ASU watching new COVID-19 'Arizona variant' with a mutation known to weaken vaccines Amanda Morris, Arizona Republic © Amanda Morris A scientist at the Translational Genomics Research Institute in Flagstaff prepares to work with a live sample of COVID-19. Arizona State University researchers have found a home-grown variant of the coronavirus emerging in Arizona that they say should be monitored closely because it carries a mutation known for weakening vaccines. In a non-peer reviewed study that published Sunday, researchers said they have detected 17 cases of the new...