New York detects Brazilian coronavirus variant in Brooklyn resident

Health officials detected a case of the Brazilian coronavirus variant in a New York resident for the first time last week.

"This is a race between the vaccine and the variants, and we continue to make tremendous progress of getting shots in the arms of eligible New Yorkers," Dr. Howard Zucker, the state’s health commissioner, said in a statement. "In the meantime, we remind New Yorkers to do everything they can to protect themselves and their neighbors as we continue to manage this pandemic." The guidance echoes Dr. Anthony Fauci’s, who also said the best defense against emerging variants in the U.S. is to vaccinate as many people as quickly as possible. The P.1 variant is less widespread in the U.S. than other mutations, such as the U.K. B.1.1.7 variant, which experts predict will become the dominant strain by the end of the month.