Pirola's Dominating - Cool, Cool, Cool, Cool, Cool

Does everyone else picture Andy Samberg when they read about Pirola too?? Isn't everyone reading about the hot new variant, Pirola (BA.2.86/JN.1), these days??

The concern with Pirola is that it's so different from the other strains that it could be unrecognizable to our immune system, and it's as if we've never been vaccinated. I wrote about Pirola last September when it was first identified as a variant of concern. Here's the deal: If you recently got vaccinated, good for you, that should protect you from severe symptoms of the XBB lineage. But vaccines are always chasing the latest mutation and, by the time they're developed and in arms, a new dominate variant is often on the scene. That's why we still have to wear N95s everywhere!! Masks are so effective because they work on all the variants - and on RVS, influenza, and flippin' monkeypox, which is now nearby. You can see how far the XBB variants are (which vaccines targeted) from the JN.1 variant in the image above (from Eric Topol)! 

A kidney doctor online says he's baffled that anyone would care about this new variant because if you think Covid isn't over, then you'll continue masking. And if you think that it's all a hoax, you'll just ignore it and end up in hospital. But he's forgetting about the huge group in the middle. There are many people who vax and relax, and they need to know that the vaccine barely touches this new variant because it's so different from previous strains. And there are many others with a mix of pro/anti-mask attitudes in their home or extended family, and this provides one more reason to rely on N95s as well as (or instead of if necessary) vaccines. People need to be informed about changing risk as it changes!!

In Singapore, Pirola recently hit 50% of cases, and hospitalizations are surging. We're not there yet, but, like always, we should be looking around to places that are getting hit first and actually learn from them. 

Some have commented on how worrisome it is that the variant took such a short time to go from being a newly introduced variant to having dominance worldwide. Another paper explains how the mechanisms of the variant helps it avoid neutralization from vaccines, and the authors warned about NJ.1 potential for extreme immune evasion months ago, but it fell on deaf ears.  Another study mapped the effect in various ages and found that the "virus has evolved especially to escape antibodies of teenagers."

Yikes!

According to the CDC,  

"Data suggests the new variant comprises an estimated 15-29% of all cases in America and it's having tangible effects. Covid-19 hospitalizations are rising quickly. . . . Since the summer, public health officials have been tracking a rise in multisystem inflammatory syndrom in children (MIS-C), which is caused by Covid-19. . . . In terms of severity, we don't see a change in the disease profile of people infected with  BA.2.86 and its sublineages, including JN.1, but it is one, of course, one to watch."

So hospitalizations are rising quickly, but they don't expect a change in severity of Covid with the new variant?? They're quick to reassure, and far less quick to suggest simple basic precautions like wearing an N95 inside public places.

The WHO just recently designated it as a variant of interest, and here's a video of Maria Van Kerkhove  explaining the new mutation. 

In case people still think that somehow eating vegetables and working out will protect them from illness Dr. Lisa Iannattone points out the "real immunity gap" in Covid cases can be seen when studies make it very clear that a strong immune system comes from avoiding illness as much as possible: 

"This study found more cases of shingles (a virus that can reactivate when your immune system is down) across all ages in those that had Covid. Worse, the risk of severe shingles (disseminated zoster) was 2.8x higher for the post covid group. . . . Another cascading effect here is strokes. It's already well established that Covid infections significantly increase your risk of stroke for months.  . . . Covid-naïve immune systems outperform covid-infected ones, even after vaccination."

And, for the denialists, neuroscientist Dani Beckman explained with a video of the effect of Covid on the brain:

"I directly see the virus in the brain using microscopy, and you can see it as well in the video I made below. Viral protein (red, viral nucleocapsid) is found mainly inside neurons (blue, neun) in the olfactory cortex. Glial cells such as astrocytes (white, gfap) and microglia (green, iba1( are attacking these infected neurons, trying to slow down the viral spreading across the brain. Although beneficial, this mechanism also generates more neuroinflammatory propagation, with additional collateral damage to the circuits besides the death of infected neurons. You can deny as much as you want that this is happening, but science is here clearly proving what is going on. Our first study was published last year. We are currently also looking at how vaccines can modulate this type of neuronal damage. So far, it seems that, although not able to prevent neuronal infection, vaccination reduces the neuroinflammatory response generated by the immune system in the brain."

You can check out the effects with your own eyes! 

Stay alive with an N95! 

BASICS REMINDER: Most Covid transmission is from people who look and feel completely healthy. Exhaling unmasked can send Covid across a room in minutes, where it hangs in the air for hours like cigarette smoke. Vaccines help reduce severity of cases, but can't eliminate transmission and wane in effectiveness within months because Covid mutates so fast (because of all the spread!). It takes seconds to inhale Covid where it gets into cells all over the body, able to hibernate and affect the brain, heart, and other organs. N95s trap Covid using inertial impaction, diffusion, interception, and electrostatic attraction. They really work!! Covid's the #3 killer in Canada, and we don't know how many people it has disabled. Avoid being one of them. There is no treatment, only prevention. Be wise with N95s!