But sometimes the virus infects people with weak immune systems. Researchers have also suggested that the evolution of the variant might have been additionally driven by medicine given to such patients. Both vaccines create immunity to the coronavirus by teaching our immune systems to make antibodies to a protein that sits on the surface of the virus, called spike. The spike protein latches onto cells and opens a passageway inside. To confirm that, researchers at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research are analyzing the changes to the structure of its spike protein.

Source: New York Times December 21, 2020 23:26 UTC