Oregon researchers have found a case of a rapidly spreading COVID-19 variant with a mutation that can be less affected by existing vaccines developed to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
The case, which was found on February 6, concerns the British variant, also known as B.1.1.7 and is considered more deadly and contagious than the original strain of COVID-19.
This variant has been found in almost every U.S. state. But the Oregon case also had an E484K mutation that was first detected in the South African COVID-19 variant in November.
Other cases of the British variant combined with this mutation have been found in Britain, France and Portugal, according to a database following coronavirus variants. Only one other U.S. case was recorded in the database.
Brian O’Roak, a geneticist at Oregon Health & Science University who led the work, told the New York Times the case “occurred spontaneously” and was not transported from anywhere else in the world, according to genetic analysis.
O’Roak and his colleagues analyzed 13 test results from coronavirus samples collected by the Oregon State Public Health Lab, reports Times. Ten of the samples were the B.1.1.7 variant. One in ten had the E484K mutation.
The Oregon Health Authority said it was ‘too early to speculate’ on how the distribution of COVID-19 variants would affect the effectiveness of the currently approved vaccines in the United States by Johnson & Johnson, Moderna and Pfizer.
“The current vaccines are likely to still protect against serious infections leading to hospitalizations and deaths,” the agency said in a statement Saturday.
Researchers have found that human antibodies, which fight disease, are less effective against COVID-19 viruses with the E484K mutation, according to an article that has not yet been evaluated by its peer. A February research report also found that the Pfizer vaccine may be less effective against the South African variant, which includes the E484K mutation.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is increasing the monitoring and laboratory sequencing of COVID-19 strains in the US to get a clearer idea of their characteristics.
Oregon’s first case of a COVID-19 variant from Brazil was also identified in Douglas County on Tuesday.
The Brazilian variant, known as the P.1 variant, also has the E484K mutation that scientists have found. The Oregonian who contracted the Brazilian variant had a well-known travel history before testing positive, the state health authority said.
– Jaimie Ding
[email protected]; 503-221-4395; @j_dingdingding