Over 9-million infections worldwide; mutations may slow down vaccine development
Arirang News
2020-06-23
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전 세계 코로나19 누적 확진자 900만 명 넘겨...코로나19 변종, 백신 무력화 우려
Worldwide the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has now topped nine-million.
It's a concerning milestone,... and making matters worse,... experts say the virus could be mutating and becoming more infectious than ever.
They say this may make it even more difficult to produce a vaccine.
Lee Seung-jae reports.
Another grim milestone has been hit.
The 9 millionth global COVID-19 infection was reported as of Monday 3:20PM, GMT.
Of the 9-million plus infections reported worldwide,... Europe and the United States make up more than half.
Over the past week,... the world has seen more than a million new cases,... raising concerns that the virus is spreading faster than ever.
However, according to AFP,... with more infections than tests being done,... there may be a lot more infections than the official numbers indicate.
That may be due to a mutation in the virus,... according to a research team at China's Chongqing Medical University.
The mutation form, known as D164G,... was identified in genetic samples collected in the Xinfadi food market in Beijing,... and had been spreading in Europe as early as February and became the world's dominant strain by May.
The strain has been seen in 70-percent of sequence samples in Europe and North America.
Not only is the mutation more infectious than the initial strain,... but it may also slow vaccine development.
New studies say antibodies taken from recovered COVID-19 patients in China have failed to stop the new strain,... which means people may still be vulnerable to a mutant form of the virus despite having antibodies.
Researchers tested how the new strain reacted to the antibodies of 41 people who recovered from the virus.
The result showed that three failed to neutralize the virus,... while one antibody didn't even respond to the new strain.
Experts say despite researchers racing to find a vaccine,... the mutation will limit its effectiveness,... even when it's developed.
They say the current vaccine development cannot keep up with the rate of mutation.
They fear that more variations of COVID-19 will continue to form each year like the common cold,... and vaccine development will have to be repeated periodically.
Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.
Worldwide the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has now topped nine-million.
It's a concerning milestone,... and making matters worse,... experts say the virus could be mutating and becoming more infectious than ever.
They say this may make it even more difficult to produce a vaccine.
Lee Seung-jae reports.
Another grim milestone has been hit.
The 9 millionth global COVID-19 infection was reported as of Monday 3:20PM, GMT.
Of the 9-million plus infections reported worldwide,... Europe and the United States make up more than half.
Over the past week,... the world has seen more than a million new cases,... raising concerns that the virus is spreading faster than ever.
However, according to AFP,... with more infections than tests being done,... there may be a lot more infections than the official numbers indicate.
That may be due to a mutation in the virus,... according to a research team at China's Chongqing Medical University.
The mutation form, known as D164G,... was identified in genetic samples collected in the Xinfadi food market in Beijing,... and had been spreading in Europe as early as February and became the world's dominant strain by May.
The strain has been seen in 70-percent of sequence samples in Europe and North America.
Not only is the mutation more infectious than the initial strain,... but it may also slow vaccine development.
New studies say antibodies taken from recovered COVID-19 patients in China have failed to stop the new strain,... which means people may still be vulnerable to a mutant form of the virus despite having antibodies.
Researchers tested how the new strain reacted to the antibodies of 41 people who recovered from the virus.
The result showed that three failed to neutralize the virus,... while one antibody didn't even respond to the new strain.
Experts say despite researchers racing to find a vaccine,... the mutation will limit its effectiveness,... even when it's developed.
They say the current vaccine development cannot keep up with the rate of mutation.
They fear that more variations of COVID-19 will continue to form each year like the common cold,... and vaccine development will have to be repeated periodically.
Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.
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