New strain B1526 spreads in New York, sounding alarm bells among scientists

The studies, conducted by Caltech and Columbia, clarified that the new variant called B.1.526 contains a mutation that could help the virus bypass the immune system.

Identified in November, the new strain already accounted for 12% of Covid-19 cases recorded in the city in February.

The researchers also pointed out that it is a variant of the one recorded in South Africa, with the particularity that it could prevent the effect of vaccines and bypass the human immune system. “We saw a steady increase in the detection rate from late December to mid-February, with an alarming increase to 12.7% over the past two weeks,” said the team of researchers at Columbia University Medical Center.

As the scientists explained, the B.1.526 variant contains a mutation called E484K which gives the virus the ability to overcome the body’s immune response. “The general pattern of mutations in this lineage suggests that it occurred in part in response to the selective pressure of antibodies. Based on the dates of collection of these isolates, it appears that the frequency of the B.1.526 line has increased rapidly in New York in recent weeks, ”the Caltech scientists concluded.