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Three Major COVID-19 Variants Explained [Special Report]

Despite worldwide vaccination campaigns, daily news heralds mounting Covid-19 cases caused by emerging variants of SARS-CoV-2.

India alone recorded 4,092 Deaths In 24 Hours on Sunday, May 9, 2021. This frightening surge of cases has led several countries to initiate partial to total lockdown to minimize the spread of the virus.

What are these new mutations of the virus, what makes them different from the original virus and ultimately, can the already manufactured vaccines effectively fight them?

The following visualizations answer some key questions, including when these variants were first discovered, how far they’ve spread worldwide, their potential impact on the population, and most importantly, the effectiveness of the available Covid-19 vaccine.

A Summary: What Is a Variant

In other for a virus to infect its host, it takes over cells in the host and uses it to replicate itself. During this replication process, the virus can create mutations.

A virus with one or more mutations is referred to as a variant. Most of the time, variants do not affect a virus’s physical structure, and in those instances, they eventually disappear. However, there are certain cases when a mutation impacts part of a virus’s genetic makeup that causes a change in its behaviour.

Changes in behaviour can range from its ability to become more transmittable to it being deadlier or an increase in its ability to infect a person with either natural or vaccine-induced immunity, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

Preliminary research has detected some of these changes in the three major COVID-19 variants— B.1.617, B.1.1.7, B.1.351.

The 3 Major COVID-19 Variants

The three major variants emerged at different times, and in different parts of the world. Here’s an overview of each variant, when they were discovered, and how far they’ve spread so far.

B.1.617

The B.1.617 variant was first detected in India as early as October 2020, it has been described as a “variant of interest” (VOI), B.1.617 contains two notable mutations – formally known as E484Q and L452R.

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Reportedly deadlier than other variants, this variant is said to be the reason for the frightening surge in Covid-19 cases across India and the UK.

Also often referred to as the “double mutant” variant, the B.1.617 has been reported in well over 28 countries.

Reports show that post vaccination, the infections appear to be milder, according to the Director of the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), Anurag Agrawal.

More research is currently ongoing to prove the efficacy of the vaccines.

B.1.1.7

The B.1.1.7 variant was detected in the UK in the fall of 2020. By December 2020, it had spread across the globe, with cases emerging across Europe, North America, and Asia.

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As of March 23, the B.1.1.7 variant had been detected in 125 out of 241 sovereign states.

c Luckily, studies suggest that some of the existing vaccines work well against it.

B.1.351

In October 2020, the second major variant was discovered—B.1.351. It was first identified in South Africa, but by end of the year, it had spread to the UK, Switzerland, Australia, and Japan.

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There are 68 countries with reported cases, and research suggests several of the existing COVID-19 vaccines may not be as effective against this variant.

Patsy Nwogu

Reporting on data-driven featured stories and investigations.

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