NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) – A number of mutations of COVID-19 are popping up around the globe. One from the UK is now circulating in the US — together with Texas. Others are from South Africa, Brazil, and epidemiologists are investigating a pressure in California as nicely.
“I feel once we begin to actually get slightly bit extra involved is if you see a variant that begins to kind of take over,” stated Dr. Diana Cervantes, an epidemiologist at College of North Texas Well being Science Middle. For now, he says the variants we learn about are identifiable in testing.
Whereas some consultants warn these new variants might make every day duties like going to the grocery retailer extra dangerous as a result of they might unfold extra simply, Dr. Cervantes stated prevention strategies will work on all of the variants.
As for the vaccines, she stated proper now they nonetheless look like efficient towards these new strains.
“It’s not like an on off swap like sure the vaccine works, and no it does it,” she defined. “Perhaps it would make it rather less efficient, however nonetheless we’re nonetheless speaking concerning the vaccine nonetheless affords a large amount of safety towards an infection.
Ought to we get to some extent the place a vaccine isn’t as efficient on a particular variant, Dr. Cervantes stated the excellent news is that researchers gained’t have to begin from scratch. She stated actually it’s a matter of creating modifications to the vaccines we have already got.
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