What Do the New Coronavirus Variants Mean for the Pandemic?

Q: What are the risks of the newly identified coronavirus variants?

A: There’s no clear evidence yet that mutant versions cause more severe disease, although some are likely more contagious. Scientists expect vaccines will work but are monitoring the situation.

FULL QUESTION

Subject: COVID-19 Mutation in Colorado

I know that viruses continuously mutate, but is this new mutation that was just found stateside actually more dangerous than any other mutations of the COVID-19 virus?

FULL ANSWER

On Dec. 29, Colorado officials reported the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the U.S. due to a variant of the coronavirus that emerged in the U.K. in September.

Known as the B.1.1.7 lineage variant, but colloquially called the “U.K. variant,” the strain has spread rapidly in Britain, and scientists believe one or more of its nearly two dozen mutations have made the virus more transmissible.

A mutation is just one change to the genetic sequence. A variant usually has multiple mutations, making it a distinct virus. (To avoid stigma, we are not referring to the variants by their places of original identification.)

Meanwhile, another variant — dubbed 501Y.V2 and also referred to as the B.1.351 lineage variant — independently cropped up in October in South Africa. It shares a key mutation with B.1.1.7 and is also likely more infectious. Among numerous other genetic changes, 501Y.V2 has another mutation of interest that might allow it to partially evade immune responses in some people already exposed to the virus.

According to the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there’s no evidence that either variant can cause more severe disease, although this is still an active area of study.

As of Jan. 14, B.1.1.7  has been detected in 52 countries and at least 12 U.S. states, while 501Y.V2 has not been identified in the U.S. but has been observed in 22 nations.

Researchers have also flagged another potentially concerning variant in Brazil, known as the P.1 lineage variant, that shares some of the mutations present in B.1.1.7 and 501Y.V2 and was observed in travelers to Japan