New COVID-19 Variant Confirmed In Oklahoma, Health Experts Share Concerns

The "P.1" or "Brazil" variant of the coronavirus was confirmed last week in Oklahoma, creating new concerns about a new wave of the virus.

While the common variety of the coronavirus is practically everywhere, the Brazil variant has only been confirmed in Minnesota at the end of January, and in Oklahoma last week. The Oklahoma case was a woman who had recently traveled from Brazil.

State health experts said they believe the chain of transmission was stopped in the one case, but also believe if more advanced testing was done, it's likely the variant would show up elsewhere.

"This is probably the most concerning thing that's happened this week," said Dr. Jennifer Clark, as she began a weekly briefing she gives for health professionals statewide through an OSU education platform called "Project Echo."

The newly confirmed variant of the virus was notable in Brazil for re-infecting people thought to have immunity after recovering from COVID-19.

An Oklahoma State University Virologist, Dr Jennifer Rudd, DVM, is studying coronaviruses and how they spread.

"If these variants are bypassing protective immunity or spreading a lot more easily, and we see the resurgence of cases like in Brazil, that's what we're worried about in Oklahoma, and that's why the P.1 variant is probably the most concerning, or one of the most concerning variants that is currently out there" said Dr. Rudd.

In the United States, the "U.K" variant, B.1.1.7, is considered widespread with 690 cases in 33 states, according to the CDC. The "South African" variant, B.1.351, is rare, with six cases in three states.

The Director of the Centers for Disease Control, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, said Tuesday "The continued proliferation of variants remains a concern" and Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Director of the National Institutes of Health, said "The immediate concern is the fact that the 117 is in a considerable number of states, reported with a number of people, and that modeling tells us it could become dominant by the end of March. That's the sobering news. The encouraging news is that the vaccines were are distributing right now are effective against that particular variant, less so against the South African, the 351, but hopefully we will get this virus much more under control before that would become more dominant." He did not directly address the Brazilian variant.

Locally, officials urge people to continue taking precautions to prevent the spread of the virus.

"When people are exposed and infected, it gives that virus a chance to replicate and when it replicates, it has a chance to mutate and create these variants," Dr. Bruce Dart, Director of the Tulsa County Health Department, said.

The OSU Virologist, Dr. Rudd, said that's the concern with increasingly infectious variants emerging.

"They can start circulating in increasing numbers and become dominant strains, and that's what we're concerned about with all of these emerging variants," she said, noting it's unlikely the newly arrived variant is more deadly, but if it's more infectious, as it appears to be, the result is more sickness, hospitalization, and death.

She noted the importance of basic precautions and the critical role vaccines will play.

"Even if it has a reduced efficacy, there is still some effect. We know this vaccine works really well for the dominant strain that's out there, so we've got to continue vaccinations as well" she said.