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What are COVID variants? Doctor explains how they spread and why the vaccine still works

The United Kingdom (B.1.1.7) variant is the most prevalent.

NEW ORLEANS — It's been a year since COVID-19 was first detected in the United States and now there are multiple variants of the virus circulating globally, including here.

Scientists such as Tulane's Bob Garry, PhD said there are three main variants to watch.

“We call them variants of concern,” Garry said.

The United Kingdom (B.1.1.7) variant is the most prevalent. It was first discovered in September. It has spread widely and quickly, proving to be more contagious. There have been 308 cases confirmed in the U.S. across 26 states. One case has been confirmed in Louisiana.

“That one is not as much of a concern as the ones from South Africa or Brazil,” Garry said.

The variant from Brazil (P.1) was first detected on January 6 in Japan in four travelers from Brazil. The first known U.S. case of this variant was confirmed in Minnesota Monday. This variant is potentially more contagious. It’s not yet clear if it causes more serious illness. As of now, there is no strong evidence current vaccines won’t provide at least some protection against it.

Garry said current vaccines should offer at least some, if not much protection against the new variants.

“The first variant, UK variant, people that have been infected with COVID before, their immune response still works against that variant pretty well,” Garry said. “Same can’t really be said about the South African variant.”

The South African variant (B.1.351) was first detected in October. It has not been confirmed in the U.S.

“The B.1.351 from South Africa has several mutations and it turns out those mutations make the virus somewhat resistant to your own immune system and they may affect the vaccine we currently have,” Garry said.

Another variant from California has been linked to outbreaks.

"It’s actually about 25 percent of the new cases of COVID-19 in southern California," Garry said.

Garry said there is not indication these variants are more deadly.

“So far, the data does not point in that direction at all,” Garry said.

President Biden reinstated travel bans from Brazil, the UK, and South Africa hoping to contain these variants.

Garry said vaccine manufacturers like Moderna and Pfizer have scientists working in labs now to tweak vaccines to protect against these variants. That could mean booster shots later down the road.

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