Uttam Maharjan

Since emerging first in Wuhan, China in December 2019, the coronavirus has developed into various strains. These strains are called variants. At present, 220 countries and territories are under the clutches of COVID-19 with over 181 million infections and over 3.9 million deaths. We are in the second wave of the coronavirus. Some countries are in the third wave also. We have been in the grip of the second wave since the first week of April. In Nepal, the second wave has infected and killed more people than during the first wave. This goes on to prove that the second wave is more dangerous than the first one.

Virus mutation
The second wave of the coronavirus has emerged owing to the coronavirus morphing into new variants. It is natural for viruses to mutate. Some viruses mutate and disappear, while others persist. Mutation changes the viruses and the spikes on their surfaces. By studying mutations, scientists can know how transmissible the new variants are, how they are transmitted, how they affect people and whether they cause mild or more cause severe diseases in people. During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, many variants have been identified and documented.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has developed a system of nomenclature for new variants of the coronavirus. In the beginning, new variants used to be named after the countries where they were first detected: the UK and Indian variants, for example. As such a nomenclature may stigmatise the countries concerned, the WHO has come up with the new naming system in which Greek letters are used. Accordingly, the UK variant is now called the Alpha variant, the Indian variants are called Delta and Kappa variants, the Brazilian variants are called Gamma and Zeta variants, the South African variant is called the Beta variant and the USA variant is called the Epsilon variant.
Another variant appeared in India in April. Dubbed as the Delta Plus variant, the strain is defined as a variant of concern on the basis of the study by the Indian Ministry of Health. As per the study, the variant has rapid transmissibility, binds to the cell receptors of the lungs quickly and counteracts monoclonal antibody treatments. Monoclonal antibody therapy is used to mitigate the effects of viruses in the body. Virologists, however, argue that as there is no sufficient evidence to prove that the Delta Plus variant that is circulating in India is a variant of concern, the government should not make haste to name it as such. They suggest that further studies be conducted on the transmissibility, infectivity and other aspects of the variant.
On the other hand, a US inter-agency group has developed a new variant classification scheme. As per the scheme, variants of the coronavirus are grouped into variants of interest, variants of concern and variants of high consequence. In the USA, variants B.1.1.7 (Alpha), B.1.351 (Beta), P.1 (Gamma), B.1.427 (Epsilon), B.1.429 (Epsilon) and B.1.617.2 (Delta) have been classified as variants of concern. No variants of high consequence have been detected in the US and perhaps elsewhere.
The Delta Plus variant has been detected in 10 countries: India, the USA, the UK, Portugal, Switzerland, Japan, Poland, Nepal, Russia and China, while the Delta variant has surfaced in as many as 80 countries. The South African Beta variant and the Brazilian Gamma variant have developed into Delta variants. New variants are shown to be more pernicious than the original coronavirus. They can more easily spread from person to person, they can weaken the immune system, they can neutralise the effectiveness of currently available vaccines, they can resist currently used medicines and they can cause more severe illness in people. Some new variants may escape currently available tests to detect them.
Scientists are now studying not only the coronavirus but also its diverse variants. They are studying the transmissibility, infectivity and perniciousness of variants as well as effectiveness of currently available vaccines and medicines against them. A variant has one more mutations that make it differ from other variants in circulation. Scientists compare genetic differences between viruses to identify variants and to determine how they are related to each other. Owing to far-reaching studies, information on the characteristics of variants is coming up.
Scientists are of the view that variants that spread quickly from one person to the other and that cause more severe illness should be closely monitored. A virus morphing into a new variant is a natural process. But if the chain of transmission can be broken, the rate at which viruses change into new variants can be slowed down. For this to happen, herd immunity should be developed. At present, the only plausible recourse to developing herd immunity is vaccination. At the same time, all health safety protocols also need to be adhered to by people.

COVAX initiative
The emergence of new variants one after another is not a good omen. The WHO is highly concerned about this. The COVAX initiative developed by the WHO in collaboration with GAVI and CEPI has not been making strides as expected. There is a greater role for rich countries to play in materialising the COVAX initiative by contributing to the noble mission. The main thrust of the COVAX facility is to ensure fair and equitable distribution of vaccines all over the world. As poorer countries are still lagging far behind the rich countries as far as vaccination is concerned, rich countries should give a helping hand, such as through the COVAX facility, to ensure that all the countries, whether rich or poor, get access to vaccines. This will make it possible to develop herd immunity in people, which is a powerful weapon for getting rid of COVID-19, which has been complicated by the emergence of new variants.

(Former banker, Maharjan has been regularly writing on contemporary issues for this daily since 2000. uttam.maharjan1964@gmail.com)