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Washington state health officials have confirmed the first case in the state of a disturbing variant of the coronavirus that was first identified in Brazil late last year.
The variant, scientifically known as P.1., Was confirmed by the UW Medicine Virology Lab, which identified the mutation in a King County COVID-19 test sample, according to a press release from Public Health. – Seattle & King County.
The P.1 variant is of concern because it contains a number of mutations, “including those that seem to make it less vulnerable to our body’s immune response,” officials said. COVID-19 vaccines are also believed to be less effective against some variants, including Brazilian.
“If we let our guard down, these variants will charge us,” Jeff Duchin, health officer, Public Health – Seattle & King County, said in a statement. “The advantage is that we can take measures to limit the damage. The same precautions that have helped us reduce the number of cases in the past can also protect us from variants, provided we are diligent.”
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The Brazilian variant was first identified in the United States at the end of January. He is believed to be from Manaus, a city in the northwestern Amazon, where researchers say he was probably circulating in December. The strain comprises three mutations, E484K, K417T and N501Y, similar to a distinct variant initially detected in South Africa.
Three variants of COVID-19, including the variant first identified in the UK and the variant first identified in South Africa, have now been detected in Washington state.
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“The appearance of these variants should not discourage us – they should invigorate us and motivate us to turn the tide of the pandemic. The next month or two will be particularly important in determining the course of our outbreak, the threat of new VOCs. increasing as we work to ensure more people are protected by vaccination, “Washington state health officials said in the press release.” If we continue our efforts to limit the spread of COVID- 19 for a few more months, we will reduce the risk of another wave of serious infections and speed up our return to a more normal life. “
Kayla Rivas of Fox News and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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