Oregon is the first US state to have an identified case of a “variant of concern” COVID-19

Oregon now has the distinction of being the first state in the country where a new specific variant of the coronavirus has been discovered.

Oregon, on the other hand, reported 11 documented cases of the British variant of the coronavirus and one case of the Brazilian variant.

But on Friday, The New York Times reported that Oregon Health & Science University sequenced a case that was a UK variant with an additional mutation that could make the current COVID-19 vaccine less effective.

The same genetic mutation developed in the United Kingdom at the end of the increase in cases in that country. The mutation – E484K or “Eek” – also appears in the Brazilian and South African variants.

This is the way Times describes: “Variant B.1.1.7 with Eek also emerged in Britain, designated as a ‘concern variant’ by scientists. But the virus identified in Oregon appears to have evolved independently.”

“We don’t import it from anywhere else in the world – it happened spontaneously,” OHSU geneticist Brian O’Roak told the Times.

As the case was developed in-house, scientists expect there to be more than one case in the United States

There are two serious concerns about the variants (and this mutation in particular): they may result in another sudden increase in cases before vaccines are widely distributed and may make vaccines less effective.

Dr. Anthony Fauci is warning that the most contagious variants circulating in the United States could trigger another outbreak. The UK variant (without the Oregon mutation) is responsible for about 1 in 5 new cases in the country, the Times reported Sunday.

There is some debate as to why another outbreak has not yet happened, given the spread of the most contagious variants, and also whether this will happen.

THE Times The story that gives the news about the Oregon mutation ends with a word of caution:

“Oregon’s discovery reinforces the need for people to continue to take precautions, such as wearing a mask, until a substantial part of the population is immunized.

“’People don’t have to go crazy, but they need to remain vigilant’, [University of California at Berkeley’s Stacia Wyman] said. ‘We cannot let our guard down as long as there are these more communicable variants in circulation.’ “