Just days after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a second COVID-19 vaccine for Emergency Use Authorization, news broke of a mutant coronavirus strain with 맥스카지노�significantly faster맥스카지노� transmission rates making its way through the U.K., per The Washington Post.This variant, which has been dubbed 맥스카지노�COVID-20맥스카지노� on social media, first emerged in southeast England in September, and has quickly dominated surrounding regions since. Some areas of England, including London, have now entered into 맥스카지노�Tier 4맥스카지노� stay-at-home restrictions, which forbids mixing of households. Restaurants may only do takeout or drive-thru service, and only essential retailers, like grocery stores, may stay open.맥스카지노�Given the early evidence we have on this new variant of the virus, and the potential risk it poses, it is with a heavy heart that I must tell you we cannot continue with Christmas as planned,맥스카지노� U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted on Dec. 19. In a recent news conference, Johnson claimed it 맥스카지노�may be up to 70% more transmissible맥스카지노� than widely circulating variations of the virus, but this figure has yet to be replicated in clinical trials.Matt Hancock, secretary of Health for England, said in a speech that the mutation may explain why the U.K. has seen a rapid increase in cases lately. Several European countries have closed their borders to travelers from the U.K. in an attempt to keep it contained, per The New York Times, although a similar mutation has already been detected in South Africa.맥스카지노�The United Kingdom has one of the best surveillance systems right now for looking at mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 virus,맥스카지노� says Stanley Weiss, M.D., professor of medicine at the Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and the department of epidemiology at the Rutgers School of Public Health.So, if this variant was going to be detected anywhere, it맥스카지노�s not surprising that it would be found in the U.K. 맥스카지노� but what does that mean for the rest of the globe?Here맥스카지노�s what we know so far.Back up: How common are virus mutations?맥스카지노�All viruses mutate,맥스카지노� says infectious disease expert Amesh A. Adalja, M.D., senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. This includes influenza, varicella (which causes chickenpox), and yes, even SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.In fact, mutations are part of the reason why you need to get an annual flu shot. Viruses mutate as part of their life cycle, Dr. Adalja says. These pathogens replicate to survive and 맥스카지노�mistakes get made when genetic material is copied,맥스카지노� he explains. 맥스카지노�A mutation refers to a change in the genetic code.맥스카지노�SARS-CoV-2 has mutated before, and these strains have been tracked and documented. But there hasn맥스카지노�t been evidence or the suggestion of evidence that these mutations meant anything more for infectiousness. Are experts worried about the COVID-19 mutation widely circulating in the U.K.?맥스카지노�What맥스카지노�s unusual about this mutation is that often you just have one or two changes in the virus,맥스카지노� says Dr. Weiss. This variant detected in the U.K. has about 20, including a couple involving the spike protein directly, which gives the coronavirus its crown-like structure. This has especially generated 맥스카지노�great interest,맥스카지노� says Dr. Weiss, as this piece of the virus allows it to latch onto cells and infect those who have been exposed. While this new mutation seems to spread more easily than previous strains of the novel coronavirus, it doesn맥스카지노�t appear to make people any sicker, says Richard Watkins, M.D., an infectious disease physician and professor of medicine at the Northeast Ohio Medical University. Experts also still have a lot of questions about the details of this new variant. 맥스카지노�We don맥스카지노�t know yet whether it changes anything in relationship to the disease,맥스카지노� says John Sellick, D.O., an infectious disease expert and professor of medicine at the University at Buffalo/SUNY in New York. He says there needs to be more concrete evidence that the mutation is, in fact, driving the increase in the U.K.맥스카지노�s cases, rather than poor compliance with wearing face masks and social distancing.맥스카지노�We still don맥스카지노�t know everything about this new mutation, but I don맥스카지노�t think it맥스카지노�s anything we need to panic about,맥스카지노� Dr. Adajla says.Do COVID-19 mutations impact the effectiveness of the available coronavirus vaccines?맥스카지노�I suspect this new strain is already here in the U.S. and we just don맥스카지노�t know it yet,맥스카지노� Dr. Watkins says. If it맥스카지노�s not, he says, 맥스카지노�it will be soon, especially since 50% of infected people don맥스카지노�t have any symptoms.맥스카지노�New mutations shouldn맥스카지노�t make a difference in the vaccines맥스카지노� efficacy to help prevent future COVID-19 infections, but experts say that맥스카지노�s now being studied. 맥스카지노�Moderna is doing tests with the new strain to make sure that the vaccine covers it appropriately,맥스카지노� Dr. Adalja says.Vaccines prompt your body to develop 맥스카지노�many different types of antibodies,맥스카지노� as well as T-cell immunity (i.e. memory cells in your immune system), 맥스카지노�which may completely take care of this and all other novel coronavirus strains,맥스카지노� Dr. Adalja says.New research on T cells and COVID-19 has found that they may help protect some people who are newly infected with SARS-CoV-2 by remembering past encounters with other human coronaviruses.Bottom line: Viruses mutate all the time맥스카지노�The average person doesn맥스카지노�t need to worry about this,맥스카지노� Dr. Adalja says. 맥스카지노�It맥스카지노�s something that scientists and those of us in the field need to think about and wonder what it means, but the same recommendations apply since the beginning and apply to any strain, whether it has a mutation or not.맥스카지노� So, while the experts dig into the logistics, it맥스카지노�s important to do your part in reducing the spread of the virus. That means continuing to wash your hands frequently, social distancing from those outside of your household, and wearing a mask when you맥스카지노�re in public.