The analysis with Massimo Galli, head of infectious diseases at Sacco Hospital in Milan, and Carlo Federico Perno, director of microbiology at Bambino Gesù Hospital in Rome.
1. What do we know about the “English” version?
The new Sars-CoV-2 strain, called “VUI-202012/01” (the variant under investigation) was first identified in mid-September in London and Kent, southeast of the capital. It has several mutations, including the main one (N501Y) in the spike protein, which the virus uses to bind to human cells through the ACE2 receptor. A potentially worrying aspect, as all available or future vaccines aim to induce the production of neutralizing antibodies against the tip. However, much of the scientific community believes that vaccines are unlikely to be ineffective against the new Sars-CoV-2 strain.
2. Why have many countries, including Italy, suspended flights from the UK?
From the first observations, it seems that the new variant has an increased replicative efficacy compared to the previous ones, ie it is able to spread faster. This does not mean that it is more lethal, but the British Minister of Health, Matt Hancock, acknowledged that the situation is “out of control” in the country. The World Health Organization spoke of “preliminary signs that the virus is able to spread more easily among humans and may affect diagnostic tests.”