Brazilian variant of Covid-19, known as P1, may be up to 2.2 times more transmissible and could evade immunity from previous Covid-19 infection by up to 61 per cent.The preprint, which has not yet been peer-reviewed or published in a medical journal, finds that P1 was associated with the surge in coronavirus cases seen in Manaus, Brazil, during a second wave toward the end of 2020.
It is thought this explains the resurgence of the virus despite high levels of existing immunity in the community from the first wave, reported CNN.Also Read | How citizen data led India’s Covid battleThe team sequenced viruses sampled from people infected with coronavirus between November 2020 and January 2021 in Manaus, where the new variant was first detected,.