IN the NEWS - Denmark's COVID/Mink Crises

 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences...

Luke 21:11

 

"Ever since Chinese authorities released the genetic code of SARS-CoV-2 in January, virologists have been watching for indications that the virus might be mutating.  A genetically stable virus presents a

stationary target for the scores of teams working to develop a vaccine. It also confers immunity on those who have recovered from the disease. Variations were discovered, but the genetic code remained largely stable, meaning that vaccines could suppress it, if not eradicate it.

The news from Denmark threatens to change all that.

Among the mink farms of the North Jutland and Zealand regions, the virus has been rampant, spreading from humans to the furry animals, then back to their keepers, then into the surrounding population.  As the virus hopped from one species to another and

back, it significantly mutated. So far, five clusters of variations have been found. Some of these affect the all-important spike protein, which projects from the ball, giving the virus the look of a crown. 

It is this protein that makes the virus so contagious, but it is also the segment of the DNA strand against which the human immune system develops antibodies, through prior infection and the planned vaccines. 

Danish scientists have known about the mutations for months, but it

was only last week that laboratory results revealed their harmful potential: antibodies produced in reaction to the original strain are less protective against these new strains of Sars-CoV-2.

The crisis was expressed in stark terms by Denmark's foreign minister, Jeppe Kofod, at an emergency press conference on Friday afternoon.

"We have indications that this unique mutation has reduced response to antibodies, which can ultimately affect the efficiency of potential vaccines," he said. "I cannot underline enough how seriously the Danish government takes the situation."

The mutated strains of the virus are not more sickening or contagious, but present the alarming prospect of the spread of a strain that the vaccines currently under development are powerless to suppress.

Even given the hugely expedited pace of research and manufacture, it would take many months to design, test and develop a

supplementary vaccine to deal with the new strain, assuming it was safe and effective to do so.

 In a desperate bid to contain the Danish outbreaks, all 17 million mink in the country are being killed. Meanwhile, people entering Britain from Denmark must quarantine for two weeks. The new variants of the disease were detected in 40 per cent of people testing positive in the North Jutland region.

When will we learn the lessons that God gave Israel after the Exodus?  Unclean animals carry disease; they should not be eaten, much less farmed in vast, unsanitary factory farms." 

 Elizabeth Iskander, MD / Fulcrum7