A COVID-19 patient is rushed into a hospital in Brasilia, Brazil on January 11, 2021.A variant named P.1, with a similar genetic profile to B.1.351, is surging in Brazil. In mid-December, 42% of coronavirus cases in the Amazon region involved P.1.
Researchers first detected this strain in four travelers from Brazil who had traveled to Japan's Haneda airport outside Tokyo. Data show it's 50% more transmissible that the original version of the virus, and has the same trio of concerning spike mutations as B.1.351: N501Y, K417T, and E484K, so may also be able to evade antibodies generated from previous infections or a vaccine.from earlier in January pinpointed P.
The researchers think the strain may have contributed to LA's record coronavirus case surge in the late fall. characterizing B.1.351 and P.1, so additional studies are needed to find out whether it spreads more easily than other existing strains, or if it can evade antibodies.Northern California, New York, Washington DC, and island countries in the Pacific Ocean have alsoThe spread of B.1.351, in particular, has prompted vaccine developers to start working on shots to combat virus variants.