Photo: Getty Images On October 5, 2020, the GISAID global database shared the genetic makeup of the mutant virus B.1.617 for the first time. India is the country with the most patients infected with B.1.617, followed by the UK, then the US, so far there are a total of 22 countries infected with different degrees. It is not clear what country B.1.617 is from. There are two misunderstandings that should be avoided: one is the concept of the B.1.617 mutant strain originating from India, the other is the term “double mutation”. India is only a country with many patients infected with B.1.617 but no evidence of this mutant virus originated from India. The term “double mutation” is used to refer to two mutations, E484Q and L452R. According to the evolutionary principle of all viruses, strain B.1.617, when sequencing its genes, scientists found there were many different mutations. But there are two mutations that have caught the most attention of scientists; that is, the E484Q mutation could help the virus evade the immune system, and the L452R mutation could help the virus spread faster. In fact, the evolutionary virus had so many mutations at once, so two mutations like strain B.1.167 are not uncommon, and were even frequent in SARS-CoV-2 during pandemics. . Can not say “double mutation” B.1.617 is doubling the danger. The E484Q mutation is similar to E484K – a mutation previously found in the virus variant in the UK, South Africa and Brazil. Similarly, mutation L452R appeared in variant CAL.20C causing disease in the state of California (USA). Scientists disagree with the term “double mutation” when referring to variant B.1.617 because it is misleading that if two mutations occur, the danger level will increase. double. Variation B.1.617 not too dangerous Most experts believe that the mutant virus strain B.1.617 is not the cause of the epidemic in India out of control. Dr Jeffrey Barrett, COVID-19 genomic research director at the Wellcome Sanger Institute (UK), said that variant B.1.617 is less severe than variants in the UK, South Africa and Brazil. On the extent of the spread, Mr. Barrett argues, it is clear that this variation has increased the frequency in India creating a huge and tragic wave, but it will take months to reach the present dangerous state, which This suggests that variant B.1.617 is less contagious than the UK mutant. Professor Richard Neher, who leads the research group on viral evolution at the University of Basel (Switzerland), also said that variant B.1.617 is not more severe than other variants. Although B.1.617 is causing a serious, out-of-control crisis that threatens to collapse the health system in India, according to Dr. Christian Drosten, Head of Virology at Charité Hospital (Germany), There is no reason to worry too much about the B.1.617 variant being called a “double mutation”. Virology experts shared that the B.1.617 variant was no more dangerous than the variants that appeared in the UK, South Africa and Brazil. Vietnam once appeared outbreaks due to the B1.1.7 variant of the UK occurred in Hai Duong, Quang Ninh, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and some other localities, but we have controlled and extinguished completely. B.1.617 has become the “tsunami” that knocked down the Indian giant, but with Vietnam, will we once again win? My answer is: Vietnam has won against B.1.617 again. Deadliest day For India, yesterday was the deadliest day with 3,293 deaths, bringing the total number of deaths from COVID-19 in the country to 201,187. Ambulances line up for hours in the New Delhi capital to take the bodies of COVID-19 victims to the temporary crematoriums in the park, the parking lot where the bodies were cremated, Times of India reported. Subjective, off guard India has had 215 new infections and 1 death every minute, and world records are being set every minute. With more than 18 million patients and nearly 200,000 deaths, India became the second most affected country in the world, only temporarily behind the US. The reason for the disaster was not due to sudden B.1,617. But due to some inaccurate information that has created the illusion, such as India has achieved excellent herd immunity, excellent epidemic control, a series of “humanitarian vaccine” policies are praised by the world. The Indian government prides itself on crushing the epidemic curve. In early 2021, the government’s anti-epidemic measures were loosened, and people’s guarding is inevitable. Google tracks the flow of people across countries. Accordingly, since January this year, Indians shop and move much more, the density of people is quite high in public areas, on public transport, the frequency of activities of people are close to normal status when the epidemic has not happened. When people are subjective, personal protective measures such as wearing a mask, measuring body temperature, disinfecting, and keeping social distance are almost not complied with. That is a significant factor contributing to the rapid spread of the epidemic. A series of exciting activities in the locality, such as campaigning, rally, election, demonstrations of farmers, even holding a big wedding are also opportunities for COVID-19 to break out. Before the serious epidemic in India, on April 28, State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc paid a visit to Indian President Ram Nath Kovind. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh paid a visit to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On the same day, Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son sent his greetings to Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. But the most unfortunate is probably related to the traditional festivals, especially the Kumbh Mela festival with a huge influx of Hindu pilgrims, estimated in the hundreds of millions, stretching through April. During the festival, nearly 5 million people jumped into the Ganges and baptized, every day about a million people join the pilgrimage to pray, they squeeze their shoulders like wings and do not wear masks because they think that India has exempted. community epidemic, while in reality both the infected person and the person being vaccinated are less than 10% of the population.

B.1.617 dangerous? I think we now have two misunderstandings to avoid. One is the concept of the B.1.617 mutant strain originating from India and the other is the term “double mutation”. Because India is only a country with many patients infected with B.1.617 only, there is no evidence of virus mutation originating from this country. The term “double mutation” is used to refer to two mutations, E484Q and L452R. According to the evolutionary principle of all viruses, strain B.1.617, when sequencing genes, scientists found many different mutations. But two mutations that have caught the most attention of scientists are the E484Q mutation that can help the virus evade the immune system, and the L452R mutation, which can help the virus spread faster. In fact, the evolved virus would have so many mutations at once, so it’s not uncommon for two mutations like strain B.1.167 to even occur frequently in SARS-CoV-2 during the megalomania. Translate. Personally, I cannot say “double mutation” B.1.617 is double the danger. The E484Q mutation is similar to E484K, a mutation previously found in the virus variant in the UK, South Africa and Brazil. Likewise, the L452R mutation was present in the epidemic CAL.20C variant in California. Scientists disagree with the term “double mutation” when referring to variant B.1.617 because that term is easily misleading. They believe that if two mutations occur, the danger level will double. Immunologist and microbiologist Kristian Andersen (California Campus) and professor of microbiology Sharon Peacock (Cambridge University) are both very in-depth research on mutant virus strains, but they disagree when using use the term “double mutation”. On the other hand, they do not agree to assign the strain B.1.617 originating from India. Most experts believe that the mutant virus strain B.1.617 is not the cause of the epidemic in India out of control. Logically, strain B.1.617 appeared in India from October 5, 2020. Since that time India has been taking steps to control the disease very well, with many remarkable achievements. By November 2020, India has basically successfully controlled the epidemic, the number of cases per day has fallen to less than 10,000 people since the beginning of 2021. B.1.617 is present in 22 countries but still under control. When a virus variant appeared, scientists immediately studied four problems. The first is the ability to cause disease. The second is the ability to evade immunity and vaccines. The third is the trait of the new mutation from the previous variants and the fourth is the contagiousness of the new mutant strain. Dr Jeffrey Barrett, COVID-19 genomic research director at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, said that variant B.1.617 is less severe than variants in the UK, South Africa and Brazil. On the extent of the spread, Barrett argues, it is clear that this variation in frequency increases in India creating a huge and tragic wave, but it will take months to reach the present dangerous state. This suggests that variant B.1.617 is less contagious than the UK mutant. Professor Richard Neher, who leads the research group on the evolution of the virus at the University of Basel also said that variant B.1.617 is no more severe than the other variants. Although B.1.617 is causing crisis, out of control, there is a risk of a complete collapse of the health system in India. But according to Dr. Christian Drosten, head of virology at Charité Hospital in Berlin, there is no reason to worry too much about the B.1.617 variant called a “double mutation”. Similarly, other virologists around the world have shared the same view that variant B.1.617 is more dangerous than the variants that happened in the UK, South Africa and Brazil. Vietnam once appeared outbreaks due to the B.1.1.7 variant of the UK occurred in Hai Duong, Quang Ninh, TP. Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and a few other provinces, but we controlled and extinguished it completely. The question is that B.1.617 has become the “tsunami” that knocked down the Indian giant, but with Vietnam, will we once again win? My answer is: “Vietnam has won against B.1.617 again!”. (Illustration) Causes of outbreaks in India Almost a week, India has 215 new infections and 1 death every minute, world records are continuously set. The old record just yesterday this morning was crushed, with more than 18 million patients and nearly 200,000 deaths. India became the second most heavily affected country in the world, only temporarily behind the US. The reason for the disaster was not due to the B.1,617 mutation, but some inaccurate information that created the illusion of both the government and the people. For example, the news that India has achieved herd immunity, or its outstanding record in epidemic control, has been accompanied by a series of internationally-acclaimed “humanitarian vaccines” policies. The Indian government prides itself on crushing the epidemic curve! In early 2021, the government’s anti-epidemic measures were loosened, and people’s guarding is inevitable. Google tracks the flow of people across countries, since January of this year, Indians have been shopping and moving a lot more. The density of people is quite high in public areas or on public transport, the frequency of activities of the people is close to the normal state when there has not been an epidemic. When people are subjective, personal protective measures such as wearing a mask, measuring body temperature, disinfecting, and keeping social distance are almost not complied with. That is a significant factor contributing to the rapid spread of the epidemic. A series of exciting activities in the locality, such as campaigning, rally, election, demonstrations of farmers, even holding a big wedding are also opportunities for COVID-19 to break out. But the most unfortunate thing is probably the traditional festivals, especially the Kumbh Mela festival with a huge influx of Hindu pilgrims, estimated at hundreds of millions, lasting through April. During the festival, nearly 5 million people jumped into the Ganges to baptize. Every day about a million people join the pilgrimage to pray, they squeeze wings and do not wear masks because they believe that India is immune to the herd, when in fact both the infected and the vaccinated people have not. up to 10% of the population. But … India still has a long way to go to have herd immunity. In Southeast Asia, from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand to the Philippines, the epidemic is booming, every country is also at risk of breaking the battle. What should Vietnam do? Vietnam will also not be immune from invasive diseases. But fortunately, each day Vietnam has more than 20 traditional festivals, but only small ones. I advocate scaling down these festivals, even canceling them if it’s not safe. As for the festival related to tourism, because the epidemic is still long, it is impossible to stop forever, fight against epidemics well to maintain activities aimed at socio-economic development, in which tourism is a very important part. In my opinion, in the coming time, an epidemic outbreak in India and surrounding countries, Vietnam needs to turn tourism and tourism-related festivals into forms of social relaxation. For example, during the 4-day holiday this weekend, tourist destinations just need to change the scale; Cancellation of all public gatherings during the festival, such as cancellation of firework events, cancellation of indoor stage performance events, cancellation of outdoor large stage performance events. If we do so, tourists are mostly going for a break, essentially like a round of social break. On the whole, this weekend of 4-day holiday, in my opinion is a great time to have a break, especially with families returning home, or the few who stay in the city also resting in place, So the 4-day vacation is a very good opportunity to prevent epidemics. Ultimately, we must still have a vaccine to tackle the pandemic.

The new variants were first spotted in countries like Brazil, South Africa and the UK that spontaneously appeared in the last few months of 2020. The main concern was a change in the mutant protein structure of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, known as E484K, in all three variants in the three countries, the researchers said. The E484K mutation is thought to impair the body’s immune response to the virus. Some scientists expressed concern that the E484K mutation could “elude” the natural immunity from SARS-CoV-2 infection and decrease the protection of existing Covid-19 vaccines. Artwork: Getty Images According to scientists interviewed by Reuters, the appearance of virus variants in different regions of the world shows that the SARS-CoV-2 virus is undergoing “convergent evolution”. Although SARS-CoV-2 will continue to mutate, they suspect the virus will have only a certain number of variants, immunologists and virologists say. However, it is still important to consider whether or not to limit the number of variants that make the SARS-CoV-2 virus less dangerous. “It can be said that the SARS-CoV-2 virus has a relatively limited number of variants that avoid antibodies before releasing the strongest ‘card’,” said Shane Crotty, virologist at La Institute of Immunology. Jolla in San Diego (USA) said. This could allow drug manufacturers to control disease while they develop the booster Covid-19 vaccine to suppress the current variant. Meanwhile, governments around the world are still struggling to control the pandemic that has killed nearly 3 million people globally. The opinion that the SARS-CoV-2 virus has only a certain amount of mutation has been the subject of discussion among experts since the beginning of February. According to a study, scientists have discovered seven variations of SARS. -CoV-2 appears in the US, has the same mutation. The convergent evolutionary process of SARS-CoV-2 According to Reuters, the process by which different species evolve similar traits to improve survival is central to evolutionary biology. The wide spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, with more than 128 million infections worldwide, allows scientists to observe the viral evolution in practice. “If you want to write a book about the evolution of viruses, you can do it now,” said Dr. Francis Collins, director of the US National Institutes of Health in an interview. Scientists saw the virus evolve on a smaller scale in 2018 when the H7N9 avian flu virus in China began adapting to a human host. However, there has never been a globally controlled virus such as SARS-CoV-2. Wendy Barclay, a virologist and professor at Imperial College London (UK), said she was amazed at the “staggering amount of convergent evolution” of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. “There are dangerous mutations like E484K, N501Y and K417N that all three variants in Brazil, South Africa and UK are carrying,” Ms. Barclay said. SARS-CoV-2 is not a “particularly smart” virus, the scientists said. Each time it infects people, SARS-CoV-2 makes copies of itself, and for each copy, it can make a mistake. While some of the mistakes are insignificant, the ones that give this virus an existential advantage tend to be long-lasting. “If this is repeated, it will provide some developmental advantages for the SARS-CoV-2 virus,” said Francis Collins. Some experts believe that the virus has a limited number of mutations that can be sustained before affecting its ability to function. Besides, too many mutations will cause the virus to no longer exist in the original version. “If the SARS-CoV-2 virus had an infinite number of ‘tricks,’ we would see a multitude of mutations,” said Michel Nussenzweig, an immunologist at Rockefeller University in New York. Cautious optimism However, the scientists remain cautious and say, predicting how much SARS-CoV-2 will mutate is a challenge. If there is a limit to how this virus can evolve, that would be simpler for the vaccine developers. The Novavax company is making adjustments to the vaccine to prevent variation in South Africa. However, trials have shown that the efficacy of the vaccine against the variant in South Africa is quite low. “The virus can mutate a lot and it still binds to a human host,” Novavax CEO Stan Erck said and hopes the vaccine will be effective for most of the current strains. According to Mr. Stan Erck, Novavax will continue to test vaccines for new strains of strains. Scientists have recently identified seven variants of SARS-Cov-2 in the US, with all mutations occurring in the same key location of the virus. This provides additional evidence of viral convergence evolution. Other research groups are working on exposing the virus to antibodies to force it to mutate. In many cases, the E484K mutation has appeared in the experiment. According to Reuters, the above evidence adds to the cautious optimism that the mutants appear to have many similar characteristics. However, experts say the world must continue to monitor for changes in the SARS-CoV-2 virus and eliminate its ability to mutate by reducing infection through vaccination and restrictive measures. the spread of the disease. “SARS-CoV-2 is still going very strong. We don’t know when the battle against the pandemic will end, ”said Vaughn Cooper, an expert in evolutionary biology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine (USA).