El Paso doctor answers questions about Covid-19 variants

EL PASO, Texas - We've heard a lot about the variants of the coronavirus. How many are there? Are the vaccines effective against them? We asked Dr. Neha Sharma, medical director of The Hospitals of Providence Northeast and Horizon City.

WHY SHOULD WE BE CONCERNED ABOUT THE VARIANTS?
"The CDC is currently monitoring multiple variants in at least 33 states with at least 500 cases and counting, said Dr. Sharma. "The variants seem to be more contagious and there's concern they could become more dominant in the United States by Spring. However, so far, the variants do not seem to cause more severe illness or a higher death rate or any sort of different clinical manifestations."

HOW MANY VARIANTS ARE THERE AND ARE THERE ANY IN TEXAS?
Dr. Sharma said, "there are at least 3 variants right now namely South African, UK and Brazilian. Yes, the UK strain was confirmed in Texas in January, South African confirmed a couple of days ago and experts say that the Brazilian strain is also likely already in Texas. So far no cases have been confirmed in the borderland."

HOW CAN YOU TELL IT'S A VARIANT? IT'S NOT LIKE IT WEARS A NAMETAG THAT SAYS "HI, I'M THE U-K VARIANT."
"The only way to know is to obtain a sample and study the structure of the virus in a lab," explained Dr. Sharma, "which is exactly what scientists are doing right now to better understand the different mutations that are resulting in these variants of concern."

IS THE VACCINE EFFECTIVE AGAINST THE VARIANTS?
According to Dr. Sharma, "we have some vaccines, like measles, which you don't need to change at all. When it comes to the flu vaccine, you have to change the structure every year based on the circulating strains. For COVID, most scientists believe that the vaccines should provide significant protection against the variants and studies are ongoing so hopefully we will have more data soon. In the rare possibility that the vaccines aren't effective against variants of concern, what is reassuring is that it is possible to change the composition of the antigens and the vaccines quickly."

CAN YOU GET A NEW VARIANT IF YOU'VE ALREADY HAD COVID-19?
Dr. Sharma said, "it's hard to know for sure but we have to assume that re-infection is possible and this suggests that the immunity afforded by natural infection is not optimal."

HOW CAN WE PREVENT THE SPREAD OF VARIANTS?
"The preventive strategies are the same," said Dr. Sharma. "Wear a mask, practice social distancing, wash your hands and get vaccinated once you are eligible. You must continue to practice these preventive strategies even after you get the vaccine."