Kansas medical experts weigh in on COVID-19 variant, what to expect – KSNT News

Posted: Dec 31, 2020 / 09:04 PM CST / Updated: Dec 31, 2020 / 09:04 PM CST

TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) A medical expert at the University of Kansas is weighing in on the coronavirus variant, and said it may not be as dangerous as some may think.

Its not unusual for this virus or many of these types of viruses to mutate or change or have variance, said Dr. Dana Hawkinson.

The coronavirus variant, called B.1.1.7, was first spotted in Britain, then crossed over to the U.S., with cases first found in Colorado and California.

According to KDHE, this variant of the virus has not been found in Kansas. Although, KDHE Secretary Dr. Lee Norman noted that other strains may be present in other parts of the state from earlier in the pandemic, during a press conference on Wednesday.

We have a very narrow cluster in the state of Kansas that is kind of a Midwest variant, early on, said Dr. Norman, explaining that the state has been monitoring data on different changes in the virus that may appear. The virus has always changed over time with minor genetic variations.

Hawkinson explained that most viruses have about 12 different base pair changes, or mutations, with about 90% of the mutations having no impact on the properties of the virus. He said, as of now, the there is no evidence of it being an immediate threat.

The big thing to remember is that clinically it doesnt change anything that we do. It doesnt seem to have any different clinical disease, meaning more severe or less severe disease, Dr. Hawkinson said.

According to Dr. Hawkinson, the negative aspect of some genetic mutations, like the coronavirus variant, is that the spike protein, the part of the virus that enables it to enter human cells, can bind more strongly to the human receptor, causing the virus to become more infectious. However, Hawk noted that there can be a positive aspect of mutation as well, where the virus may mutate more than intended, which would cause the protein not to fit in the human receptor. This would mean that the infectious rate could go down if the protein no longer has anything to bind to.

Sometimes it will cause the virus too not be able to bind to our receptors if it mutates too much, or become too different, but what weve seen is that they seem to be binding stronger to our receptors, Dr. Hawkinson said.

But, Hawkinson said the virus mutation has also shown no impact on the effecacy of the current coronavirus vaccines that are being rolled out. He said a key thing to remember is focusing on stopping the spread with safety protocols, like proper hygiene and social distancing.

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Kansas medical experts weigh in on COVID-19 variant, what to expect - KSNT News