BY BEN VERDE
New York City health officials
said last week that the
best defense against a newly
discovered COVID-19 variant
in New York City is to keep
doing what New Yorkers have
been doing for nearly a year:
social distancing, masking up,
washing their hands, and getting
vaccinated when they are
eligible.
“We need you to continue to
do all of the things that we’ve
been doing,” Health Commissioner
Dr. David Chokshi said
on Thursday. “We realize this
is painful and difficult, but persistence
is really important.”
The new strain, identified
by a team of researchers at
Caltech and Columbia University
known as B1526, has raised
concerns among researchers
that it could adversely impact
the effectiveness of COVID-19
vaccines.
Chokshi cautioned however
that the science on the new
strain is still unclear, and it’s
not yet known whether the
strain will, in fact, affect vaccinations,
or be more contagious
and deadly like some other
newer strains have been.
“You need to be a little skeptical
of everything you read,”
Chokshi said. “Not all variants
are a public health concern.
Some variants are just that
— they’re variants.”
Chokshi also said that all
current research shows that
the available vaccines are effective
against different variants.
“What we see from trial
after trial including all of the
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data from Johnson & Johnson
is that all of the vaccines that
are authorized in the U.S., the
J&J vaccine which is likely to
be authorized, are incredibly
effective at preventing severe
illness, hospitalizations, and
deaths,” he said.
The new variant was found
to be “rapidly spreading”
through New York, with cases
found scattered across the
northeast, raising concerns
that it could become the dominant
strain in New York. New
strains have emerged as the
next battlefield in the battle
against coronavirus, with
some models predicting that
the highly contagious United
Kingdom strain could become
the dominant strain in the
United States by the end of
March.
Health Commissioner Dr. David Chokshi
Photo courtesy of the Mayor’s offi ce
Don’t be alarmed over
new COVID-19 variant in
New York City: Chokshi
Virtual Open House
SATURDAY, MARCH 20, 2021
TEXT OR CALL: (347) 305-4497
www.bmcc.cuny.edu/cng
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