The New Coronavirus Variant , and the Ides of March.

By Fiorenzo Arcadi & Michael Ambrozewicz

We are fast approaching the anniversary of the great global economic lockdown and global market meltdown. The Ides of March maybe upon us. Julius Caesar kept postponing his departure from home and nearly sent word to cancel the meeting, causing the senators to wait for some considerable time. Julius Caesar favorite month of the year was March, we all know what happen to him. What I like about Julius Caesar, he was strong and powerful, just like the American Stock Market.

Japanase health officials indicated the new variant of the novel coronavirus that could make currently available COVID-19 vaccines less effective.

The mutated strain of the virus was detected in 91 patients in the Kanto region, with two more confirmed infected with the variant at airport quarantine checks, according to the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID). Tokyo Medical and Dental University on Feb. 18 also reported three cases of the variant in the capital.

“The variant could pose a risk to efforts to contain the spread of infections in the mid- to long-term,” an NIID official said"

The variant has the E484K mutation and is likely to have been brought in from abroad, officials said.

The mutated strain is believed to be capable of “immune escape,” meaning it can evade the body’s immune system. That is raising concerns that some of the immunity acquired through infections with other strains of the virus or vaccinations may not work sufficiently against the variant.

Some observers have pointed out that the COVID-19 vaccine developed by British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca Plc may be less effective against the variant, but the extent to which it could affect the vaccine’s efficacy remains unclear.

Pfizer Inc. and others concluded that the variant does not have a major impact on the effectiveness of its vaccine. Japan began inoculating its citizens with the vaccine on Feb. 17.

Countries across the globe are particularly worried about three kinds of mutated strains of the virus that emerged in Britain, South Africa and Brazil. All the variants have the N501Y mutation, which is feared to be more contagious.

The E484K mutation is also confirmed to be in some of the British variants, as well as the variants found in South Africa and Brazil. Japan has also reported every new variant that has been detected among patients in the country.

The latest strain recently found in Japan has the E484K mutation, but the N501Y mutation is not confirmed to be in the variant. A panel of experts advising the health ministry said on Feb. 18 that there needs to be continual analysis of the strain.

“We need to monitor the variant’s impact as more people receive inoculations,” said Takaji"

Meanwhile, the NIID will launch the country’s first epidemiological study into mutated strains of the virus following the spread of variants across the nation, according to a directive the ministry sent on Feb. 17 to prefectural governments.

The NIID will analyze patients’ age and severity of symptoms, along with other factors, after they are confirmed infected with the variants at quarantine checks at airports and other ports of entry.

In the study, researchers plan to compare the data with that of other individuals infected with nonmutated stains if their age, gender, recent travel history and other factors line up with those of the patients infected with the variants.

The South African variant emerged around the same time as the English one, and has since been detected in at least 20 countries. Genomic data from South Africa suggested that the variant, known as 501Y.V2, quickly displaced other circulating lineages in the country as it appears to have a higher viral load and is therefore more transmissible.

Andrew Pollard, who leads the Oxford vaccine clinical trials, said the crucial period will be when lots of people are vaccinated, as this will put the virus under a lot of pressure. “When that happens some viruses just can’t compete against that immunity. Will it mutate instead? Is it happening now?

Another concern is that the South African variant might be able to more efficiently reinfect people who have previously been infected with the original form of the virus. Lawrence Young, a virologist and professor of molecular oncology at Warwick University, said, “This is likely to be, in part, because the E484K mutation may weaken the immune response and also impact the longevity of the neutralising antibody response. So B.1.1.7 variants carrying the E484K mutation may be more efficient at reinfection.”

For some reason the scientific community is on high alert since laboratory tests on serum antibodies from COVID-19 survivors have been reported to be less effective in attacking the variant. I hope Phizer is right, and they became the gold standard. In my opinion, the variant has become a lot smarter.

"One of the mutations in this variant is the same concerning change found in the variant first seen in South Africa and known as B.1.351. It appears to evade, somewhat, the body's response to vaccines, as well. And it's becoming more common" The real problem, the counts of isolates in lineage B.1.526 by month in New York state was one in November 2020, it has increased to 337 in Febuary, and the total sequence shot up to 1211.An increase of 27%.

Researchers in India and China have theorized that such whole-virus vaccines could perform better against new variants than can vaccines that rely on the virus’s spike protein, such as those made by Pfizer and BioNtech, Moderna, and the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca. When it comes to saving lives, it has become survival of the fittest, and money.

The big concern is the five major coronavirus variants at play; the UK strain B117, the South Africa variant B1351, Brazil strain B11248 or P1, New York variant B1526 and California strain B1427/B1429. The vaccines are effective against the UK strain but less-so for the South Africa strain which is also a more deadly strain. The vaccines may be least effective against the New York strain now spreading rapidly within New York City.

Doc Fauci, who has been batted around like a pi?ata by anyone that has a grievance against the pandemic, is concerned about the New York strain dubbed B1526. The Biden administration says this new variant is serious business. It can be called the New York Flu, or perhaps it will be called the Washington Heights Flu where it originated (upper Manhattan), or, if it continues spreading it may become the American Flu.

Indeed, the markets are anticipating Biden's stimulus aid going through. The real problem is that we really don't know if the big boys on Wall Street are buying into the market to short it. Interest rates took everyone by surprise. If they continue to go up, there will be a drastic market sell off. If all the roads lead to Rome, perhaps the case study has changed, that all roads lead to New York. We will see if New York can conquer their new variant.

In recent years in cities throughout the United States, homelessness has assumed proportions that surpass anything seen since the Great Depression. The growth is commonly attributed to defects or disabilities that lie within the homeless themselves.People experiencing homelessness live in environments that are conducive to a disease epidemic.Cities with large homeless populations might face unique challenges while trying to contain COVID-19 and addressing homelessness, with the potential for both issues to exacerbate one another. The new variants have intelligence, they do not discriminate between rich or poor, they simply mutate. Italy's health minister announced Friday that another region would be subject to lockdown measures due to worsening pandemic numbers fuelled by the spread of more contagious coronavirus variants. The real problem is March break in the U.S, most of these teenagers have been lockup for a year.