The variants of the covid-19 in New York prevent the decrease in the infection rate

New York, Apr 12 (EFE) .- The high presence in New York City of the New York and British variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes covid-19, is one of the causes that has prevented the decline of the infection rate, points out a statement from the Ministry of Health.
According to a study, the variants of the virus considered “worrying or of interest” due to their greater ease of transmission or their more serious symptoms went from constituting 10% of cases in January to representing 70% of infections in March.
“This suggests that the spread of specific variants, potentially due to their increased risk of contagion, is one of the reasons why COVID-19 cases in New York remain at a high level of between 3,000 and 4,000 new cases each day. “, says the statement.
The mayor of the city, Bill de Blasio, reported this Monday that the number of positive cases this Sunday had been 2,773 and that the average positivity of the last days was 5.27%.
The most widespread variant of SARS-CoV-2 in the city is B.1.526, also known as New York, and considered by local health authorities as “of interest”, followed by far by B.1.1.7 or British , which has the rating of “worrying”.
A map that accompanies the note shows how the local variant is extended by the five boroughs of the city and that it has a special incidence in the Bronx and in parts of Queens.
For its part, the UK variant is also found in the five major districts, although its incidence is much lower. Their presence is greatest in the South Bronx, East Queens, and West Staten Island.
The note also mentions the Brazilian variant (P.1), also classified as “worrying”, of which it says that although it has recently been detected in the city “it currently has a low prevalence, although it is increasing.”
The statement recalls that the British variant is more transmissible and can cause the disease to be more serious, but clarifies that as with the New Yorker “there is no evidence, to date, that (neither of the two) reduces the effectiveness of the vaccine”.
As for the P.1 or Brazilian variant, the note points out that there is “some evidence” that it can favor the “evasion of immunity, both for people who previously had covid-19 and for fully vaccinated people.”
The release of this report coincides with the announcement by state authorities that about 25 percent of New York’s population is fully vaccinated.

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