New York has joined a growing list of more than a dozen states that have confirmed at least one case of a worrisome coronavirus variant found for the first time in Brazil.
The concern variant, known as P.1, is highly contagious and, in some cases, reinfected people who had already recovered from the coronavirus. About 48 cases of the variant have already been reported in at least 16 states, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is now in at least 25 other countries.
Scientists hope that the variants will soon become the dominant source of infection in the United States. The country has been racing to vaccinate as many people as possible before that happens, although some states are easing blocking restrictions.
Florida recorded 21 cases of variant P.1, the highest number of any state, according to the most recent data from the CDC. At least 49 states and Puerto Rico have reported about 5,500 cases of the variant first identified in Britain, which may soon be the dominant form of the virus in the United States. Another 180 cases of a variant found for the first time in South Africa have also been reported.
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo of New York announced on Saturday that the state’s first P.1 case was identified by scientists at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, a Brooklyn resident in his 90s with no history travel.
“The detection of the Brazilian variant here in New York further underscores the importance of taking all appropriate measures to continue to protect your health,” said Cuomo in a statement.
Scientists are concerned about the P.1 variant because it shares many mutations with the variant that is now dominant in South Africa, known as B.1.351. The vaccines made by Moderna and Pfizer still protect against this variant, but are a little less effective. Vaccines are expected to perform similarly against P.1.
The pace of vaccinations is accelerating in the United States. About 79.4 million people received at least one dose of the vaccine by Saturday, the CDC said. In New York, at least 25% of the population received at least one dose.
The P.1 variant was first reported in Japan in December, in four people who traveled from Brazil. It quickly became dominant in Manaus, the largest city in the country’s Amazon region, and spread to other South American cities. He arrived in the United States in January, appearing for the first time in Minnesota.
Three studies offered a glimpse of the variant’s rise in Brazil, probably increasing in winter and fueling a record increase in coronavirus cases, partly due to increased contagiousness. It also had the ability to infect some people who had immunity from previous Covid-19 attacks.