Coronavirus: Everything you need to know about the South African variant of COVID-19

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) – The South African strain of coronavirus is not yet considered widespread in the United States, but it has been confirmed in the greater Houston area, and experts say it could spread quickly .

READ MORE: South African variant of COVID-19 emerges in Houston area; city ​​identifies first cases of British strain

What is the “South African variant”?

The coronavirus variant first discovered in South Africa was detected in October. It has since been found in at least 30 other countries, including the United States

Where was the variant found in the Houston area?

Fort Bend County Health Director Dr. Jacqueline Minter has confirmed that a resident of her county has been confirmed for the strain. The male sickened by the variant recovered.

How do experts examine the South African variant?

Verification of these variants took place by analyzing a random sample of COVID-19 tests. For now, Texas is breaking down the virus to see its structure and is sending that data to its partners at the Utah Public Health Laboratory to perform analysis and identification of variants. The state is currently working on setting up this infrastructure to perform its own analysis, which should be available in February.

Do the new variants mean that current COVID-19 tests are less accurate?

The country’s largest testing companies and laboratories say their coronavirus tests are poised to accurately identify new viral strains as they emerge.

Quest Diagnostics and LabCorp., Two of the largest test processing labs in the United States, say they have not reported any changes in the accuracy of their test data with false negatives of the new variant of British coronavirus .

Is it true that the variants end up in our wastewater?

Dr David Persse, chief medical officer for the city of Houston, confirmed at a press conference on Tuesday that last week the city found the first evidence of the British variant in sewage from several neighborhoods. He added that at this time, the South African variant has not been detected in their testing.

WATCH: Houston shares first results of sewage virus test

Are you more likely to catch the South African variant?

Professor Salim Abdool Karim, infectious disease expert and chief scientific adviser to COVID-19 in South Africa, told ABC News the variant could be up to 50% more transmissible than pre-existing variants.

If someone has had COVID-19 before, could they catch it again?

Scientists aren’t quite sure yet, but they say it’s possible. Health officials fear that if the virus changes enough, people could contract COVID-19 a second time.

SEE ALSO: What Do New Coronavirus Variants Mean For Texans? And how can we best protect ourselves?

Is the South African variant more dangerous?

It is too early to tell, but it might be more difficult for the doctors to help you treat it. Some tests suggest that the South African and Brazilian variants may be less sensitive to antibody drugs or the antibody-rich blood of COVID-19 survivors, which help people fight the virus.

The limited research currently available shows that the new variants that have been identified so far are no more 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 Around The World

The British variant as well as the one first identified in South Africa have worried officials and experts as it is more easily transmitted than the strain the United States has fought so far. And as leaders rush to get Americans vaccinated, they say the new strains could spread quickly.

“The projection that is made for the UK (variant) is that probably by the end of March, the beginning of April, it will actually become more dominant in this country”, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Allergy Institute and infectious diseases, said Friday during a White House press briefing.

“The point is, when you have a virus that has the ability to transmit more efficiently than the wild type in the community, sooner or later through pure viral dynamics itself, it will become more dominant than the wild type,” said Fauci.

Will the vaccines work against the South African variant?

Experts warn that this variant may impact the effectiveness of currently available vaccines, but testing is continuing. Scientists at UTMB-Galveston tested the blood of people vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine against the 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 as 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 seem to offer some level of protection to people who contract them

Fewer neutralizing antibodies does not mean the vaccine is less effective. An immune response is always triggered, producing protection above a specific threshold.

The problem is, researchers just don’t know where that threshold is.

Will people already vaccinated need more vaccines?

Biotech company Novavax said it was developing a booster to protect against new emerging strains.

The company recently announced that its vaccine, known as NVX-CoV2373, was 89.3% effective in a phase 3 clinical trial conducted in the UK and that the vaccine appeared to demonstrate clinical efficacy against some variants. of the coronavirus.

In January, Novavax started developing boosters for the new variants.

“The company plans to start clinical trials of these new vaccines in the second quarter of this year,” Novavax said.

WATCH: How well do Pfizer and AstraZeneca work against variants?

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