>>> WE HAVE THIS BREAKING NEWS
TO SHARE AS A COVID CASE CAUSED
BY THE SOUTH AFRICAN VARIANT HAS
BEEN IDENTIFIED NOW IN MARYLAND.
THE STRAIN IS NOW KNOWN TO BE IN
TWO STATES WHILE THE UK VARIANT
HAS BEEN REPORTED IN 31 STATES.
THE BRAZIL STRAIN IN ONE.
MSNBCS SENIOR MEDICAL
CORRESPONDENT, DR. JOHN TORRES,
IS JOINING ME RIGHT NOW.
DR. JOHN, ALWAYS GOOD TO HAVE
YOU.
CAN YOU EXPLAIN, FIRST OF ALL,
WHAT EXACTLY IS A VARIANT?
>> AND ALEX, THIS IS THE BIGGEST
QUESTION I GET BECAUSE WE KEEP
TALKING ABOUT VARIANTS AND A
VARIANT IS BASICALLY A CHANGE IN
THE VIRUS THAT GIVES IT SOME
ADVANTAGE, AND IF YOU LOOK AT
THE VIRUS HERE, WE HAVE SOME
GRAPHICS TO SHOW YOU.
BASICALLY, THE VIRUS HAS THESE
SPIKES ON THE END OF IT.
WHEN THE VIRUS DUPLICATES
ITSELF, IT DOES TWO COPIES, THEN
IT DOES THREE COPIES AND THEN IT
DOES FOUR COPIES.
ALONG THAT DUPLICATION, ONE OF
THE COPIES TURNS INTO A MISTAKE.
SOMETIMES THAT MISTAKE IS AN
ADVANTAGE, LIKE WHAT WEVE SEEN
HERE, AND WHEN IT BECOMES
ADVANTAGEOUS TO THE VIRUS, IT
BECOMES LESS ADVANTAGEOUS TO US
AND MORE DANGEROUS TO US.
RIGHT NOW THERE ARE THE THREE
VARIANTS WERE TALKING ABOUT
THAT HAVE GONE THROUGH THAT
CHANGE, ALEXIS.
>> WHAT ARE THE MAIN VARIANTS WE
SHOULD BE CONCERNED ABOUT?
>> THE BIG ONES WEVE HEARD
ABOUT FOR A WHILE IS THE B
1.1.7.
THAT WAS DISCOVERED IN THE UK.
RIGHT NOW, UNFORTUNATELY, HERE
IN THE UNITED STATES, IT IS A
VIRUS THAT HAS SPREAD OVER MORE
THAN HALF THE STATES WE HAVE
HERE IN THE U.S., AND BY SOME
ESTIMATES, BY MARCH, ITS GOING
TO BECOME THE DOMINANT VIRUS IN
THE UNITED STATES.
AND THEN YOU TALK ABOUT THE B.
1.3.5.1 THAT WAS A VIRUS THAT
WAS ORIGINALLY DETECTED IN SOUTH
AFRICA.
THE ISSUE WITH THIS VIRUS IS WE
KNOW ITS MORE CANONTAGIOUS BUT
COULD BE MORE DANGEROUS.
PROBLEM IS, THAT HAS COME TO THE
UNITED STATES AS WELL AND AS OF
EARLIER TODAY, WE HAVE CASES IN
SOUTH CAROLINA, TWO CASES AND
THEN ONE CASE IN MARYLAND.
THE CONCERN IS NONE OF THESE
PEOPLE ARE RELATED, NONE OF
THESE PEOPLE TRAVELED, SO WE
THINK THERE MIGHT BE COMMUNITY
SPREAD AND THEN THE LAST ONE IS
THE P-1 VARIANT.
THIS ONE COMES OUT OF BRAZIL.
WE HAVE ONE CASE OF THAT IN
MINNESOTA RIGHT NOW.
AGAIN, THIS IS SOMEBODY WHO
TRAVELED SO WERE NOT SURE ABOUT
COMMUNITY SPREAD IN THAT CASE.
BUT IF THIS COMMUNITY SPREAD
STARTS HAPPENING WITH THESE ONES
THAT ARE A LITTLE MORE
DANGEROUS, THEN WE COULD HAVE
SOME ISSUES.
>> SO, DO WE KNOW IF THESE
VARIANTS ARE MORE DANGEROUS?
>> SO, THATS PART OF THE
PROBLEM.
WE DONT REALLY KNOW EXACTLY
WHAT WERE SEEING RIGHT NOW WITH
THESE VARIANTS BECAUSE OF THE
WAY THE VIRUSES ACT.
IF YOU LOOK HERE ON THE VIRUS
ITSELF, YOU SEE THESE PROTEINS,
THE E, S, M PROTEINS, THESE ARE
THE SPIKE PROTEINS YOU KEEP
HEARING PEOPLE TALK ABOUT AND
WHAT THESE PROTEINS DO IS OVER
TIME, THEY CAN CHANGE.
THEY CAN MUTATE.
IF THEY MUTATE ENOUGH TO GIVE
THEM AN ADVANTAGE, THEN THAT
BECOMES THE VARIANT WE TALK
ABOUT, AND THE ADVANTAGE THEY
GET, WHAT THESE SPIKE PROTEINS
ALLOW THEM TO DO IS BASICALLY A
LOCK-KEY TYPE MECHANISM SO THIS
IS A KEY THAT LOCKS INTO OUR
CELL AND LETS THE VIRUS GET
INSIDE THE CELL.
IF THAT LOCK IS A BETTER-FITTING
LOCK, THE VIRUS CAN GET IN
ZRONGERZRONG
STRONGER SO WE KNOW SOME OF
THESE ARE ADAPTING THE SPIKE
PROTEIN WHERE IT CAN DO JUST
THAT, ALEX.
>> WHAT ABOUT VACCINES THEN?
DO THEY WORK AGAINST THE NEW
VARIANTS?
>> WELL, RIGHT NOW, ITS KIND OF
A MIXED PICTURE OF THE VACCINE.
THE ONE WE KNOW ABOUT, MOSTLY,
IS THE PFIZER VACCINE BECAUSE
THAT ONE WAS JUST RECENTLY
TESTED AND TESTED DOWN IN SOUTH
AFRICA.
LIKE YOU CAN SEE HERE IN THE
U.S., 72% EFFECTIVE IN THE U.S.,
BUT THATS EFFECTIVE AT
PREVENTING SEVERE DISEASE AND
DEATH AND THEN YOU ONLY HAVE 57%
EFFECTIVENESS IN SOUTH AFRICA.
IF YOU LOOK AT NOVAVAX, ANOTHER
ONE THATS COMING DOWN THE PIPE
HERE, AND WE EXPECT IT TO BE
AROUND PRETTY SOON.
THATS LESS THAN 50% EFFECTIVE
AGAINST THE SOUTH AFRICAN
VARIANT AND THEN GO TO PFIZER
AND MODERNA.
AND WE SIMPLY REALLY DONT KNOW
HARD FACTS ABOUT PFIZER AND
MODERNA BECAUSE THEYRE LOOKING
AT IT NOW.
THEYVE LOOKED AT IT IN A LAB.
THEYRE GOING TO START LOOKING
AT IT IN PEOPLE OUT IN THE
COMMUNITIES, STUDIES ARE
ONGOING, SO WELL KNOW PRETTY
SOON, BUT THEY LOOK LIKE THEYRE
EFFECTIVE.
WE JUST DONT KNOW HOW EFFECTIVE
THEYRE GOING TO BE.
>> LISTEN, PEOPLE ARE WONDERING,
WHAT CAN I DO TO PROTECT MYSELF
AGAINST THE VARIANTS?
I MEAN, ARE THERE THINGS THAT
EXPERTS ARE SAYING?
>> AND THATS THE BIGGEST
QUESTION AND THE BIGGEST THING
PEOPLE CAN DO IS OBVIOUSLY GET
THE VACCINE BUT ON TOP OF THAT,
YOU WANT A MASK AND ONE OF THE
BEST MASKS, A SURGICAL MASK.
THERES BLUE ONES, WHITE ONES,
THEYRE THREE-LAYER MASKS.
CLOTH MASKS CAN WORK AS WELL BUT
YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE THERE ARE
TWO OR THREE LAYERS AND THOSE
ARE FAIRLY THICK LAYERS AND THE
BEST WAY YOU CAN TELL THAT IS
SHINE A LIGHT THROUGH THAT MASK.
IF YOU CAN SEE THE LIGHT VERY
EASILY SHINE THROUGH THE MASK,
THEN YOU WANT TO GO AHEAD AND
PROBABLY DOUBLE MASK AT THAT
POINT.
NOT EVERYBODY NEEDS TO BUT IT
COULD CERTAINLY HELP AND DONT
FORGET TO WASH YOUR HANDS.
THATS EXCEPTIONALLY IMPORTANT,
THAT 20 SECONDS OF HAND WASHING
CAN REALLY HELP GET THIS UNDER
CONTROL AND MAKE SURE WE DONT