How many COVID-19 variants are there? COVID strains explained

The COVID-19 variants have been dominating the headlines for weeks. First, it was B.1.1.7, also known as the UK variant. Then, public health experts began to warn about B.1.351, a strain that was first detected in South Africa, followed by reports from P.1, a variant that appeared in Brazil. There have also been reports of additional variants popping up elsewhere, including in the U.S., making it look really, same difficult to follow.

Of course, these variants didn’t just emerge – they started to spread – and that’s stressful to hear.

Just know this: it is natural that viruses have variants. RNA viruses like SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, “can mutate when they replicate,” Thomas Russo, MD, professor and chief of infectious diseases at the University of Buffalo in New York. “Most of these mutations have no functional consequences – they don’t change the properties of the virus or the severity of the disease it causes,” he says. But in some situations, a series of mutations can spread and create what is known as a variant of the original virus.

Sometimes, these variants don’t make big differences in how infectious a virus is or how sick it can cause, says Dr. Russo. But in other situations, the variants can spread more easily and lead to more serious complications than the original strain. “It’s about them that we care about,” says Dr. Russo.

Okay, but how many variants of COVID-19 are there? And how concerned should you be concerned with the variants that are in the headlines? The doctors explain.

How many variants of COVID-19 are there? And are they more deadly or contagious?

Technically, there is no limit to how many variants a virus can have, and that includes SARS-CoV-2. “There are probably many variants to count,” says David Cennimo, MD, an infectious disease specialist and assistant professor of medicine at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. That’s why he prefers the term “concern variant” to help describe strains that you really should be concerned about.

“A variant is worrying if it appears to behave significantly differently from our usual norms, established clinically, in transmissibility, in severity,” he says. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) specifically listed the following variants as those you should be aware of:

• B.1.1.7, also known as the United Kingdom variant. This strain, which was first detected in England, has a large number of mutations. This includes a mutation in the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein that appears to help the virus bind to cells more easily. As a result, explains Russo, it can spread more easily than the original SARS-CoV-2. In January, UK scientists presented evidence to suggest that the variant may be more deadly compared to other strains. The virus has already been detected worldwide, including in the United States
• B.1.351, also known as the South African variant. This variant has some mutations in common with B.1.1.7, including mutations in the peak protein. As of now, says the CDC, there is “no evidence” to suggest that the variant has any impact on the seriousness of a COVID-19 case that someone may have. The variant was first detected in South Africa and reported in the United States in late January.
• P.1, also known as the Brazilian variant. This variant was first detected in four travelers from Brazil who underwent routine checks at the Japanese airport in Haneda. The variant has 17 mutations, including three in the spike protein. There is some evidence to suggest that this variant is more infectious than other strains. The variant was detected in the United States in late January.

Dr. Cennimo calls these variants “the greatest players to date”, adding that “each has shown the ability to become the dominant virus in the region”.

Will the COVID-19 vaccine work against these variants?

Research on COVID-19 vaccines and how they react to each variant is ongoing, but the data has so far been very promising.

Pfizer-BioNTech shared in a study published in late January that its vaccine COVID-19 was effective against variants of the virus in the United Kingdom and South Africa. They noted in a press release that “neutralization” against the variant South Africa in laboratory studies was “slightly smaller” compared to the neutralization of other viruses. But, the companies said, it is “unlikely to lead to a significant reduction in vaccine effectiveness”.

Moderna shared in a press release in late January that B.1.1.7 had “no significant impact” on the vaccine’s effectiveness. The South African variant, however, caused a “six-fold reduction” in neutralizing titers, also known as antibodies. Still, Moderna said, the neutralizing title levels against B.1.351 “remain above the levels expected to be protective.”

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which has not yet been authorized for use in the USA, was found to be 66 percent effective overall in preventing moderate to severe forms of COVID-19 and up to 85 percent effective in preventing serious diseases in the clinical trial of phase 3 results that have been shared recently. The vaccine prevented people from being hospitalized or dying from the virus 28 days after vaccination, according to a press release. However, the vaccine’s effectiveness varied depending on where it was studied: it was 66 percent in Latin America and 57 percent in South Africa, while it was 72 percent in America. Although Johnson & Johnson has not explained why, Dr. Russo says that different strains of the virus may be to blame.

“Vaccines may perform worse against certain variants,” he says. “But we still believe it is over the limit to offer protection.

The TL; DR: the South African strain seems to be the most complicated for vaccines as of now – but they still seem to work against it.

Can you get a new variant if you already have COVID-19?

It is difficult to know for sure. Dr. Cennimo cites data from the Brazilian city of Manaus to suggest that people can be infected again. About 75 percent of the population was infected with SARS-CoV-2 in October 2020, but since mid-December, the area has seen an increase in cases. The researchers found that the P.1 variant caused 42 percent of infections. “We would have to assume that reinfection is possible,” says Dr. Cennimo.

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Dr. Russo agrees. “At the very least, this suggests that the immunity provided by natural infection is not ideal,” he says.

The good news about all this is that the same COVID-19 prevention methods that have always worked in the past continue to work against these variants, says Dr. Cennimo. So continue to practice social detachment, wear a mask when you are around people outside your home, and wash your hands regularly.

And while it’s tough when we’re in a damn pandemic year, keep doing your best to protect yourself and your loved ones from COVID-19. “People must remain vigilant,” says Dr. Cennimo.

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