Scientists have found a new COVID-19 mutation in New Mexico and other surrounding Western States according to a new paper posted in the medical journal, medRxiv.

It is not clear if this variant increases the virus’s transmissivity, but medical experts have concerns over whether mutations in the spike protein could lessen the effectiveness of newly introduced vaccines.

According to the paper, 11.3% of the genomes collected from New Mexico between December 2020 and January 2021 reflect the new variant.

The variant was also found in Colorado, Wyoming and Texas.