- Experts say the number of unvaccinated people in the United States is a key reason coronavirus variants are emerging.
- They explain that the virus replicates quicker in unvaccinated people, increasing the chance of mutations.
- They’re concerned that new COVID-19 cases will continue to rise as variants spread and people still refuse to get vaccinated.
Chances are, the coronavirus variant known as Epsilon might not be on your radar, but scientists sure are watching it.
First discovered in California last December, it’s now spreading in Pakistan.
“This is worrisome, as it is more transmissible than original strains of the virus,” said Dr. Purvi Parikh, an allergist and immunologist with the Allergy and Asthma Network in New York City.
She added, “there is some early evidence” that the variant could be resistant to the vaccines.
So far, scientists in the United States say COVID-19 vaccines seem to be holding up against a new crop of variants that include Gamma, Lambda, Delta Plus, and even the Delta variant that’s responsible for 90 percent of new cases in the country.
But some experts are worried the clock is ticking.
“It’s perhaps just a matter of time,” said Dr. Michael Saag, a professor of medicine, infectious diseases, and virology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
“Let’s say, hypothetically, that a new variant could emerge where we won’t be so fortunate, and the existing vaccines won’t work,” Saag explained to Healthline.
“I call that hypothetical variant Omega. That’s the one we’re all fearing. It hasn’t happened yet, and we hope it doesn’t. But the longer this goes on with widespread transmission, the possibility increases with time,” he said.
Source: healthline