Los Alamos Nat'l Lab report shows dominant COVID-19 strain

[Quixote1818]

I changed the title. As some below have shown, the part about reinfecting seems overblown.


by: KRQE Staff

Posted: May 5, 2020 / 10:12 PM MDT / Updated: May 6, 2020 / 08:44 AM MDT

LOS ALAMOS, N.M. (KRQE) – A team led by New Mexico scientists says the strain of COVID-19 we are dealing with now, is much more contagious than the original version that arose in China. It can even infect someone again once they have recovered.

A new study spearheaded by Los Alamos National Labs shows the virus mutated and became stronger when it reached Europe in February. It spread to the U.S. from there, becoming the dominant strain worldwide. On top of the potential to reinfect, the newer strain also spread faster and creates more of a virus in the body.

According to the report, research on vaccines and treatments so far has been largely based on the genetic sequences of earlier strains and might no longer apply. The report does not indicate that the new strain is any more deadly with hospitalization rates remaining about the same.

The report 33-page report was published on bioRxiv, which is a website that researchers use to share their work before it is peer-reviewed. The Los Angeles Times recently cited the study, stating that the report was published in an effort to expedite collaborations with scientists who are in the process of working on vaccines and treatments for COVID-19.

More with video: https://www.krqe.com/health/coronavirus-new-mexico/los-alamos-natl-labs-report-shows-dominant-covid-19-strain-can-reinfect-survivors/?fbclid=IwAR0M9gxaWAF1rPTV4cOO_hMPh7G_MkyNsNQ5sy8KcGy2dhjcfKFOUEa1dvU

[Thomas Hurt]

1. silly people truth is only true if it is based in conservative ideology.

[0rganism]

2. this is a serious problem

we are in the deep deep doo doo for sure

[HarlanPepper]

13. Don't worry

If recent history is an indicator There will be another study that’ll be along soon that will contradict this one. Lots of studies. Lots of moving parts. Lots of things we still don’t know.

[0rganism]

18. oh i dunno, i think it's a fantastic time to worry

i mean come on, if i can't worry now, my amygdala might atrophy.

> Lots of things we still don’t know.
this is true, but i can always fall back on my fear of the unknown

[HarlanPepper]

19. Fear is exciting.

I guess.

[Newest Reality]

3. Oh,

That's that science stuff again.

[Chainfire]

4. So is it real science

or liberal science, like global warming?

[Hortensis]

5. Horrible news but not surprising. It IS a "cold" virus after all.

When I was raising our children, I tended to catch whatever was going around their school. Again. And again.

[roamer65]

6. Chances are any reinfection will be less severe.

The body has dealt with it before and knows how to create antibodies to it.

[Quixote1818]

7. I 100% agree. I would not be too worried about this. nt

[Solomon]

9. Yeah but they can still infect others. That's the danger.

It's very much to be worried about.

[uponit7771]

10. +1

[Fiendish Thingy]

8. You are spreading dangerous misinformation from an inconclusive study

Here is a rebuttal from a virologist:

Link to tweet

There has been a lot of pushback from the scientific community on this study.

Some news sources are trying to scoop their competitors with fear mongering headlines, covering studies that have not yet been peer reviewed, and thus, must be considered inconclusive.

Speaking ethically, I think you should delete your OP, as other rational, critical thinking posters have done in recent days.

[uponit7771]

11. +1, I truly hate the "scoop" mentality of the M$M

[Quixote1818]

12. Thanks. I posted it reluctantly because I am skeptical many people can get sick again

Do you suggest I self delete?

[muriel_volestrangler]

14. I think the TV stations use of "can reinfect" is wrong

There seems to be one piece of speculation in the paper where, since they admit they have no idea how the mutation actually affects the behaviour of the virus, they suggest possible ways in which a virus might change:

D614G and potential mechanisms for enhanced fitness.

There are two distinct conceptual
frameworks that may explain why the D614G mutation is associated with increased
transmission. The first is based on structure. D614 is located on the surface of the spike protein
protomer, where it can form contacts with the neighboring protomer ...
thus, it is possible that the
D614G mutation diminishes the interaction between the S1 and S2 units, facilitating the
shedding of S1 from viral-membrane-bound S2.
...
The second way the D614G mutation might impact transmission is immunological. ...
. Thus, based on currently
available information, there are several ways the D614G mutation may impact Spike’s
infectivity: it may improve receptor binding, fusion activation, or ADE antibody elicitation.
Another mechanism for the shift to the G614 form at later times points might simply be through
antigenic drift mediating antibody escape. If the D614G mutation in SARS-CoV-2 was
impacting neutralizing antibody sensitivity as well as, or instead of, the ADE activity observed in
the SARS-CoV study, D614G could also be mediating escape that makes individuals
susceptible to a second infection.

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.29.069054v2.full.pdf+html

(My emphases. No, I don't really understand that; but I've tried to pull out the bits that seem to describe their suggestions. There is no mention of reinfection in the summary; this was buried in the body of the article, and the wording does seem meant to be speculative.)

[Quixote1818]

15. Thanks. I adjusted the title and pointed out that the part about reinfection is probably overblown.

nt

[muriel_volestrangler]

17. I've tweeted the article to the Dr. Rasmussen mentioned above

to see if she has any comment on it.

I had seen other media pick up the scientific article and talk about it being more transmissible, but this is the only one I've seen with "can reinfect".

[SheltieLover]

16. K&R