Over the past month, the news has been dominated by reports of COVID-19 variants being found in the U.K., South Africa and Brazil.<br />Now those mutated strains are being detected in the United States, leaving many feeling unsettled and uncertain.<br />Don’t panic. Here are the four biggest myths about the COVID-19 variants: debunked.<br /><br />Myth 1: The COVID-19 variants came as a complete surprise to health experts.<br />According to the CDC, “viruses constantly change through mutation,” meaning these variants were anticipated.<br />In fact, the variants have likely been around for a while, health officials just didn’t notice due to a lack of genomic sequencing.<br /><br />Myth 2: The COVID-19 variants are more deadly.<br />According to Eric Vail of Cedars-Sinai, variants typically become “more infectious and less virulent.” It’s “less likely” that a deadly variant would form because viruses want to spread more, not kill their hosts.<br /><br />Myth 3: The current vaccines do not work against the COVID-19 variants.<br />The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines appear to protect against the known COVID-19 variants, although they are “less potent” against the South Africa strain. <br />Thankfully, mRNA vaccine platforms allow for changes to made quickly, as they can sequence out the specific mutations as they occur.<br /><br />Myth 4: We can’t stop COVID-19 variants from spreading. All of the preventative measures being used to fight the original strain of COVID-19 can also help against the variants.The most potent tool: getting vaccinated.
