LOS ANGELES - As the coronavirus continues to spread around the world, researchers are keeping a close eye on the R.1 variant in the United States.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not identify the R.1 variant as a variant of concern or interest. However, in a post detailing an outbreak at a Kentucky nursing home in March, the agency said R.1 does have "several mutations of importance," demonstrating "evidence of increasing virus transmissibility … evidence of reduced neutralization by convalescent and post-vaccination sera" and the potential to "reduce the effectiveness of neutralizing antibodies.""Although vaccination was associated with decreased likelihood of infection and symptomatic illness, 25.4% of vaccinated.