Scientists are really worried about the new Brazil COVID-19 variant. here’s why

Scientists continue to be concerned about Brazil’s new variant of coronavirus, more than other variants that have emerged in the country.

What is happening?

On Monday, officials from the Minnesota Department of Health identified the first case of the Brazilian variant – named P.1 – in Minnesota.

• The variant was considered to be more heritable than the current variant, or even those seen in South Africa and the UK, as I wrote for the Deseret News.

Why this worries scientists

But scientists are especially concerned about the Brazilian variant because of how it destroyed Manaus, the Amazon city in Brazil where the mutation originated.

• “If you ask me right away, what’s most concerning of all the things I’ve heard so far is the fact that they are reporting a sudden increase in cases in Manaus, Brazil,” University virus expert Jeremy Luban said. of Massachusetts, according to NPR. “Manaus already had 75% of those infected (in the spring of last year).”

Scientists have two big fears about the new variant, according to NPR.

1. They don’t know why it exploded in Brazil.
2. The variant has mutations that could escape antibodies and the COVID-19 vaccine, according to NPR.

Dr Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden’s pandemic adviser, told the New York Times he was more concerned about the Brazilian variant than the British or South African virus. He suggested that current vaccines can overcome these mutations. But the Brazilian variant could be more troublesome.

• “The degree of concern I have between the British variant and the South African / Brazilian variant is very, very different,” Dr. Fauci said, according to The New York Times.