The South African variant of the coronavirus has already been identified in New York City, health officials said Tuesday, as they provided information on the various mutations that are now spreading through the Big Apple.
“With the number of vaccinated New Yorkers increasing every day, there is a real reason to hope for better months. But on the periphery of this growing light, there is also a shadow of these new variants of COVID-19 in the city, “said Dr. Dave Chokshi, commissioner of the city’s Department of Health, at a news conference. .
According to the health commissioner, two cases of the South African variant, called B.1.351, have been found in residents of Big Apple.
Since last week, the number of cases of cities confirmed by the highly contagious UK variant has been confirmed. known as B.1.1.7, increased from 59 to 116, Chokshi said.
“The city will continue to test thousands of samples for more information and Department of Health disease detectives are investigating the implications of these variants on public health,” Chokshi said.
Meanwhile, the self-produced strain that has emerged in New York City, known as B.1.526, is currently being classified as “a variant of interest,” said Dr. Jay Varma, senior adviser to Mayor Bill de Blasio on public health.
“We hope to have preliminary answers [about the New York City variant] for next week, ”Varma said.
Varma added: “And if we find something alarming, we will tell you. If we think the variant will probably not be a big problem, we will explain it as well. And if we are still not sure, we will tell you too ”.
“We will continue to do what we have been doing, which is to continue to get the best data possible and use it to fight this epidemic together,” he said.
The New York City variant was first found in Manhattan’s Washington Heights, but officials say it’s unclear where it originated.
Varma considered the UK variety, the South African variant and the Brazilian variant, known as P.1, “worrying variants”.
“What makes it a variant of concern? It could change so much that it evades our usual tests. Our usual tests cannot diagnose it or they have changed so much that they evade our antibodies. Or it changed so much that it leads to more serious illnesses and deaths, ”said Varma.
Chokshi noted that health officials “are still learning about the effectiveness of vaccines in these variants, but research so far is consistent with FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccines. [Food and Drug Administration] it will help reduce the risk of serious infections and death. ”