Finland to enter a 3 week lockdown on March 8  Moderna completed enrollment for Phase 2/3 trial for Covid-19 vaccine in adolescents Strict lockdown measures in England cause Covid-19 case numbers to fall nearly 80% in six weeks Austria’s chancellor calls for ‘Green Passports’ for those vaccinated against coronavirus Merkel warns of third wave if Germany does not open cautiously Despite drop in new cases, infection rate in Latin America remains high amid vaccine shortage South Africa has hound about 4,000 Covid-19 reinfections No cheering allowed for Tokyo Olympics torch relay, officials say Brazil’s death toll passes a quarter million Israel suspends ‘token’ Covid vaccine donation plans after criticism Bahrain first nation to authorize Johnson & Johnson vaccine China approves two more domestic Covid-19 vaccines African Union calls for drugmakers to drop patents to accelerate vaccine rollout WHO team finds China did little to investigate virus origins Total Cases Worldwide: 113,476,091 Total Deaths Worldwide: 2,516,797 Total Recovered: 89,016,837 US Updates Covid-19 vaccine shots administered as second doses outpace first doses in US, CDC data shows New coronavirus variant spotted in California raises alarm US needs more equitable vaccine distribution systems, Biden’s surgeon general pick says About 68 million Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered in the US  Oregon governor extends Covid-19 state of emergency for 60 days CDC report suggests 5 patients at Kentucky nursing facility were reinfected with Covid-19 US likely to see surge in Covid-19 cases by mid-March due to variant, epidemiologist says Pfizer/BioNTech test a booster against new variants Despite US Covid-19 cases dropping, infections are still staggeringly high Post-vaccination observation period may not be necessary for Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine  Researchers find worrying new coronavirus variant in New York City New evidence that Covid-19 antibodies lower risk of re-infection Biden marks 50M vaccine doses in first 5 weeks in office and is on track to exceed 100 day distribution goal Tennessee to lift nursing home restrictions imposed by COVID Wearing a mask at gym can prevent COVID outbreaks, new studies say Republicans united in opposition to Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID stimulus package California becomes first state to hit 50,000 COVID deaths after backlog processed NYC middle schools reopen Thursday for 60,000 students Pfizer testing whether third dose of vaccine would ward off COVID-19 mutations NFL prospect retires from football after getting COVID-19 Children of color disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 Scammers are texting and calling people to get them to pay for COVID-19  Sister of Washington D.C. mayor dies of COVID-19 complications  Targeted for violence amid COVID: Asian Americans say, ‘Stop killing us’ A baby with COVID-19 had 51,000 times more viral particles than other young patients and experts aren’t sure why Data suggest ‘long COVID’ symptoms last up to 9 months Total US cases: 29,035,352 Total US deaths: 520,340 Total Recovered: 19,404,079 Total Tested in US: 344,152,556 Total cases in CA: 3,536,793 Total deaths in CA: 51,137 Total cases in TX: 2,633,620 Total deaths in TX: 43,402 Total cases in FL: 1,892,301 Total deaths in FL: 30,485 Total cases in NY: 1,655,161 Total deaths in NY: 47,496 Total cases in IL: 1,181,226 Total deaths in IL: 22,607 Total Vaccines Administered in US: 66,464,947 Contact us