A variant strain that is more infectious and resistant to the COVID-19 vaccine was detected in Mississippi on Friday. A person in Harrison County was found to be infected with variant B.1.351, which was discovered in South Africa in December and arrived in the United States in January.
There are currently 181 confirmed cases of variant B.1.351 in 26 US states and territories.
Scientists are concerned about the variant because clinical trials of the three vaccines approved in the United States are showing that they offer less protection against B.1.351 than other variants. People recovering from COVID-19 can be infected again if exposed to B.1.351 because one of its mutations makes it more difficult for antibodies to adhere.
Although more data is needed, preliminary studies have shown that, despite any small reduction in overall efficacy, vaccines administered in the United States still provide robust protection against the most serious results of a COVID-19 infection.
“It just reinforces our message of how important it is to be vaccinated and protected now. Time is of the essence, ”said state health officer, Dr. Thomas Dobbs, during a news conference on Friday.
Dobbs also encouraged Mississipians to continue to follow preventive measures like masking in public, because limiting the spread to the community is the best way to prevent new strains from gaining significant bases in the state.
As variant infections continue to increase in the United States, the Food and Drug Administration is preparing a plan to update vaccines, if necessary. This could include the development of a third booster injection from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech for their vaccines.
B.1.351 is the second variant strain of COVID-19 to reach Mississippi. Ten cases of the UK variant, B.1.1.7, have been confirmed in the state since mid-February. Preliminary studies in Britain found that this variant is 30-50% more infectious and about 55% more lethal than the original strain of COVID-19.
In Mississippi, 627,922 people – 21% of the state’s population – received at least the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. More than 350,000 people have been fully inoculated since the state began distributing vaccines in December.