What About COVID Variants?

 

A few people have asked my opinion on the different COVID-19 variants that always seem to be in the news.

I'll be honest, this isn't an ENT issue, but it is still interesting. In brief, COVID-19 is a virus and viruses can mutate, or change. It appears that a few variants have shown up in different countries.

In the United Kingdom (U.K.) there is a variant called B.1.1.7. Some research has indicated that it spreads more easily than the original COVID-19. It spread to the U.S. already in December 2020.

Another variant called B.1.351 popped up in South Africa in October 2020. It also was detected in the U.S. in January.

In January, a variant called P.1 was found in Brazilians traveling to Japan. By the end of January, it had already spread to the U.S.

So basically, all these variants have already spread to the U.S. Currently, all of the vaccines that we have can prevent infection from any of these variants. I am unaware of any "more aggressive/restrictive" social distancing measures that are being suggested in response to them.

So what do I recommend? Keep doing what we have been doing. Be smart - wear a mask when inside around other people, try to keep your distance when inside, and get a vaccine when it is available to you. But my main point with the variants: don't freak out about them! We knew that this would happen, and until they become resistant to vaccines or cause worse symptoms/outcomes, we just need to keep doing our best to control the spread.

 

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Daily LifeErin ShellenbergerCOVID-19, virus