A New And Deadlier Covid-19 Variant Is Devastating Brazil

 

Daily Mail: How devastating could Brazil's 'super-covid' be? Study finds coronavirus overwhelmed the country, killing nearly 40% of hospitalized patients as fears grow its variant could ALREADY be in America 

 * Between February and August, 38% of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Brazil died of the infection, a new study reveals 

 * Over that period cases and hospitalizations grew rapidly, overwhelming the health care system and leading to an increase in death rates 

 * A more infectious variant was reported there in December - but is thought to have first emerged and begun spreading in the Amazonas state in July 

 * Amazonas is now in a state of crisis, with its health care system in 'collapse' amid surging coronavirus cases

 * No cases of the Brazilian variant have been detected in the US so far 

 * But CDC officials warned the UK variant could become dominant in the US by March, fueling a surge in cases and, ultimately, an increase in COVID-19 deaths 

Nearly 40 percent of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Brazil died of the virus as the nation's health care system was inundated with coronavirus cases last year, a new study estimates. 

It comes after a more infectious variant of 'super-covid' that scientists worry could evade vaccines emerged in Brazil. That variant was discovered in the Amazonas, a Brazilian state in the Northwest of the South American country. Scientists believe it may have been circulating there as early as July. 

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Update: A new Covid variant has been discovered in Brazil — here’s what we know so far (CNBC)

WNU Editor: The mortality rate for this strain is through the roof .... Two in five Covid patients in Brazilian hospitals die, and almost half of patients admitted were under 60 .... Two in five Covid patients in Brazilian hospitals die, study finds (The Independent).