Three new studies suggest the COVID-19 variant originally discovered in Brazil might reinfect people who previously had COVID-19, The New York Times reports.
- The three studies — which have not been published — reviewed the rise of the P.1 variant in Brazil, specifically in the Amazonian city of Manaus.
- The studies said the variant “gained the ability to infect some people who had immunity from previous bouts of COVID-19. And laboratory experiments suggest that P.1 could weaken the protective effect of a Chinese vaccine now in use in Brazil,” according to The New York Times.
Of course, the researchers looked at cells in laboratories and didn’t rely on real-world data. So it’s important to consider that when reviewing these findings, according to The New York Times.
- “The findings apply to Manaus, but I don’t know if they apply to other places,” Nuno Faria, a virologist at Imperial College London, told The New York Times.
Still, William Hanage, an epidemiologist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, told The New York Times.: “It’s right to be worried about P.1, and this data gives us the reason why.”
Consider the variants
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the United States may lose its recent progress against the coronavirus because of the variants, according to CNN.
For example, the B.1.1.7 variant — originally discovered in the United Kingdom — represents 10% of all cases in the United States. That’s up from 1% to 4% just a few weeks back, Ars Technica reports.
Despite the rise of the variant, some states are considering opening up again and ending their mask mandates, CNN reports.