Today's News: August 20, 2020

Chrystia Freeland Sworn In As Canada’s Finance Minister As Trudeau “Prorogues” Parliament

ZeroHedge – Chrystia Freeland isn’t quite a household name in the US, although her profile expanded substantially after leading trade talks with both the EU and the US and Mexico. But that could soon change as the avowed Russophobe has just been sworn in as Canada’s Finance Minister in PM Justin Trudeau’s latest cabinet reshuffle.
Freeland, a former Rhodes Scholar who previously handled Canada’s Foreign Policy portfolio as Trudeau’s Foreign Minister (and trade minister, among other positions, as well as being an MP), has become the first woman to hold the title of Finance Minister in Canada; she is also a deputy prime minister.
Interestingly enough, Canada’s Globe & Mail, a Liberal-leaning national broadsheet and one of Canada’s most popular newspapers, made no mention of the scandal-plagued departure of Bill Morneau, the Liberal Party politician who resigned today amid a scandal over his failure to repay a charity for associated travel costs (you can read more about that at the BBC).

Germany records highest virus cases since April

BBC – It is thought Robin Swann will recommend lowering the number of people allowed to meet indoors from 10 to six.
It comes after a marked increase in the number of coronavirus cases in recent weeks.
The Department of Health has confirmed 51 new positive cases of the virus in Northern Ireland, bringing the total to 6,556.
No further deaths have been recorded by the department, meaning the death toll remains at 559.
On Thursday, the head of the Public Health Agency said localised lockdowns were “practically inevitable”.

Alexei Navalny: Russian opposition leader ‘poisoned’

BBC – Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny is unconscious in hospital suffering from suspected poisoning, his spokeswoman has said.
The anti-corruption campaigner fell ill during a flight and the plane made an emergency landing in Omsk, Kira Yarmysh said, adding that they suspected something had been mixed into his tea.
The Kremlin said that it wished Mr Navalny a “speedy recovery”.
Mr Navalny, 44, has been a staunch critic of President Vladimir Putin.
In June he described a vote on constitutional reforms as a “coup” and a “violation of the constitution”. The reforms allow Mr Putin to serve another two terms in office.
Kira Yarmysh, the press secretary for the Anti-Corruption Foundation, which Mr Navalny founded in 2011, tweeted: “This morning Navalny was returning to Moscow from Tomsk.
“During the flight, he felt ill. The plane made an urgent landing in Omsk. Alexei has toxic poisoning.”
She added: “We suspect that Alexei was poisoned by something mixed into [his] tea. It was the only thing he drank since morning.
“Doctors are saying that the toxic agent absorbed faster through the hot liquid. Right now Alexei is unconscious.”

Calls for new inquiry into Belgian police custody death

BBC – The wife of a Slovak man who died in Belgian police custody has called for a fresh inquiry after shocking images of his detention emerged.
Jozef Chovanec was arrested at Charleroi airport in 2018 after causing a disturbance on his flight.
While in custody, he began banging his head on the wall of his cell to the point of bleeding. A group of officers are later seen pinning him down.
Chovanec was taken to hospital, but fell into a coma and died the next day.
The images from the cell show several officers laughing during the incident, while another appears to give a Nazi salute. Another is filmed sitting on Chovanec’s rib cage for 16 minutes.
His death has drawn parallels in Belgium with the case of George Floyd, who died in May after a police officer knelt on his neck during his arrest in the US.
‘He couldn’t breathe properly’
“I want to know what happened and why [the police] behaved that way,” his wife, Henrieta, told Het Laatste Nieuws, the Belgian newspaper that obtained the footage.
Before his death in February 2018, Chovanec owned a company that recruited Slovakian construction workers for projects in Belgium, and he frequently commuted between the two countries for his business.
His family said they do not know the reason for his erratic behaviour during police custody, and an autopsy revealed he had not been under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
“Something seemed to be going on with my husband, he wasn’t feeling well, but the police ignored my husband all night,” said Mrs Chovancova. “When they saw the blood, they should have given him first aid. Instead, they sat on him with so many people. He couldn’t breathe properly.”
Widespread revulsion
Two years after his death, a police investigation is continuing, and Mrs Chovancova has called for a new judge to be appointed.
A spokesperson for the Charleroi public prosecutor’s office said all officers involved in the incident had been interviewed, but added that “due to the crisis surrounding Covid-19, there has been a delay”.
In the meantime, a police spokesperson told the Sudinfo website that the officer pictured giving the salute would be dismissed from 20 August.
There has been widespread revulsion at the images among Belgian politicians.

DARPA Launches Project CHARIOT in Bid to Shield Big Tech Profits

Activist Post – The U.S. Military-Industrial complex is sprinting on a chariot to shore up the encryption space before the next era of computation upends the entire digital edifice built on semiconductors and transistors. But, the core of the effort is protecting markets for Big Tech and all of its tentacles, which stand to lose years or even decades of profits should the new tech be rolled out too quickly.
DARPA’s newest program seeks to create an encryption technology standard across the breadth and scope of the Internet of Things (IoT). The Cryptography for Hyper-scale Architectures in aa Robust Internet Of Things or Project CHARIOT “will prototype low-cost, low-footprint, post-quantum cryptographic techniques with minimal energy use for devices in an IoT” on the 5G network, according to the Pentagon’s boutique agency’s SBO.
Consumer-side IoT, like smart home devices, had seen considerable growth in 2019 and expectations were high for that trend to continue. The disruption of their supply chains as a result of the outbreak in China hardly slowed down the $52.76 Billion market with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of between 23 and 27 percent. The biggest beneficiaries of the COVID-19 economic reset, however, would turn out to be the telemedicine and medical hardware industry in general, which alone will be worth $332 billion by 2025.
The projected worth of the global IoT market in 2026 has been calculated at roughly $1.3 Trillion and is expected to flood the world with 3 trillion devices in the next ten years. Hence the “Hyper-scale” in DARPA’s project moniker, which is taking the lead on behalf of the corporations who dominate this landscape to develop an encryption standard mandated by the NSA.
Microsoft, Cisco Systems and IBM are just a few of the names that top the list of IoT device and software providers. All three of these companies have interlocking interests with the federal government that in some cases, go back decades. Microsoft, in particular, is poised to finally become the U.S. government’s exclusive cloud services provider and has already taken over State Department communications systems along with Cisco. Cloud computing, in fact, will change the face of the industry yet again by facilitating large scale IoT applications and “lifecycle management.”
An encryption standard across IoT devices becomes pivotal for the full spectrum dominance of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) space sought by the U.S., which is currently threatened by China’s rising technological star. These considerations are left out of DARPA’s project brief, which instead presents a different kind of threat: Quantum computers.

Bank of Nova Scotia Pays $127 Million In Fines Over Criminal Precious Metal Manipulation

Activist Post – Back in April, we reported that one of the pillars in the gold-trading business, Bank of Nova Scotia’s ScotiaMocatta, was closing after failing to find a buyer in a sale process that had started in late 2017. As we further reported, Scotia was for years the world’s biggest lender to the physical precious metals industry, with a history stretching to the founding in 1684 of London gold dealer Mocatta Bullion, which it bought in 1997. Once a global player with more than 100 staff in offices from New York and London to India and Hong Kong, the bank effectively exited the business in 2018 following the above-mentioned strategic review and unsuccessful attempt to find a buyer.
The sudden exit of one of the core precious metal traders left many wondering if some big news was about to hit. Well, that’s precisely what happened, because earlier today the Department of Justice announced that Bank of Nova Scotia has agreed to pay more than $127 million in fines to settle criminal investigations into a price manipulation scheme in the price of precious metals that saw the participation of at least four of its traders.
The fines consist of $60.4 million to the Department of Justice with the remainder going to the CFTC in the form of two monetary penalties of $42 million and $17 million.
“Today, Scotiabank has admitted to their role in a massive price manipulation scheme aimed at falsely manufacturing the prices of precious metals futures contracts to serve the bank’s best interests,” said Assistant Director in Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. of the FBI’s New York Field Office.
The bank’s actions were designed to lead others to trade in ways they never would have without what was believed to be legitimate market activity. Scotiabank’s agreement to surrender more than $60 million in criminal fines, disgorgement and victim compensation underscores the severe penalties that can be levied against those who wish to engage in similar, illegal business tactics.
The Canadian bank agreed to a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) to settle separate probes by the Department of Justice and the U.S. commodities regulator, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
According to an agreed upon statement of facts, between January 2008 and July 2016, four precious metals traders employed by Scotia in New York, London and Hong Kong made bogus trades to try to manipulate the price of gold, silver, platinum and palladium futures contracts by engaging in manipulative spoofing of the type demonstrated repeatedly on this website and elsewhere.

AUSTRALIA PRIME MINISTER PUTS CITIZENS ON NOTICE: ALL WILL LIKELY UNDERGO MANDATORY COVID-19 VACCINATIONS

ZeroHedge – For those fearing that all the prior state-enforced social distancing and lockdown protocol which hit a peak in early summer — from arresting surfers on empty beaches, to telling people they can’t even jog, to police detaining moms for merely letting their children play on taxpayer bought public playgrounds — would only too easily and hastily transition to a forced vaccination regimen the moment one is rushed out despite safety or the various potential long-term side effect ‘unknowns’… well,it’s happening:
Australians are likely to face mandatory coronavirus vaccinations if Prime Minister Scott Morrison gets his wish.
The nation is a step closer to gaining access to a vaccine, with the Federal Government securing an international deal to produce a vaccine frontrunner locally if trials succeed.
If that happens, Mr Morrison expects Australians will have to undergo mandatory vaccination.
And no doubt other developed nations will eventually follow suit, given as we’ve detailed we’re already to the point of colleges, schools, and office spaces in many instances requiring as a condition of return to campus or work space a COVID-19 test, or in some cases individuals are subject to weekly tests. Based on the trend, these current testing requirements will seamlessly switch to vaccination requirements, as will apparently likely happen in Australia.

Canada-bound vaccine blocked by China’s customs was created with Canadian tech

iPolitics – The Chinese company, whose COVID-19 vaccine is being prevented from entering Canada for human trials by China’s customs agency, created its shot using medical technology licensed to it by Canada.
Three months ago, the Canadian government and CanSino Biologics agreed to start human trials for the company’s vaccine in Canada. China’s customs agency prevented the first batch of the vaccine candidate from leaving the country when it was en route to Canada. The experimental shot — among the fastest to go through the approval process — was discovered using a cell line that was licensed by Canada’s federal government.
In the 1970s, Canadian researcher Dr. Frank Graham was part of a team of scientists to develop a cell line called HEK293. A cell line is a reproducing version of the same living cell. The use of cell lines are common in both modern lab research and biotechnology and pharmaceutical production.
The line Graham helped to create contained and expressed the transforming genes of the human adenovirus: adenovirus 5, or Ad5.
The National Research Council (NRC)’s proprietary version of the cell line adopted from Graham’s original is called HEK293-SF-356 cGMP and, according to the NRC, is a strong starting point for the development of vaccines.
The NRC first licensed its cell line to CanSino in 2014. In 2017, the company used the NRC’s cell line to develop its Ebola vaccine, called Ad5-EBOV.
CanSino once again relied on the NRC’s cell line in developing its vaccine against COVID-19, which is known as Ad5-nCoV.
In May, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the landmark announcement that his government had reached an agreement for Ad5-nCoV to be trialled in humans in Canada.
At the time, the vaccine was being tested in Phase 2 trials in China using hundreds of participants.

Common type 2 diabetes drug metformin recalled over cancer-causing chemical NDMA

Times Now News – Apotex Corp said it is recalling the widely-used type 2 diabetes drug metformin due to possible high levels of a cancer-causing chemical called N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA).
New Delhi: Drug maker Apotex Corp said it is recalling the widely-used diabetes drug metformin due to possible high levels of a cancer-causing chemical called N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA). The recall for all lots of metformin hydrochloride extended-release tablets 500 mg from the Canadian-owned pharmaceutical firm comes after one lot tested by the US Food and Drug Administration found that it had higher levels of NDMA than allowed by the drug regulator, WebMD reported.
Recently, the FDA asked five firms to voluntarily recall the popular type 2 diabetes drug metformin after it found high levels of N-nitrosodimethylamine, which is believed to cause cancer in humans, beyond acceptable limits in their extended-release formulations alone. NDMA, which is a semi-volatile organic chemical, can be found in water and foods, including meats, dairy products, and vegetables. It is an environmental contaminant that is highly toxic. A report in National Library of Medicine said that exposure to the chemical irritates the skin and eyes and damages the liver.
Metformin hydrochloride extended-release tablets are prescribed in adults and children age 10 and older with type 2 diabetes. It is used along with diet and exercise program to control blood sugar control, or hyperglycemia.
It may be noted that NDMA contamination triggered numerous recalls of widely-used heart medicines last year. In October 2019, Sanofi SA recalled heartburn drug Zantac and some generic versions of the treatment due to NDMA contamination.

UNITED STATES CODE: Joe Biden is permanently disqualified from holding any public office in the U.S. Federal Government

State of the Nation – By his own admission, then Vice President Joe Biden used upwards of $1 billion of US government loan guarantees ina bribery coercion scheme to threaten the Ukraine president to immediately terminate the Prosecutor General who was investigating the corrupt practices of Burisma Holdings, aswell as the involvement of board director Hunter Biden. This criminal act constitutes a federal felony crime and disqualifies Biden from holding public office.
All the hard evidence and applicable laws follow in this straightforward legal analysis.
U.S. Department of Justice Guidance
Furthermore, the U.S. Department of Justice has published “An Overview” which spells out that what VP Joe Biden did by threatening to withhold loan guarantees to the Ukraine was in blatant violation of U.S. Federal Law.
The Fraud Section of the Criminal Division of the DoJ makes it clear what constitutes a violation of the FOREIGN CORRUPT PRACTICES ACT as follows.

Doctor silenced over successful Covid therapy

WDDTY – A doctor who has successfully treated over a hundred Covid-19 patients has been ordered to stop advertising his methods.
Dr David Brownstein, who runs the Center for Holistic Medicine in West Bloomfield, MI, has had to remove details of his treatment protocols from his website and blog, even though they are explained in a scientific paper published last month.
He says he is looking at the possibilities of fighting the ban, which was initiated by the US’s Federal Trade Commission (FTC) because it claims his protocols are not supported by “competent and reliable scientific evidence”.
However, a month after the FTC’s ban, Dr Brownstein’s protocols for Covid-19 were published in a scientific journal. In the paper, he outlines how he successfully treated 107 Covid patients between February and May. In each case, the patient made a full recovery. In a separate report, Dr Brownstein says none of his Covid patients have died.
The study explains that his Center’s protocols include oral iodine supplements (25 mg a day), vitamin A (100,000 IU/day), Vitamin C (1000 mg per hour until bowel intolerance), and Vitamin D3 (50,000 IUs/day). If symptoms worsen, Dr Brownstein gives intravenous injections of vitamin C and hydrogen peroxide and ozone.
The patients, aged from two to 85 years, started to show improvements from the second day of treatment, he reported. Three needed hospital care, although two of these were before Dr Brownstein treated them.

Social distancing and mask-wearing could be enforced EVERY YEAR to drive down flu deaths – even after the coronavirus pandemic ends

Daily Mail – Victoria’s tough Stage Four lockdown has been so successful in driving down seasonal flu infections that authorities are considering enforcing some restrictions every year.
Australia has diagnosed 23,599 cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began, and 421 deaths – 334 of which are linked to Victoria.
The pandemic has heightened awareness about general hygiene practices that stem the spread of communicable diseases, and as a result, annual flu cases have plummeted.
Victoria’s Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton indicated on Tuesday elements of the restrictive lockdown protocols could be here to stay well after the state defeats COVID-19.
‘The flu isn’t as severe as COVID-19, but it is still deadly because millions and millions of people get infected,’ he explained.
About 3,000 Australians usually die every year from the seasonal flu, but infection rates have been trending down since April.
‘With all the restrictions put in place because of COVID, it has absolutely brought the flu in check,’ Sutton said.
All the things we’re doing to suppress COVID are working against the flu too because it is less infectious.’
In fact, there are only about 10 new weekly diagnoses of the flu in Victoria, a stark contrast to the hundreds of daily COVID infections.
Flu infection rates are so low that Premier Daniel Andrews warned the public that if they’re displaying flu-like symptoms, they most likely have COVID-19.
“If you have these symptoms, even really mild symptoms, there is every chance you have got this virus,” he said.
“Again, that is another reason why if your body is telling you that you are unwell, even mildly, then you have got to come forward and get tested.”
Mr Sutton said the flu ‘basically disappeared from about April onwards’, crediting lockdown and increased hygiene for the success.
‘We should do these things every flu season. When we’re on the other side of coronavirus, we should still bear in mind that masks will be very useful as we go out at the peak of the flu season, maybe right through the flu season, to do the same things that work for COVID,’ he said.
When asked whether that meant he would consider locking down the community every winter, Mr Sutton was quick to clarify that wouldn’t be necessary.
‘There will be no Stage Four for the flu, I promise you.’
Mr Sutton once again explained the stark differences between the seasonal flu and coronavirus, dispelling any theories that the two are one and the same.

The statistic that will INFURIATE you: How twice as many people died of the common flu last year than coronavirus and influenza combined in 2020

Daily Mail – Twice as many people died of the flu last year than coronavirus and influenza combined in 2020, new data shows.
Social distancing measures to combat the spread of COVID-19 have seen dramatic reductions in the common, seasonal illness – which is far less lethal than coronavirus.
In New South Wales, Australia’s most populated state, 127 people died of the flu between New Year’s Day and the start of August last year.
Another 52 fatalities have been linked to COVID-19 – a 1.3 per cent mortality rate from 3,957 cases.
This year, the state’s death rate of 64 for the flu and coronavirus combined is just half last year’s influenza fatality rate.
Australian National University Medical School professor Peter Collignon said social distancing and sick people staying home from the office had done more to dramatically reduce flu transmissions than any surge in influenza vaccines.
‘I don’t think it’s the flu shot, it’s actually the physical distancing,’ he told Daily Mail Australia.
‘The data shows, if you’re more likely to do the right things, which every year we don’t do, you’ll stop respiratory viruses spreading.
‘Avoid crowds indoors because that is the biggest factor.’
Both coronavirus and influenza predominantly kill those aged 65 and over but only one of them, COVID-19, has led to the shutting of Australia’s border to non-citizens and non-residents and the closure of service businesses – sparking the biggest economic meltdown since the 1930s Great Depression.

Mob tactics: Black Lives Matter demands piece of Louisville business owners profits ‘for protection’

Law Enforcement Today -“There comes a time in life that you have to make a stand and you have to really prove your convictions and what you believe in. All good people need to denounce this. How can you justified (sic) injustice with more injustice?”
These are the words written on the Facebook page of Fernando Martinez, the Cuban-born co-owner of the Ole Restaurant Group.
His words were in response to the demands made of him and numerous other business owners in the Cuban community in Louisville.
They recently received a letter of demands from Black Lives Matter protestors in the district where he opened their newest restaurant, La Bodeguita de Mima. The area is known for its locally-owned shops and restaurants. Martinez said that in addition to the letter, he was confronted by protestors recently.
Louisville has been a hotbed of BLM activity since the death of Breonna Taylor earlier this year, after an alleged”no-knock” warrant served by the Louisville Police Department.
He called the demands “mafia tactics”.
Those demands came with a contract for obliging business owners to sign.
Here is an idea of what these protestors were looking for.
The Louisville Courier-Journal reports that the letter included:
– Adequately represent the Black population of Louisville by having a minimum of 23% Black staff;
– Purchase a minimum of 23% inventory from Black retailers or make a recurring monthly donation of 1.5% of net sales to a local Black nonprofit or organization;
– Require diversity and inclusion training for all staff members on a bi-annual basis;
– And display a visible sign that increases awareness and shows support for the reparations movement.
Yes, you read that correctly. They want businesses to put up signage saying that they support reparations among numerous outrageous “requests”.
The article also stated:
“According to a press release, members of the city’s Cuban community will meet outside the NuLu restaurant at 4 p.m. Sunday to support the immigrant-owned business, which ‘has been subject to vandalism and extortion in recent days.’
The release states that La Bodeguita de Mima was forced to close July 24 during a demonstration that shut down East Market Street, at which several protesters presented Martinez with the list of demands and said he ‘better put the letter on the door so your business is not f*cked with.’
The restaurant remained closed the next two days because ‘management and staff were concerned about safety,’ according to the release. ’30+ staff members (mostly immigrants) were unable to earn a paycheck.‘“
But, in typical fashion, Phelix Crittenden, an activist who works with Black Lives Matter Louisville, said the demands were “not meant to be a threat, but instead, were merely intended to start a conversation with owners about how their businesses can better reflect and support Black people”.
Yes, smashing flower pots in front of the stores and telling business owners that they need to comply are run the risk of having their businesses “f*cked with” is in no way threatening or intimidating.

Malaysian Scientists Discover Ten Times Deadlier Coronavirus Strain, Making It More Infectious. Here’s What It Means

Times of India – In a timespan of eight months, COVID-19 cases have breached 21.6 million infection cases. Ever since the first cluster of infection was discovered in Wuhan, China, COVID-19 has been impacting cities across the world differently. However, all of these have been mutating slowly and weren’t much different from those originally sampled in China.
Now, Malaysian authorities have discovered a more infectious and mutant strain of the SARS-COV-2 virus under circulation, which could have more lasting consequences and bring larger threats to reality about the pandemic’s uncertain end.
A new mutation of the virus has been discovered in Malaysia when a man returning from India flouted his quarantine rules and infected over 45 people. When the 45 cases were treated, it was observed that at least 3 of the tested samples carried a much more severe mutation of COVID-19, termed D614G.
According to Noor Hisham Abdullah, Director General of Health, the said mutation, earlier observed in the US and parts of Europe could be much more dangerous and bring on unprecedented problems for the viral resurgence.
Although previous WHO findings have suggested that COVID mutations would be unlikely to cause severe damage, or hamper vaccine development, Dr Abdullah’s findings suggest that people would have to exercise more caution and safety to suppress the spread of COVID-19. If the strain make its way from the US to Malaysia, this way, other countries could be at risk too, said Dr Abdullah, in a Facebook post which is now going viral:
“People need to be wary and take greater precautions because this strain has now been found in Malaysia. The people’s cooperation is very needed so that we can together break the chain of infection from any mutation.”
The newest cluster also heavily contributed to the spurt in the number of active cases in Malaysia, which, has so far been largely successful in curbing the growth of infections in the country.
The newest discovery has brought on focus on yet another way the world could be taking COVID-19 infection lightly.
A mutation refers to any change which takes place in a viral cell’s genetic material. Viral diseases, like the flu, common cold, herpes, HPV, smallpox and other coronaviruses have been found to mutate as well.
Even though mutations are a part of every virus’s life cycle, they seldom do carry potential side-effects or threat to society during a viral outbreak like the current one. In some cases, the mutations can also lead to lower transmission and weaker spread or be neutral. Sometimes, the changes which kick in with the mutations could also be so slight that it becomes hard to notice.
That being said, RNA viruses, such as SARS-COV-2 are more likely to mutate than other viral strains and there is strong evidence which suggests that the coronavirus infection, too has been mutating way too often. The difference in the strains sampled from China to Italy and the USA are suggestive of the same.
COVID-19 strains have been by and large, similar to the original strains, until one specific mutation, D614G was discovered. The earliest study regarding the same was done by scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory in the month of March when COVID-19 was starting to rapidly spread in countries like the US, which is now the epicentre of the outbreak globally. Another research done by the Scripps Research Institute in Florida found that the new mutation makes it easier to infect cells under laboratory settings.
Novel coronavirus mutation, by far, has been mutating slowly. According to scientists, a big reason behind this is the low level of immunity present against the infection and non-availability of vaccines till now.
Though it is still unclear as to how the new mutation could actually impact human cells in a social setting, scientists do believe that this mutation, D614G may lead to stronger infection spurts and mortality risks. Whether or not the newest mutation could cause reinfection, slow down recovery or impact vaccine development is still to be studied.
Even though the D614G mutation has been observed to be much more infectious than the existing ones, experts do suggest that mutations aren’t that scary. Viruses mutate naturally and there’s a very rare chance that a virus could mutate into something much more aggressive. RNA viruses, particularly, have been found to mutate into less weak versions so far. Mutations aren’t way different from existing strains but do wade out on their own, as people get natural immunity.
Another body of research has found that the current talked about mutation, D614G, which was found in New York and sections of Italy has similar hospitalization rates as previous mutations of the SARS-COV-2 virus.
One of the biggest threats the vaccine mutation could pose is by affecting the development of vaccines, according to Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
Considering the number of candidates working on pushing out a COVID-19 vaccine right now (which is over a 110, globally), a mutation could put forward several shortcomings regarding such an expedited vaccine delivery.
Now, vaccines are usually made using early isolated strains of a specific virus. Despite Dr Abdullah’s claims, experts believe that the mutation won’t really make much of a difference to the way vaccines are being worked on right now.
Since mutations keep on changing through its life cycle, there’s no proof that vaccines won’t be effective. As long as the mutations are slow and not aggressive, vaccines could easily adapt to the changes and save populations from infections and possible reinfections. Flu and H1N1 vaccines work under similar notions.