Wednesday, February 17, 2021

The spikes are the concerning part. They were targeted by the vaccines. If the variants are losing their spikes, it is a problem.

February 17, 2021


B.1.525 appears similar to the South African variant which prompted door-to-door tests in areas where it has been found.

Researchers from Edinburgh University have found 38 cases so far - 2 in Wales and 36 in England - in samples dating back to December.

It has been seen in other countries, including Denmark, Nigeria and the US.

UK experts are studying it to understand what risk it poses.

It is too soon to say if it should be added to the UK's list of "variants of concern" and whether mass testing for it should happen. So, for now, it is a "variant under investigation"....

January 28, 2021

...After injection, (click here) the vaccine particles come into contact with immune system cells and deliver the mRNA message: you need to make this spike protein, and here’s how. As the vaccinated cells start churning out the spike protein, other immune system cells realize that the protein should not be there. That’s when the battle begins.

“The immune system starts building an immune response and making antibodies,” says Aisha Langford, PhD, MPH, assistant professor in NYU Langone’s Department of Population Health. “And that’s how we train the immune system to recognize the spike protein, and that’s what protects us from being infected.

Your body continues to produce antibodies until all the spike proteins have been destroyed. At the end of this natural immune process, your immune system has the knowledge it needs to recognize the spike protein and fend off future exposure to the virus. So if the virus enters the body, the immune system will identify and attack it....