The coronavirus variant from South Africa might evade antibodies, warns an knowledgeable

By Vaughn Hillyard On Jan 29, 2021

MIAMI – Dr. Aileen Marty warned Floridians who tested positive for antibodies derived from a previous coronavirus that it wasn’t enough to protect them from the new variant of the coronavirus from South Africa that surfaced in the US on Thursday.

Marty, an infectious disease expert at Florida International University, said the South African variant, discovered in two unrelated cases in South Carolina, could spread to those who were already infected with the original strain.

Public health officials reported that the British variant was spreading in Florida, and the majority of the cases reported by the Florida Department of Health were in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that a first case of the tribe from Brazil was discovered in Minnesota.

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Related link: CDC map of US COVID-19 cases caused by variants

Marty also said that Pfizer and Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccines still offer some protection from the contagious variants that were first reported in South Africa, the UK and Brazil. The supply of COVID-19 vaccines remains limited in South Florida.