The more people COVID-19 infects, the more opportunity the virus has to evolve into new strains. Variants originally found in the U.K. and South Africa have quickly become the dominant types in the countries where they were first detected.
As of late January, the UK variant had surfaced in 70 countries and territories including Canada and the U.S, and is on track to be the dominant North American strain by mid-March. See: COVID-19 variant in Barrie outbreak upends conventional wisdom of spread.
By late January, the South African variant had surfaced in 30 countries including Canada and America, and the Brazilian was detected in America. See How Coronavirus Mutations Are Taking Over.
Preliminary estimates suggest the variant from the U.K. is 50%–70% more transmissible than earlier versions of the virus and early data suggests it could also be deadlier.
Scientists have also noted that the South African variant could be better at evading antibodies produced in response to natural infection and vaccination. See New clinical trials raise fears the coronavirus is learning how to resist vaccines:
New data showing that two COVID-19 vaccines are far less effective in South Africa than in other places they were tested have heightened fears that the coronavirus is quickly finding ways to elude the world’s most powerful tools to contain it.
The U.S. company Novavax reported this week that although its vaccine was nearly 90% effective in clinical trials conducted in Britain, the figure fell to 49% in South Africa — and that nearly all the infections the company analyzed in South Africa involved the B.1.351 variant that emerged there late last year and has spread to the United States and at least 30 other countries.
…Researchers once believed it would take several more months, or even years, for the virus to develop resistance to vaccines. They said the speedy evolution is largely a result of the virus’ unchecked spread.
While vaccination programs are underway worldwide, effective distancing measures remain critical in containing COVID-19’s spread. Read: The Virus changed. Now we must ‘Get to Zero’, or face catastrophe.
