The South African variant has become to spread and recently has been reported in South Florida. There are concerns it can spread more readily and vaccines may not work quite as well against it.
Some of the changes involve the virus’s spike protein – the part that gains the virus entry into human cells. This is why experts are concerned about these specific mutations.
The South African variant carries a mutation, called N501Y, that appears to make it more contagious or easy to spread.
Another mutation, called E484K, could help the virus dodge a person’s immune system and may affect how well coronavirus vaccines work.
The early results from Moderna suggest its vaccine is still effective against the South Africa variant, although the immune response may not be as strong or prolonged.