Univ. from Miami finds COVID-19 variants from New York and Brazil in South Florida

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – Researchers at the University of Miami are discovering more COVID-19 variants here in South Florida, including three cases of two different Brazilian variants and now a case of the so-called New York variant.

Dr. David Andrews of the Miller School of Medicine at UM calls it ‘a real eye-opening’.

“We are discovering varieties of many different types,” he adds. “From many different locations, from a variety of countries and from a variety of sources.”

Andrews, associate professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, says the researchers were “very surprised by our first few hundred sequence results. We found three variants from Brazil.”

The mutation from the United Kingdom is the most common variant of the strain so far circulating throughout Florida – and thought to be more easily spread. In their latest statistics posted Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had verified 500 cases of that UK variant in Florida, most of any state in the country.

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In addition, from a random sample of positive COVID-19 results, the University of Miami researchers found that 25% had the UK variant.

But the concern with the newer New York variety, like the Brazilian strain, is its suspected ability to bypass immunity, including from a vaccine.

“We entered this in the expectation of not finding a specific variant, and we found a case of the New York variant, and yes, concern for the New York variant is also an immune escape mechanism,” Andrews says.

So, what about the millions already vaccinated statewide? While vaccines have been shown to be effective against the British variant, Andrews says they must be at least partially effective at protecting against other mutations.

“Both Pfizer and Moderna are starting clinical trials with small variations of the vaccine to address those structural differences in the spike protein,” he says.

The latest data from Thursday’s CDC showed just one verified case of the Brazilian variant, which Local 10 News previously reported was located in Miami-Dade County.

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The new variants discovered at the University of Miami contribute to this.

UM says it is one of the “few” academic medical centers in the US that tests COVID-19 samples for variants and sequences them.

“Because of our geographic location, it is very important for us to develop these capabilities,” said Dr. Stephen D. Nimer, director of the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, who developed the school’s COVID-19 testing program. Finding other variants, we can then determine if they are covered by our vaccines and whether they actually cause a more serious disease, and all this information is useful for the world to know. “

The Florida Department of Heatlh has said the greater number of confirmed variants in the state is in part the result of greater efforts to sequence and search for those other species than in other states.

Click here for more information about the University of Miami research.