As counties are given the go-ahead to create their own rules and regulations regarding the Coronavirus, tensions seem high. Although schools are still required to follow the CDC guidelines, the governor has made it known that counties are more or less on their own in deciding whether to continue practicing certain guidelines or not, and that anything “not necessary” most likely won’t be kept in place.

This news can be quite alarming, though considering that the P.1 coronavirus variant is twice as transmissible as earlier strains. This variant that was first found in Brazil can evade some immunity from previous infections, which causes concern considering that some regulations are being lifted. Hopefully, people will all still continue to make smart choices based on the rising covid numbers in Colorado, but it’s impossible to conclude any sort of outcome.

In regards to the P.1 variant, some studies have hinted that people who previously had COVID-19 can get infected with P.1. The new study suggests that people who had earlier infections have about 54% to 79% of the protection against P.1 as they do against other local strains. Thus, that partial immunity may leave people vulnerable to reinfection with the variant.

Although it is not quite clear whether or not the virus makes people sicker or is more deadly than other strains is not clear, the researchers estimate that coronavirus infections were 1.2 to 1.9 times more likely to result in death after P.1 emerged than before. It is important to still be wary in public, and be as safe as possible in order to slow and stop the rapid spread of the virus, as well as the new variants.