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Deep inside a layer of concrete and a few centimetres of steel sits a lab it is hoped will be key to keeping Australia safe from vaccine-busting coronavirus variants.
Under these ultra-secure conditions at the University of NSWâs Kirby Institute, just south of Sydneyâs CBD, a team of scientists is quickly screening the growing tide of mutant viruses that reach Australiaâs borders.
The variant lab â seen here through thick protective glass.
Credit:James Brickwood
Are they more infectious? Worse, do they evade our vaccine defences?
The labâs head, Associate Professor Stuart Turville, just finished work on B.1.617.1, the first Indian variant to raise concern.
Coronavirus: Is this Australia s new defence against COVID-19 variants? brisbanetimes.com.au - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from brisbanetimes.com.au Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Coronavirus mutates but is actually stable
Current crop of vaccines shouldn’t be affected.
By Rebecca Rockett, Alicia Arnott and Fabienne Brilot-Turville, University of Sydney
“Coronavirus” has already established itself as the scary new word of 2020. Add the word “mutant”, and you’ve got an even stronger candidate for the scary new phrase of 2021.
One fear is that critical parts of the coronavirus genome will mutate, making any vaccine obsolete before it’s widely rolled out next year.
But how much of an issue is this really? As we’ll see, SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, mutates, as do all viruses. But unlike other RNA viruses, it’s actually quite stable.