Brazil's Variant Mutating To Become More Transmissible and Less Susceptible to Vaccines

The P.1 coronavirus variant that has proven so virulent in causing high levels of hospitalization and death now seems to be undergoing mutations that make it even more transmissible. Felipe Naveca of the Brazilian public health body, Fiocruz, reported from Manaus that the new mutations of P.1 do involve the spike protein. Since the present vaccines target the spike, alterations there tend to lower the efficacy of present vaccines. He stated: “We believe it’s another escape mechanism the virus is creating to evade the response of antibodies. This is particularly worrying because the virus is continuing to accelerate in its evolution.” Of note, a new study by the University of São Paulo (along with the Imperial College London and the University of Oxford) indicate that vaccines are 54-79% less effective in dealing with the P.1 than with other strains. The variant has ripped through South America and now has spread to a total of 36 countries, including recent rises in Canada and the U.S.