The P1 Gamma variant was detected in the province of Chiriquí in the outbreak of the Rafael Hernández Hospital, this was announced by Dr. Eduardo Ortega, who highlighted the importance of vaccination against COVID-19 in the face of the circulation of variants in the country.

He explained that COVID-19 is a ribonucleic acid virus, these are viruses that mutate faster.

The Alpha variant is the one that comes from the United Kingdom, it is transmitted more easily, but it does not evade the immune response of vaccines against COVID-19; while Gamma, from Brazil, has a great contagion capacity, and also evades, not totally, the immune response of vaccines.

Ortega points out that he may have general symptoms, however it is likely that the infected person will not go to the hospital, and will not die.

The information handled by the authorities is that this variant entered Panama from Costa Rica and was progressively being transmitted to the metropolitan region.

It is expected that as of July the vaccination against COVID-19 in Panama will advance significantly, in populations of different ages.

The Gamma variant of SARS-CoV-2 or B.1.1.248, also called the P.1 lineage and colloquially known as the Brazilian variant, corresponds to a variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

NOTE: The information in this article is not intended to influence your decision whether to be vaccinated. You should conduct your own research when making a decision.