In this June 30, 2020, file photo, Governor Gavin Newsom removes his face mask before providing an update on a visit to Pittsburg, California.
Rich Pedroncelli | AP
Health officials in California have identified the state’s first case of the new and more contagious strain of Covid-19 initially discovered in the United Kingdom, Governor Gavin Newsom said Wednesday.
The patient was in the southern part of the state, Newsom told White House coronavirus advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci during a live Q&A session that was livestreamed on Facebook. However, Fauci said the news was no surprise.
“I don’t think the Californians should think this is anything strange. This is something that is expected,” Fauci told Newsom, adding that he predicts other states will soon identify cases with the new species.
On Tuesday, Colorado health officials confirmed the nation’s first case of the B.1.1.7 coronavirus variant. During a press conference Wednesday, Colorado Governor Jared Polis said the state was investigating a possible second case of the new species.
Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said earlier Wednesday that the new strain could put pressure on the national hospitals, which are already overwhelmed by Covid-19 patients.
Dr. Henry Walke, the agency’s Covid incident manager, said the new variant “seems to spread more easily and more quickly than other species,” but it does not appear to make people sicker or increase the risk of death.
A particularly concerning aspect of the Colorado case was that the patient was not traveling, “suggesting that this variant has been transmitted person-to-person in the United States,” Walke told reporters at a conference call.
Good news: The new variant doesn’t seem to make the vaccines any less effective, nor does it seem to make it more difficult to diagnose with existing tests, Fauci told Newsom. The UK has also found that people who were already infected with previous strains of Covid-19 do not appear to be reinfected with this new variant.
What researchers have yet to determine is whether the new strain may be resistant to treatment with monoclonal antibodies, which have managed to help some patients recover from the disease, Fauci said. Unlike vaccines, which trigger an immune response that attacks different parts of the virus, monoclonal antibodies target a very specific component, the country’s foremost infectious disease expert said.
Monoclonal antibodies have shown promising benefits if the virus is caught early enough. President Donald Trump attributed Regeneron’s treatment for making him feel better “immediately” when he became infected and was eventually hospitalized with Covid-19 in early October.
“So that’s what we know about it now, but we’re following this extremely carefully,” said Fauci, adding that they are researching the strain at the National Institute of Health and a number of laboratories around the country.
– CNBCs Want fire and Amanda Macias contributed to this report.