00:06When we talk about genetic variants, we are talking about modifications in the information,
00:13in the genome of the virus. Those modifications are the result of the constant copy of the virus,
00:19every time you replicate, you are taking copies of itself, and every time you get a copy,
00:23they are introducing errors in that copy. Unfortunately for the virus, this process
00:28of introduction of errors is very common. In most cases, those errors go against the viability of the virus,
00:33they are in detriment of the virus, and they end in a virus that can't be replicated, and in some
00:37cases,
00:38those errors end up becoming advantages to the virus that allow a better adaption,
00:43and then there is when we have the appearance of a mutation, and the accumulation of these mutations
00:48can derive in the appearance of genetic variants, which no always means that those mutations
00:54will have an impact on the behavior of the virus. Many of these mutations are simply
01:01things incidental that adquiere the virus, others definitely have an impact, but not
01:06all of them really will generate a change drastic change in that behavior of the virus.
01:17Every time we talk about mutation, we are talking about a process that happens every day in the
01:22case of the coronavirus, in the case of the coronavirus, no only there are mutations,
01:26there are recombinations, it is a mechanism that is happening constantly.
01:29So, every day we are going to see the appearance of virus that has mutations,
01:33every day we are going to see the appearance of virus that has,
01:36we are going to see the potential of new variants.
01:40No means that these variants will have an impact.
01:43So, definitely, for now, the only thing we can say every time that appears
01:46a variant is that we need to investigate it, we need to determine
01:49what impact has these mutations or not in the virus,
01:53before we really start, let's say, to take a hypothesis or take a conclusion,
01:57which is even more grave, in relation to what will be the consequences
02:01for the virus to have these mutations.
02:11Well, Omicron is a variant that is special because it is an example of what
02:15we know as convergent evolution. What does that mean evolution convergent?
02:20When I was talking about that, I was talking about that that those virus
02:22are evolving, that they are mutating constantly, right?
02:25They are doing it by separate. In each person, in every place in the world,
02:28the virus is mutating, is evolving, right?
02:31Now, when we talk about Omicron, we are seeing a virus that has evolved,
02:35and that has acquired the mutations that in other variants have been seen previously, right?
02:41So, this Omicron has been seen in variants Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, etc.
02:46And so, that's why it is, like, a virus that has, like, all these characteristics that have allowed other variants
02:53to adapt to the way more efficiently to the hospital, which is the Urano, right?
02:57So, that's why, then, generates, like, first, asombro to find a virus that has obtained these mutations,
03:03and second, many questions in relation to what will be the consequences of these mutations
03:07in this virus, right? And there is where it is, like, the most important thing here,
03:12and it is that, like, we don't know, really, if all these mutations
03:15are going to have a big impact on the virus or not.
03:17We know that some of these mutations have impacted, like,
03:22in a way, like, beneficial for the virus in other variants, right?
03:27But the accumulation of all variants in this virus,
03:29well, we still have no information clear.
03:31On the contrary, what we have, is that, like, some, like,
03:34we have information separate, that we can, in a way, predict,
03:37what can be the possible, like,
03:40the, like, of that, like, of the mutations in the virus,
03:42but we don't have a clear, really, what is what is happening.
03:52The information that we have today is based on the epidemiological aspect,
03:56not in the genomic aspect, because, like I said,
03:59I would like to talk about mutations and the possible impact that they have,
04:01really is, at least, irresponsible, because no, no,
04:05nos permite sacar conclusions reales,
04:07but from the point of view epidemiological,
04:08in the countries where we have determined the presence of the variant
04:11and where we have information of the distribution of cases,
04:14what we have seen is that, at the end,
04:16there is a increase in the capacity of contagion,
04:19but what is clear also is that the cases clínicos that have been described,
04:25all, in the majority, have the characteristics of cases leves,
04:29and this levedad can be the result of one of those mutations that have the virus,
04:33that have allowed to adapt and, of course, not to infect so grave,
04:35or, also, the effect of the vacunation,
04:38which, the vaccine vaccine,
04:40we don't know if we really will have the same protection for this variant,
04:44but, at the moment, the information that there is preliminary,
04:47allows, to, in some way, to suggest that that vaccine is still being efficient,
04:51to neutralize that virus and to prevent the disease grave,
04:55which is the main goal of these vaccines.
05:06The information that there is today tells us that no,
05:09the cases clínicos that have been reported, in the majority,
05:12or in total, have been leves,
05:14and I speak in total, because I really haven't seen,
05:16I think, in total, because I really haven't seen,
05:19cases that have been reported graves with the variant Ómicron,
05:23and that really gives us an idea of how is the adaptation of the virus,
05:27the virus, it seeks to adapt to a way in which it can replicate efficiently in the hospedero,
05:32without killing it, because, when it destroys the hospedero,
05:35it remains without a fuente of replication.
05:36For that reason, the virus tries to evolve in a way in which,
05:39obviously, it allows to pass more easily from one person to another,
05:42but ideally, disminuyendo the impact that can have on the cells of that person,
05:47because, again, what it seeks is to replicate in a way efficiently,
05:51without causing a grave disease.
05:52In the case of Ómicron, I repeat,
05:54the information available to this hour,
05:56in the cases clínicos report,
05:57all show that it is a severe disease,
05:59and that, really, from the point of view of clinical,
06:02there is, like, an emergency in this moment with the appearance of this variant.
06:15Well, a number exact, really, no is possible to give it.
06:18I can tell you what we live in the day.
06:21The variant Ómicron appeared in our first report,
06:24in two weeks, more or less,
06:25on the jueves, two weeks.
06:27That means that we have less than 14 days to have known this variant,
06:31and we have begun to see some preliminary results.
06:34In our case, we did studies from the point of view genomic,
06:38from the point of view of simulation,
06:40of the structure of proteins, of the function of the virus,
06:42but all this simply allows us to generate hypotheses.
06:45It allows us to conclude really what will happen.
06:47What do we need to conclude?
06:49What is the behavior of the virus?
06:51One, we need to study a level clinical.
06:53We need more data, more cases,
06:55to determine what really is the frequency of this virus,
06:58what is the impact on the clinical level.
07:00So, for that, we need to have much more time
07:03to accumulate the information epidemiological enough.
07:05Second, we need studies of laboratory,
07:07and those studies of laboratory to take time.
07:09Really, in this moment,
07:10no even the virus is available
07:12for that we can study it.
07:14We have requested to design proteins,
07:17to try to study some components of the virus,
07:20but we don't even have them available in this moment.
07:22That means that all the laboratories in the world
07:24are in a phase in which we are waiting for
07:26to have those elements, those materials,
07:28to be able to do these studies that can take a few months,
07:32in some cases,
07:33to determine really what is the impact.
07:36And I will talk about,
07:37with, let's say, with numbers a little more real,
07:39right?
07:39Let's say,
07:40we are in December of the year 2021,
07:43we have published results that we have
07:46of the alpha variant,
07:47which was important in October of the year.
07:49pasado, ¿sí? Y es un proceso que nos
07:51toma bastantes meses en llegar a tener
07:53conclusiones sólidas para poderlas
07:55poner en un artículo científico y decir, mire, esta
07:57realmente es la conclusión. Todos los resultados
07:59anteriores son resultados preliminares que
08:01obviamente logran, digamos, dar una
08:03idea de cuál es el comportamiento, pero las
08:05conclusiones sólidas toman tiempo.
08:07Y por esa razón, en este momento, no es un
08:09momento para estar, digamos, alarmarnos
08:11ante el posible impacto de
08:13esta variante porque no la conocemos
08:15y va a tomar un tiempo en que realmente
08:17entendamos cuál es la dinámica
08:19real de esta nueva variante del virus.
08:28Mira, el camino principal
08:29que tenemos es la vacunación y la
08:31vacunación sobre todo en aquellos lugares,
08:33aquellos países en donde estas nuevas
08:35variantes están emergiendo. Si nosotros
08:37miramos el mapa de la vacunación hoy,
08:39vemos que los países con mayor capacidad
08:41económica tienen altas
08:43coberturas vacunales en este momento,
08:45incluso están teniendo altas
08:47coberturas a tercera dosis,
08:48¿Sí? Mientras que países
08:50emergentes, países con menos
08:52recursos económicos encuentran, se
08:54encuentran con tasas de protección
08:55vacunal muy bajas. Es por esa razón
08:58que en este momento es mucho más
08:59importante que esas vacunas lleguen
09:02a esos países donde se están
09:04generando las nuevas variantes que
09:06realmente pensar en refuerzos en
09:08vacunas en aquellos países donde
09:09primero la la problemática
09:11epidemiológica es menos grave, segundo
09:13el riesgo de que aparezcan nuevas
09:14variantes es menor, y tercero, donde
09:16las poblaciones de riesgo están,
09:19digamos, de alguna forma protegidas
09:20por un sistema de salud robusto.
09:22Mientras que en estos países lo que
09:24estamos viendo es que la falta de
09:26protección vacunal, la falta de esos
09:28recursos permite la recirculación del
09:29virus, y esa recirculación del virus es
09:31la que permite la evolución y la
09:33aparición constante de nuevas
09:35variantes. El mensaje que la
09:37comunidad científica ha tratado de
09:38enviarle a esos países que esas
09:40vacunas deben dirigirse
09:41principalmente a esos países que
09:43necesitan, digamos, en este momento
09:46establecer programas vacunales con
09:48alta cobertura para disminuir la
09:50probabilidad de la aparición de esas
09:52variantes.
10:01El mensaje principal es que durante
10:03estos dos años de la pandemia hemos
10:04vivido las consecuencias no solo de la
10:06pandemia del virus SARS-CoV-2, del
10:08COVID-19, sino que hemos visto
10:10también las consecuencias de la
10:12pandemia de la desinformación, del
10:14pánico que ha llevado en muchos casos
10:16a consecuencias graves, a falta de
10:20información en relación, por ejemplo,
10:21a las vacunas, a las medidas
10:22preventivas, a muchas dudas de la
10:24comunidad científica, y esto
10:26realmente ha generado mayor impacto
10:28que incluso la misma enfermedad en
10:30algunos países. Es por esa razón que
10:33en este momento lo que hay que hacer
10:34es un llamado a la calma. En este
10:36momento no sabemos exactamente cuáles
10:38son todas las consecuencias del
10:39virus, sabemos que esta nueva
10:41variante tiene ciertas tendencias y
10:43podemos tener ciertas hipótesis que
10:45nos permiten ver que uno, desde el
10:47punto de vista, digamos, protección
10:49vacunal, las vacunas parece seguir
10:50protegiendo. Segundo, que desde el
10:52punto de vista clínico es una
10:53enfermedad que parece ser leve, que no
10:55tiene riesgo de desarrollo de
10:56enfermedad grave. Tercero, desde el
10:58punto de vista de lo que nosotros
10:59estudiamos, que es la infección, que
11:01tiene características muy similares a
11:02otras variantes y que realmente no
11:04tiene unas ventajas competitivas con
11:06otras variantes que permitan, digamos,
11:08sugerir que este virus va a ser un
11:10virus o mucho más agresivo, más
11:11severo, etcétera, ¿sí? Y que por el
11:13contrario, lo que podemos hacer en este
11:14momento es continuar con las medidas
11:16de protección que venimos
11:17utilizando, seguir usando el
11:19papabocas, seguir haciendo
11:20distanciamiento social o físico,
11:22seguir tratando de disminuir el
11:25riesgo de entrar en contagio con el
11:26virus y eso es mucho más eficiente
11:29que realmente entrar en pánico en
11:30este momento y buscar soluciones para
11:32un problema que realmente en este
11:33momento no, realmente no existe.
11:36es un problema que realmente en este
11:36Gracias.
11:37Gracias.
11:41Gracias.
11:45Gracias.
11:46Gracias.
11:47Gracias.
11:47Gracias.
11:48Gracias.
11:49Gracias.
11:50Gracias.
11:51Gracias.
11:51Gracias.
11:52Gracias.
11:52Gracias.
11:52Gracias.
11:52Gracias.
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