So it is clear that B.1.1.7, the English strain, is more transmissible than the old strain.
But what do we know about the methods of the increased transmissibility?
Do you need less exposure to the new strain to get infected? (Less time? Less amount of virus?) Do the virus persist in the air for longer time? Do the virus transmit more via different pathways?
We started out by using the protections that worked best against the flu: lots of handwashing, disinfecting surfaces etc. We adjusted this when we learned more about Covid-19: masks reduces transmission etc. Is there anything we can adjust to protect better against the English strain? Is it just strictly more infectious, or is it also that it is better than the old strain at transmitting through a specific pathway that we have not been protecting as much?
I have tried to investigate and after much search (and having a question on r/askscience about it closed due to this being easily googleable) this is a summary of what I have found:
Apparently the mutation in the spike protein and the receptor binding domain lets the virus ‘easier’ bind to the ACE2 receptor sites and thus infect the cells.
So for a given amount of exposure you have a higher risk of getting infected with B.1.1.7 as compared to the old strain.
So bad news, I guess. There does not seem to be any low-hanging fruit here. Only harder restrictions (and more vaccinations) will help.
So it is clear that B.1.1.7, the English strain, is more transmissible than the old strain.
But what do we know about the methods of the increased transmissibility?
Do you need less exposure to the new strain to get infected? (Less time? Less amount of virus?) Do the virus persist in the air for longer time? Do the virus transmit more via different pathways?
We started out by using the protections that worked best against the flu: lots of handwashing, disinfecting surfaces etc. We adjusted this when we learned more about Covid-19: masks reduces transmission etc. Is there anything we can adjust to protect better against the English strain? Is it just strictly more infectious, or is it also that it is better than the old strain at transmitting through a specific pathway that we have not been protecting as much?
I have tried to investigate and after much search (and having a question on r/askscience about it closed due to this being easily googleable) this is a summary of what I have found:
Apparently the mutation in the spike protein and the receptor binding domain lets the virus ‘easier’ bind to the ACE2 receptor sites and thus infect the cells.
So for a given amount of exposure you have a higher risk of getting infected with B.1.1.7 as compared to the old strain.
So bad news, I guess. There does not seem to be any low-hanging fruit here. Only harder restrictions (and more vaccinations) will help.
Best sources was this: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.12.24.20248822v2.full.pdf and this: https://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/comments/kjo7zm/how_do_experts_come_to_know_that_the_recent/