New COVID-19 Variant Uncovered in Eastern Japan

On Friday, a new variant of the COVID-19 was confirmed. Japan affirmed the findings, declaring that the new strain had already infected 91 people. The cases are split between the Kanto eastern area of the country and other airports. 

Chief cabinet secretary Katsunobu Katu iterated the danger that this new discovery poses, saying, “It may be more contagious than conventional strains, and if it continues to spread domestically, it could lead to a rapid rise in cases.”

The new variant has an E484K mutation on the spike protein, which could harm the effectiveness of new vaccines.

Because of the strain’s “immune escape” capabilities, both prior vaccines and immunities against other variants may not have an enormous impact on reducing the virus’s impact, meaning that the variant may be able to evade previous immunities. However, no quantifiable data as to how much these immunities will be weakened has been released. 

An increasing number of variants could be catastrophic, as a universal vaccine may no longer be applicable. Such an instance has been seen in South Africa, where the WHO reports that previous vaccines may be less effective against the new strains. If the variants become primary strains worldwide, this would be a significant problem.

Most importantly, the effectiveness of the vaccine may be neglected. If manufacturers have to produce different shots on short notice, vaccine quality likely won’t be as large of a priority. Focusing on one variant is much easier than fighting three at once, so an uptick in new strains may pose a problem for companies trying to exponentially push out vaccines. 

Suppose the vaccine quality isn’t compromised, but the strain continues to expand. In that case, we may see a more extended timeframe than first expected on the rollout, with some variants not having proper vaccines for months on end. 

Japan has been relatively successful with its COVID-19 response, with 424,00 cases but only 7,438 deaths. This is in contrast to the U.S, where over 28M cases have been reported alongside 500,000 deaths. Even after controlling for infection to population ratios, Japan’s performance is admirable, with their administration managing to retain only a small impact from the virus. 

If the new variants are mitigated significantly, the spread won’t significantly impact the global climate. If not, the world may be in quarantine for a bit longer than we bargained for.