Recently, the frequent entry of mutated strains of the virus has also been occurring in the country. Following the first case of imported British patient with mutant strain of NCC B.1.1.7 in Shenzhen, China, novel mutant strains have been found in imported samples of confirmed NCC cases in Guangdong and Shandong.
Why is the new crown virus prone to mutation?
How to cope with the rapid nucleic acid test for neo-crown? With the above news, confusion has arisen among the public.
It is important to understand that a virus is a very simple organism, generally consisting of only two substances: a protein shell (capsid) and a nucleic acid molecule (DNA or RNA, the latter for the new coronavirus) encased inside. It does not have an independent life system and can only survive by parasitizing inside living cells.
When a new coronavirus enters a cell and replicates rapidly, it also means that the viral RNA replicates rapidly. Since RNA is a single-stranded structure, errors in the replication process are inevitable and thus more prone to mutation. And the constant mutation can help the virus to evade the recognition of antibodies.
So, in the face of the continuous mutation of the new coronavirus, is the existing new coronavirus vaccine
effective and how should we respond?
On January 9, the State Council Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism held a press conference to introduce the recent epidemic prevention and control and vaccination related situations. Zeng Yixin, deputy director of the National Health Commission and head of the vaccine research and development task force of the State Council's joint prevention and control mechanism, responded to this.
Zeng Yixin said that vaccination is the most powerful weapon to control infectious disease pandemics, and since the official launch of the new crown vaccination for key populations in China on December 15, 2020, China has carried out a total of more than 9 million doses of the new crown virus vaccination. Zeng Yixin stressed that the current study proves that the mutation of this virus will not affect the protective power of the vaccine, which is very clear.
Therefore, as the general public should not panic too much, keep a calm way of handling the situation and do a good job of personal daily protection. In addition, relevant companies also need to refine the technology of rapid detection of new crown nucleic acid to detect the source of infection and block the transmission route in a timely manner. We believe that as long as we all work together to fight the epidemic, we will be able to overcome it. We believe that if we all work together to fight the epidemic, we will eventually overcome the New Guinea virus!
