COVID-19 Vaccine & The New Strain: What You Need To Know
The Update — Special Report  | Issue no. 16, January 2021

Table of Contents

A. The COVID-19 Vaccine

What are the vaccines available in UAE?
 
The first in line in UAE is the Sinopharm inactivated virus vaccine which has passed the 3^rd phase of clinical trials and was found to have 86% of efficacy in preventing disease and 100% effective in preventing moderate to severe cases of the disease and noted as a safe vaccine. Two injections are needed over 28 days since the virus is deactivated and the body’s response is relatively week.

• Taking the vaccine by the majority of citizens and residents will help reach herd immunity in the country and thus control the disease’s spread.
• According to the UAE’s National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority, there is no evidence to suggest that Covid-19 vaccines will not work against the new strain of the coronavirus.

• The most commonly reported side effects, which typically lasted several days, were pain at the injection site, fatigue, headache, myalgia, chills, joint pain, fever, vomiting, and diarrhea.
• Of note, more people experienced these side effects after the second dose than after the first dose.
• An interesting finding from the Pfizer-BioNTech clinical trials is that while the vaccines seem to be just as effective in older adult participants, people 65 and older experienced fewer side effects than younger volunteers.
• According to the FDA’s analysis, allergic reactions were very rare in the Pfizer/BioNTech trial, affecting only 0.63% of people who got the vaccine, compared to the 0.51% in the placebo group.
• Lymphadenopathy occurred in a small portion of the participant population, and four people who received Pfizer’s vaccine.
• It is not yet known whether the vaccine prevents asymptomatic cases or transmission of the virus. The FDA reported that they did not have enough data to make conclusions about the safety of the vaccine in children younger than 16, pregnant or lactating women, and immunocompromised people.

• Children below 18 years
• Pregnant and breastfeeding women
• People with immunosuppression
• People with known allergies to any kind of vaccine, medications, or food
• If already been infected with COVID-19 (should wait for 3 months at least from date of infection to take the vaccine)
• If a person has taken other vaccine like the influenza vaccine, they should wait 4 weeks to take the COVID-19 vaccine

B. COVID-19: NEW CORONAVIRUS
VARIANT IS IDENTIFIED IN THE UK

What is the new variant of SARS-CoV-2?

- The new variant of SARS-CoV 2 has been named VUI-202012/01.
- It is the first variant under investigation and is defined by a set of seventeen mutations
- The most significant mutation is the N501Y mutation, which is in the spike protein that the virus uses to bind to the human receptors ACE2.
- If there were any changes in any part of the spike protein it may result in the virus becoming more infectious which may result in people getting infected easily.

Can this variant be detected?

- It was detected by the COVID-19 Genomics UK consortium, which undertakes random genetic sequencing of positive COVID-19 samples.
- Since April 2020 the consortium has sequenced one hundred forty thousand virus genomes from infected people with COVID-19.

Is it common?

-  About one thousand one hundred eight cases with this variant had
been identified in the UK in nearly sixty different local authorities.
-  In late September it accounted for twenty percent of the viruses
sequenced in Norfolk, ten percent were in Essex, and about three percent
were in Suffolk.
-  It was said that there is no data that suggests it had been imported from
abroad which is likely to have evolved in the United Kingdom. 
- The UAE announced that it had detected a “limited number” of cases of the new strain of Covid-19 that originated in Britain.
- "In light of the emergence of the new strain of the coronavirus in Britain, and in conjunction with the continuous investigations by the health sector, it has been proven that there are limited cases in the country ... received from abroad," said Dr. Omar Al Hammadi, the official spokesperson for the UAE Government.

How quickly do the variants of SARS-CoV-2 spread?

- It was told by Matt Hancock that on the fourteenth of December the initial analysis showed that the new variant may be associated with the recent rise in cases in the southeast England region.
- Loman explained that this variant is strongly associated with where we are seeing an increased rate of COVID-19.
- There has been a striking growth in the variant which is why there need to be urgent precautionary measures, and follow-up investigations.

Is mutation expected?

-  Naturally, mutations arise as the virus replicates.
- Even though thousands of mutations have already arisen, only a very small minority are likely to be important and change the virus in an appreciable way.
- It is said by the government of the United Kingdom that there are currently about four thousand mutations in the spike protein.
- “​Mutations are expected and are a natural part of evolution. Many thousands of mutations have already arisen, and the vast majority have no effect on the virus but can be useful as a barcode to monitor outbreaks.” as said by the director of the United Kingdom Government, Sharon Peacock.

Are the new variants more dangerous?

-  It is believed that D614G variants have increased the ability of the virus, which allows it to be transmitted and now it is the most common type circulating in the United Kingdom.
- The laboratory is currently working on a way to find evidence if the variant increases or decreases the severity of the disease.

Does the vaccine work?

- It’s unlikely that a single change would make the vaccine less effective.
- As more mutations occur, they might need to alter the vaccine.
- It was said by Peacock “With this variant, there is no evidence that it will evade the vaccination or human immune response. But if there is an instance of vaccine failure or reinfection then that case should be treated as a high priority for genetic sequencing.”
- The World Health Organisation (WHO) says there is not enough information to determine whether the new variant could undermine vaccines being rolled out internationally.