Department of Health (DS) Secretary Carlos Mellado López confirmed that two new variants of SARS-CoV-2, cataloged as variants of interest, have been identified on the island.
The secretary assured them that they are being monitored by the DS epidemiology team and that the vaccines so far provide protection against the three variants found on the island.
The two new interesting variants identified in Puerto Rico are the Brazilian variant P.2 and the California variant B.1.429, these two variants are added to the British variant B.1.1.7 that was confirmed in February.
“We follow up the identified cases in order to treat them effectively. Viruses are prone to mutations, as has happened with the flu virus that changes every year, so the SARS-CoV-2 virus is no exception. The most important thing at this point is not to lower our vigilance and continue to take care of ourselves, ”emphasized Mellado after calling for calm in light of the identified cases.
The case identified with the Brazilian variant P.2 is a woman between the ages of 40 and 49. Meanwhile, two patients from Puerto Rico were identified with California variant B.1.429 and whose cases are still under investigation.
The DS Department of Public Health Epidemiology has the collaboration of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in San Juan (CDC, for the acronym in English) and Ponce Health Sciences University (PHSU). In addition, three laboratories on the island: Quest, LabCorp and Ilumina are sending samples to the Atlanta CDC for sequencing and molecular monitoring.
As the doctor has explained, a variant of concern is when the virus shows changes that make it have certain characteristics, for example, it is more transmissible and therefore generates more cases of COVID-19. Variants of interest have not yet collected the number of changes required to become a healthcare variant, but they do have some of those characteristics, so they are being monitored.
On February 15, the Department of Health confirmed variant B.1.1.7, also known as the UK variant. It was obtained from a non-resident patient in Puerto Rico with a history of travel abroad. On February 24, the DS reported the identification of two additional patients with the UK variant, whose cases are unrelated. While four of the six new cases are people from the same conglomerate. All were symptomatic and none required hospitalization.
The secretary appealed to the public to continue with preventive measures, including the use of masks, washing hands, and physical distance, in addition to vaccination when it is their turn. “Now more than ever, vaccination is more important. The data indicates that the vaccines still protect against COVID-19 and the variants of the virus it causes, ”said the health minister.