READ MORE: South African COVID-19 variant occurs in Houston area; city identifies first cases of British tension
What is the ‘South African variant’?
The coronavirus variant, which was first found in South Africa, was detected in October. Since then, it has been found in at least 30 other countries, including the US
Where was the variant found in the Houston area?
The health director of Fort Bend County, dr. Jacqueline Minter, confirmed that a resident from her province has been confirmed for the tribe. The male who is ill with the variant has recovered.
How do experts examine the South African variant?
The investigation of these variants was performed by analyzing a random sample of COVID-19 tests. For the time being, Texas is breaking down the virus to see its structure and sending the data to its partners at the Utah Public Health Lab to perform the analysis and variant identification. The state is currently working on putting the infrastructure in place to conduct its own analysis, which would be available sometime in February.
Does the new variant mean that the current COVID-19 tests are less accurate?
According to the country’s largest testing companies and laboratories, their coronavirus tests are prepared to accurately identify new virus strains as they occur.
Quest Diagnostics and LabCorp., Two of the largest test processing laboratories in the US, say they have not reported any changes to the accuracy of their test data with false negatives from the new UK coronavirus variant.
Is it true that the variants occur in our wastewater?
Dr David Persse, medical officer for the city of Houston, confirmed at a press conference on Tuesday that the city had found the first evidence of the British variant in the wastewater from several neighborhoods last week. He added that the South African variant has not yet been detected as part of their testing.
WATCH: Houston shares early test results for wastewater viruses
Are you more likely to catch the South African variant?
Professor Salim Abdool Karim, an expert in infectious diseases and the chief COVID-19 scientific adviser of South Africa, told ABC News that the variant can be up to 50% more transmissible than existing variants.
If someone already had COVID-19, can they catch it again?
Scientists are not yet entirely sure, but they say it is possible. Health officials are concerned that people may get COVID-19 a second time if the virus changes enough.
SEE ALSO: What do new variants of the coronavirus mean for Texans? And how can we best protect ourselves?
Is the South African variant more dangerous?
It’s too early to tell, but it may be harder for doctors to help you treat it. Some tests suggest that the South African and Brazilian variants are less susceptible to antibodies or antibody-rich blood of COVID-19 survivors, which both help people fight the virus.
According to the CDC, the limited research currently available shows that the new variants identified so far are not more lethal. But they are more contagious, which can lead to more cases. More cases could lead to more hospitalizations and possibly deaths.
SEE ALSO: What we know so far about COVID-19 variants worldwide
The British variant as well as the first to be identified in South Africa worries officials and experts because they are more easily transmitted than the tensions that the US has fought so far. And while leaders are rushing to get Americans vaccinated, they say the newer tribes can spread quickly.
“The prediction made regarding the UK (variant) is that it is likely to become more dominant in this country by the end of March, beginning of April,” said dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said during a newsletter in the White House on Friday.
“The fact is that when you have a virus that has the ability to transmit more effectively than the wild type in the community, sooner or later through purely viral dynamics itself, it will become more dominant than the wild type,” Fauci said. said.
Will vaccines work against the South African variant?
Experts warn that this variant may have an impact on the efficacy of the available vaccines, but testing continues. UTMB Galveston scientists tested the blood of people vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine on the different strains.
Researchers found that fewer neutralizing antibodies were produced in the South African variant compared to the other strain tested.
“We do know from the laboratory that many of these vaccines do not work so well against the South African variant,” said Dr. Hana El Sahly told Baylor College of Medicine.
Should you get the vaccine if you can?
Although the coronavirus has mutated slightly, it seems that the vaccines still provide some protection to the people who get it.
Less neutralizing antibodies does not mean that the vaccine is less effective. An immune response is still elicited, providing protection above a specific threshold.
The issue is at the moment, researchers just do not know where the threshold is.
Will people who have already been vaccinated need more shots?
The biotechnology company Novavax said it was developing a stimulant to protect against new strains.
The company recently announced that the vaccine, known as NVX-CoV2373, has an efficacy of 89.3% in a Phase 3 clinical trial conducted in the United Kingdom.
In January, Novavax began developing boosters for the newer variants.
“The company plans to begin clinical trials of these new vaccines in the second quarter of this year,” Novavax said.
LOOK: How well do Pfizer and AstraZeneca work against variants?
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