Moving past the four year mark the World is still dealing with Covid. I said this as soon as the Wuhan virus started if anyone still remembers.
A couple of recent studies have shown that the new FLiRT variant KP.2 , has demonstrated increased transmissibility and immune resistance. The study revealed that the KP.2 variant, a descendant of the JN.1 lineage, demonstrates significantly enhanced epidemiological fitness compared to its predecessors, including the dominant XBB lineage. This finding is confirmed by the Re estimated for KP.2 in the USA, United Kingdom, and Canada, where it was observed to be 1.22, 1.32, and 1.26 times higher than JN.1, respectively. The spread of KP.2 has been rapid, with its variant frequency reaching 20% in the United Kingdom as of early April 2024, suggesting a potential to become the predominant lineage globally.
These variants have two added spike mutations: F for L at position 456 and R for T at position 346, which has been nicknamed the FLiRT group of variants. One of the FLiRT family, called the KP.2 variant, seems to be leading the pack at this point. CDC modeling suggests it could now be responsible for almost a quarter of infections.
Scientists believe that we have been previously exposed to both the F and L sequences, (specifically F456L and R346T) before and thus this variant will not pose an increased risk of disease severity.
Meanwhile the Japanese Health towards the end of the last year approved the use of a sa-mRNA vaccine. Self Amplifying mRNA which is a totally different beast. sa-mRNA jabs go a step further than conventional mRNA by integrating the genes needed for the replication and synthesis of the antigen-encoding RNA, effectively establishing a biological printing press for fabricating the vaccine inside cells.
There are concerns with sa-mRNA as well because it engages with the immune system in intricate ways — for example, by forming replication intermediates that help to stimulate beneficial immune-signaling pathways. However, excessive stimulation can backfire.
The conventional, non-replicating mRNA-based vaccines encode the desired antigen for the immunogenic reaction containing the 5ʹ and 3ʹ untranslated regions (UTRs) and open reading frame (ORF), also called the coding region and the poly(A) tail. The self-amplifying mRNA contains all these components with an additional coding region in their ORF which codes for viral replication machinery which enables continuous intracellular RNA amplification followed by amplified antigen expression. In vitro transcription (IVT) is a reaction in which a linearized DNA plasmid containing the gene of interest is transcribed to the mRNA sequence.
Watch the first 8 minutes of this video for more details and concerns regarding the sa-mRNA platform.
A couple of recent studies have shown that the new FLiRT variant KP.2 , has demonstrated increased transmissibility and immune resistance. The study revealed that the KP.2 variant, a descendant of the JN.1 lineage, demonstrates significantly enhanced epidemiological fitness compared to its predecessors, including the dominant XBB lineage. This finding is confirmed by the Re estimated for KP.2 in the USA, United Kingdom, and Canada, where it was observed to be 1.22, 1.32, and 1.26 times higher than JN.1, respectively. The spread of KP.2 has been rapid, with its variant frequency reaching 20% in the United Kingdom as of early April 2024, suggesting a potential to become the predominant lineage globally.
These variants have two added spike mutations: F for L at position 456 and R for T at position 346, which has been nicknamed the FLiRT group of variants. One of the FLiRT family, called the KP.2 variant, seems to be leading the pack at this point. CDC modeling suggests it could now be responsible for almost a quarter of infections.
Scientists believe that we have been previously exposed to both the F and L sequences, (specifically F456L and R346T) before and thus this variant will not pose an increased risk of disease severity.
Meanwhile the Japanese Health towards the end of the last year approved the use of a sa-mRNA vaccine. Self Amplifying mRNA which is a totally different beast. sa-mRNA jabs go a step further than conventional mRNA by integrating the genes needed for the replication and synthesis of the antigen-encoding RNA, effectively establishing a biological printing press for fabricating the vaccine inside cells.
There are concerns with sa-mRNA as well because it engages with the immune system in intricate ways — for example, by forming replication intermediates that help to stimulate beneficial immune-signaling pathways. However, excessive stimulation can backfire.
The conventional, non-replicating mRNA-based vaccines encode the desired antigen for the immunogenic reaction containing the 5ʹ and 3ʹ untranslated regions (UTRs) and open reading frame (ORF), also called the coding region and the poly(A) tail. The self-amplifying mRNA contains all these components with an additional coding region in their ORF which codes for viral replication machinery which enables continuous intracellular RNA amplification followed by amplified antigen expression. In vitro transcription (IVT) is a reaction in which a linearized DNA plasmid containing the gene of interest is transcribed to the mRNA sequence.
Watch the first 8 minutes of this video for more details and concerns regarding the sa-mRNA platform.
