READ MORE: The South African variant COVID-19 emerges in the Houston area; city identifies the first cases of strain in the UK
What is the “South African variant”?
The coronavirus variant first found in South Africa was detected in October. Since then, it has been found in at least 30 more countries, including the United States
Where has the variant been found in the Houston area?
Fort Bend County Health Director Dr. Jacqueline Minter confirmed that a resident of her county was confirmed by the strain. The sick male of the variant has recovered.
How are experts selected for the South African variant?
Verification of these variants was performed by analyzing a random sample of COVID-19 tests. For now, Texas breaks down the virus to see its structure and sends that data to its Utah Public Health Laboratory partners for analysis and identification of variants. The state is currently working on the implementation of this infrastructure to conduct its own analysis, which should be available sometime in February.
Do the new variants mean that the current tests of COVID-19 are less accurate?
The country’s largest testing companies and labs say their coronavirus tests are ready to accurately identify new strains of viruses as they emerge.
Quest Diagnostics and LabCorp., Two of the largest test processing laboratories in the United States, say they have not reported any change in the accuracy of test data with false negatives of the new variant of the UK coronavirus.
Is it true that variants are found in our wastewater?
Dr David Persse, medical director of the city of Houston, confirmed on Tuesday at a press conference that last week the city found the first evidence of the UK variant in the sewage of several neighborhoods. He added that at this time the South African variant has not been detected as part of the tests.
SEE: Houston shares first results of wastewater virus test
Are you more likely to take the South African variant?
Professor Salim Abdool Karim, an infectious disease expert and chief scientific adviser to South Africa’s COVID-19, told ABC News that the variant could be up to 50% more transmissible than pre-existing variants.
If someone has already had COVID-19, could I take it again?
Scientists are not yet completely sure, but they say it is possible. Health officials are concerned that if the virus changes enough, people could get COVID-19 a second time.
SEE ALSO: What do the new coronavirus variants mean for jeans? And how can we better protect ourselves?
Is the South African variant more dangerous?
It’s too early to tell, but it may be harder for doctors to help you treat it. Some evidence suggests that South African and Brazilian variants may be less susceptible to antibody medications or antibody-rich blood from COVID-19 survivors, which help people fight the virus.
The limited research currently available shows that the new variants identified so far are no longer deadly, according to the CDC. But they are more contagious, which can lead to more cases. More cases can lead to more hospitalizations and potentially more deaths.
SEE ALSO: What we know so far about COVID-19 variants worldwide
The UK variant, as well as the first identified in South Africa, have worried officials and experts because they are more easily transmitted than the tension the US has been fighting so far. And as leaders compete to vaccinate Americans, they say the new strains could spread quickly.
“The projection that is being made with regard to the UK (variant) is that it will probably become more dominant in this country in late March, early April,” Drs. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Friday during a White House briefing.
“The fact is that when you have a virus that has the ability to be transmitted more efficiently than the wild type to the community, sooner or later by its own pure viral dynamics, it will become more dominant than the wild type,” said Fauci.
Will vaccines work against the South African variant?
Experts warn that this variant may affect the effectiveness of current available vaccines, but testing continues. UTMB-Galveston scientists tested the blood of people vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine against different strains.
The researchers found that fewer neutralizing antibodies were produced in the South African variant compared to the other strain tested.
“We know, from the lab, that many of these vaccines don’t work so well against the South African variant,” said Dr. Hana El Sahly of Baylor College of Medicine.
Should you get the vaccine if you can?
Although the coronavirus has mutated slightly, vaccines still appear to provide some level of protection to people who receive it.
Less neutralizing antibodies does not mean the vaccine is less effective. An immune response is still triggered that produces protection above a specific threshold.
The problem is right now, researchers just don’t know where that threshold is.
Will people already vaccinated need more shots?
Biotech company Novavax said it is developing a reinforcement to protect against emerging strains.
The company recently announced that its vaccine, known as NVX-CoV2373, had an efficacy of 89.3% in a Phase 3 clinical trial conducted in the UK and the vaccine appeared to demonstrate clinical efficacy against some variants of the coronavirus.
In January, Novavax began developing amplifiers for the newer versions.
“The company plans to begin clinical trials of these new vaccines in the second quarter of this year,” Novavax said.
SEE: How well do Pfizer and AstraZeneca work against variants?
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