THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2021 Page 3 Local doctors weigh in on top COVID-19 variant By Christopher Roberson D espite the downward trend in COVID-19 cases, the variant strain, known as B117, continues to gain momentum. Although other variants exist, Dr. Lou Ann Bruno-Murtha, the division chief of infectious diseases at Cambridge Health Alliance, said B117 has been the most prevalent variant thus far. Yet, she remained confident in the vaccines that were developed by Moderna and Pfizer at the end of last year. "Fortunately, the three variants that have received recent attention appear to remain susceptible to antibodies produced Everett residents named to WPI Dean’s List W ORCESTER – Everett residents Connor Anderson and Amy Ngan were named to the Dean’s List at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) for the fall 2020 semester. The criteria for the Dean's List differs from most other universities as WPI does not compute a grade point average. Instead, WPI defines the Dean's List by the amount of work completed at the A level in courses and projects. Everett residents named to Dean’s List at Holy Cross W ORCESTER–The College of the Holy Cross recently announced that the following Everett residents were named to the Dean’s List for fall 2020 semester: Julianna Lopez-Picardi, Angelo Carbone, Dennis Ryan and Ralph Carbone. To qualify for the Dean's List, students must pass four or more letter-graded courses with no failing grades during the semester and earn a grade point average of 3.5 or higher. in response to the two authorized vaccines currently in use,” she said. “Although the mRNA vaccines may be mildly less effective against this variant, most vaccine experts do not believe this subtlety will be clinically relevant.” However, Bruno-Murtha said the situation could easily spiral out of control just as it did when the original COVID-19 virus surfaced nearly one year ago. “More variation will occur as the virus continues to widely circulate,” she said. “If infections can be reduced and quickly controlled, there will be less of an opportunity for the viruses to mutant and gain selective advantages. Given some evidence that these variants are more transmissible, ongoing efforts to maximize personal safety remain essential.” Dr. Benjamin Linas, an infectious disease specialist at Boston Medical Center, said B117 is simply the product of “natural mutation.” “It is 100 percent normal and expected for viruses to mutate,” he said, adding that errors are inevitable at some point during the replication process, thus spawning a new variant. “There are a lot of viruses in an infected person’s body and even a tiny percentage of successful mutations will result in new variants emerging. This is an evolutionary survival of the fittest situation” Linas also said the spike protein found in B117 is much more potent than the spike protein in the original COVID-19 virus. “This is what makes the virus more infectious — it is better at getting into host cells,” he said. In addition, Linas agreed with Bruno-Murtha regarding the efficacy of the vaccines. “The good news is that the same things we do to prevent COVID will also work against B117,” he said. “The vaccines we have now are effective against B117.” Dr. Mark Siedner, an infectious disease specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital, said B117 is estimated to be 50 to 60 percent more contagious than the original strain of COVID-19. “This virus is becoming increasingly predominant,” he said. However, Siedner said safeguards are now in place to prevent a shutdown similar to what happened last spring. “The protective measures that keep us safe don’t change, social responsibility doesn’t change,” he said. “I don’t foresee us going back in time; we should not be where we were a year ago.” However, Dr. Richard Ellison, an infectious disease specialist at UMass Memorial Medical Center, was not as optimistic about the vaccines’ to ability to guard against B117. “We don't have any good evidence at all,” he said. “It’s definitely very worrisome.” Ellison also called attention to the havoc that B117 has already caused in the United Kingdom. “What we saw in England could realistically happen here,” he said.
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