Brazil COVID-19 Variant Expected To Mutate To Deadlier Variants If Left Unchecked, Scientist Claims

South American top scientists have cautioned that the fast-spreading COVID-19 variant from Brazil could spawn new, even more lethal forms. It increases the possibility of a long-term epidemic in a world that only has a fraction of the vaccines it needs.

Researchers discovered the P1 version in mid-January among Japanese travelers to the Amazon. It has since spread to more countries, including the United States. According to experts researching the variant, it is undoubtedly more infectious and capable of reinfecting citizens. Doctors believe it may be much more dangerous.

Miguel Nicolelis, a Duke University neuroscientist who is following the situation, told The Guardian that Brazil serves as an open-air facility for the virus to spread and produce deadly mutations.

He added that Brazil's crisis was now posing a foreign and a domestic threat, too. "This is about the world. It's global," Nicolelis said.

Nicolelis believes that if the recent mutations shocked the world a few weeks ago, what happens next for the rest of the world would be scarier if nothing is done.

The scientist has proposed creating a specific COVID-19 committee to make a concerted attempt to fight Brazil's epidemic.

The scientist also chastised President Jair Bolsonaro's leadership, claiming that he has downplayed the crisis despite warnings that it has foreign ramifications.

“The policies that he is failing to put into practice jeopardize the fight against the pandemic in the entire planet,” he said.

He also encouraged the international community to keep the Brazilian government accountable for failing to curb an outbreak that has claimed the lives of over a quarter of a million Brazilians -- about 10% of the global number.

The warning came as Brazil's year-long COVID-19 crisis reached its deadliest segment, with hospitals across the country crashing or on the brink of collapsing.

According to health ministry data, the country weathered its deadliest week yet. Experts confirmed more than 1,000 deaths on Tuesday, the highest number since the pandemic started. Data says there have been more than 10.6 million reported cases in the world since the pandemic started.