READ MORE: South Africa’s COVID-19 variant appears in the Houston area; city identifies first UK strain cases
What is the ‘South African variant’?
The coronavirus variant first found in South Africa was detected in October. It has since been found in at least 30 other countries, including the US
Where was the variant found in the Houston area?
Fort Bend County Health Director, Dr. Jacqueline Minter, confirmed that a resident of her county has been confirmed for the strain. The male sick with the variant recovered.
How are experts testing the South African variant?
The verification of these variants has happened through the analysis of a random sample of COVID-19 tests. For now, Texas analyzes the virus to see its structure and sends the data to its partners at the Utah Public Health Laboratory for analysis and identification of the variant. The state is currently working to put this infrastructure in place to do its own analysis, which should be available in February.
Do the new variants mean that the current COVID-19 tests are less accurate?
The country’s largest testing companies and laboratories say their coronavirus tests are prepared to accurately identify new strains of viruses as they arise.
Quest Diagnostics and LabCorp., Two of the largest test processing labs in the U.S., claim to have reported no change in the accuracy of their test data with false negatives of the new variant of the UK coronavirus.
Is it true that variants are found in our wastewater?
Dr. David Persse, medical director for the city of Houston, confirmed at a news conference on Tuesday that last week the city found the first evidence of the UK variant in the wastewater in several neighborhoods. He added that, at this point, the South African variant was not detected as part of his tests.
WATCH: Houston shares first results of wastewater virus testing
Are you more likely to take the South African variant?
Professor Salim Abdool Karim, an infectious disease specialist and chief scientific adviser to South Africa’s COVID-19, told ABC News that the variant may be up to 50% more transmissible than the pre-existing variants.
If someone has had COVID-19, can you get it again?
Scientists are still unsure, but say it is possible. Health officials fear that if the virus changes enough, people may receive COVID-19 a second time.
SEE ALSO: What do the new coronavirus variants mean for Texans? And how can we better protect ourselves?
Is the South African variant more dangerous?
It is too early to say, but it may be more difficult for doctors to help you treat it. Some tests suggest that South African and Brazilian variants may be less susceptible to antibiotic drugs or antibody-rich blood from survivors of COVID-19, which help people fight the virus.
The limited research currently available shows that the new variants that have been identified so far are no longer deadly, according to the CDC. But they are more contagious, which can lead to more cases. More cases can lead to more hospitalizations and potentially more deaths.
SEE ALSO: What we know so far about COVID-19 variants worldwide
The UK variant, as well as the one that was first identified in South Africa, has been worrying authorities and experts because it is more easily transmitted than the tension the United States has faced so far. And as leaders rush to vaccinate Americans, they say that the latest strains can spread quickly.
“The projection that is made in relation to the United Kingdom (variant) is that probably by the end of March, beginning of April, it will really become more dominant in this country”, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Diseases infectious diseases, he said during a press conference at the White House on Friday.
“The fact is that when you have a virus that is able to transmit more efficiently than the wild type in the community, sooner or later by the pure viral dynamics itself, it will become more dominant than the wild type “said Fauci.
Will vaccines work against the South African variant?
Experts warn that this variant may have an impact on the effectiveness of vaccines currently available, but the testing work continues. UTMB-Galveston scientists tested the blood of people vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine against different strains.
The researchers found that less neutralizing antibodies were produced in the South African variant compared to the other strain tested.
“We know from the laboratory that many of these vaccines are not working so well against the South African variant,” said Dr. Hana El Sahly of Baylor College of Medicine.
Should you get the vaccine if you can?
Although the coronavirus has undergone a slight mutation, vaccines still appear to give some level of protection to people who contract them
Less neutralizing antibodies does not mean that the vaccine is less effective. An immune response is still triggered, producing protection above a specific threshold.
The question is now, researchers simply don’t know where that limit is.
Will people already vaccinated need more injections?
The biotechnology company Novavax said it is developing a backup to protect against emerging strains.
The company recently announced that its vaccine, known as NVX-CoV2373, was shown to be 89.3% effective in a Phase 3 clinical trial conducted in the United Kingdom and the vaccine appeared to demonstrate clinical efficacy against some coronavirus variants.
In January, Novavax started developing boosters for the most recent variants.
“The company plans to start clinical trials of these new vaccines in the second quarter of this year,” said Novavax.
WATCH: How do Pfizer and AstraZeneca work against variants?
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