Variant of Brazil’s COVID-19: Massachusetts announces first case detected

Massachusetts authorities announced the news on Tuesday of the state’s first known case of the Brazilian variant of COVID-19.

According to the state Department of Public Health, a woman in her 30s who lives in Barnstable County tested positive for COVID-19 in late February and subsequent genetic sequencing found that she had the P.1 variant of the virus, that was first discovered in Brazil last December.

DPH officials, who were notified of the results of the sequencing through the US Disease Control and Prevention Center’s national surveillance system, said on Tuesday that there was no information available about the woman’s illness or whether she traveled recently.

Researchers are still learning about the Brazil variant, which has generated a record increase in cases and deaths from COVID-19 in the South American country since its discovery.

Preliminary studies have found that – similar to the other two known variants of COVID-19 in the UK and South Africa – the mutated strain can be up to twice as contagious as the original version of the virus.

The researchers also found that the Brazil variant gained the ability to reinfect individuals who already had COVID-19 and could weaken the protective effects of a Chinese vaccine used in Brazil, as the New York Times recently reported.

However, the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine appears to remain highly effective against P.1. variant, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine last week. And while vaccine manufacturers are working on reinforcements to protect against emerging variants, the researchers found that Pfizer and Moderna injections still offer strong, albeit slightly less, protection against new strains.

DPH officials said on Tuesday that there were also a total of 213 known cases of the UK variant, known as B.1.1.7, and six cases of the South African variants, known as B.1.351, reported in Massachusetts .

The authorities noted that the most prevalent variant in the United Kingdom also caused a rapid increase in cases in the United Kingdom, in several other countries and in parts of the United States. However, some experts are optimistic that the combination of declining cases and increased vaccination coverage in the United States will prevent the same type of peak fed by variants.

DPH noted on Tuesday that “the best defense against the worrying variants is to prevent the spread of COVID.”

“This includes wearing a mask, distancing yourself socially, avoiding groups, staying home when you are sick, getting tested if you have symptoms or being identified as a close contact with someone with COVID and being vaccinated when it’s your turn,” officials said .