In Belgium, seven vaccinated residents died in a retirement home. They had been infected with the Colombian variant. How is it characterized? Is it more dangerous or contagious? In which countries is it present? Explanations.
- Seven people have died in Belgium from the Colombian variant. They were all vaccinated.
- For the moment, there have only been 53 cases identified in France
Another new one… This time it’s called B.1.621 or, in more common parlance, the Colombian variant. It was first detected in Colombia – hence its name – last January, but has just hit Belgium. In a retirement home located in Zaventem, in the suburbs of Brussels, seven people who had been vaccinated died of it in the space of two weeks. The B.1.621 variant is present in several countries around the world, which has caused it to be placed under enhanced surveillance by the World Health Organization (WHO) since May 26, 2021. With it, there are also the variants Californian and Filipino.
No evidence that the Colombian variant is more dangerous
The Colombian variant carries three mutations: N501Y, P681H and E484K. The latter is also present in the Beta variant. So, according to a note from the English health agency Public Health Englandthe B.1.621 variant could have “similar immune escape properties” at Beta. This means that it could therefore be more resistant to the vaccine, thus explaining that the seven Belgian residents died of it although vaccinated against Covid-19. Nevertheless, in the current state of knowledge, the agency of English health considers that it is impossible to affirm that the Colombian variant is more dangerous or more contagious than the other variants placed under enhanced surveillance by the WHO: ”There is no evidence that it (the Colombian variant) outperforms the Delta variant and it seems unlikely to be more transmissible”. Also impossible to know if the Colombian variant is more deadly than the others. In an interview with the Belgian media RTBFthe virologist Marc Van Ranst, believes that“the particular context of this cluster must be taken into account (in the Belgian retirement home). It is indeed difficult to control respiratory distress in a unit like that. The very advanced age of the patients also played a role. The oldest person to die was 93.”
The Colombian variant present in 32 countries
According to the WHO, there are four variants that are very common worldwide. These are Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta. For the moment, the Colombian is not one of them because he represents less than 0.5% of all cases worldwide, i.e. 32 countries where he is, including Great Britain, Italy, Portugal, Spain, the United States, Canada and South America. For now, according to Public health France, only 53 cases have been detected in France. A much lower figure compared to the Delta variant. According to the COVID-19 Epidemiological Update of August 5, 2021 of this same health authoritythe latter would be found in 91.7% of positive samples.
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