Health officials in California are investigating whether a native strain of coronavirus could be, in part, the cause of the rise in infections in the state.
According to the Los Angeles Times, scientists stumbled upon the new species while looking for signs of the highly contagious variety that originated in the UK before making its way to the US.
During that search, researchers found a new species, called B.1.426, which is believed to be responsible for the rapid increase in holiday-time infections in California, where more than 3.1 million cases have been reported and 36,790 people have died.
The new species is also highly contagious and spreads more quickly than any other California variety.
While the B.1.1.7 strain may play a significant role in the increased COVID rates in the UK and Europe, there are still no reports that the current peak of cases in Los Angeles and California as a whole that start in November started, explain. 2020, ” researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center wrote in their findings.
Health officials in California are investigating whether a native strain of coronavirus called B.1.426 could be in part to blame for the rise in infections in the state. The species has five mutations, including CAL.20C (red bubble), which is increasingly found in California
According to researchers, the CAL.20C strain was barely detectable in October, but in December it made up 24 percent of 4,500 viral samples
The image shows the rapid increase in infections between the end of November and December in California. The increase is attributed to what researchers say is an indigenous species of the coronavirus
In California, more than 3.1 million cases have been reported and 36,790 people have died. More than 18,000 people died in the state in less than three months
“We report the existence of a new strain of CAL.20C that is currently increasing in numbers in Southern California,” she added.
The B.1.426 strain was initially discovered in July, but was not seen again until three months later.
According to the study, the CAL.20C strain was barely detectable in October, but made up 24 percent of 4,500 viral samples in December.
In a separate study, researchers found that 25 percent of the Northern California viral samples were of the same type between late November and December, according to the LA Times.
“There was a homegrown variety under our noses,” Dr. Charles Chiu, a laboratory medicine specialist at UC San Francisco, told the paper.
Chiu said that if they hadn’t been looking for the British strain, they could have been “ missing it at every level. ”
According to the Cedars-Sinai team, the B.1.426 strain has five mutations, including the L452R mutation, which changes the virus’s spike protein. The spike protein is what the virus uses to infiltrate human cells.
The new species is believed to be partly responsible for California’s nearly doubling the death toll in less than three months.
However, how big the role of the new species is in the wave is still unclear due to the presence of other factors, including holiday gatherings and people ignoring the CDC guidance.
To determine the role of B.1.426 in the wave, researchers are trying to figure out what it is capable of.
In a separate study, researchers found that 25 percent of the Northern California viral samples were of the same type between late November and December. A doctor checks in with a patient with COVID-19 in Los Angeles
Researchers told the LA Times they will focus on its transferability and the ability to bypass masks, drugs and vaccines, which are used as tools to stop the spread.
Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are intensifying efforts to detect coronavirus mutations to ensure that COVID-19 vaccines and treatments stay ahead of new variants of the disease until collective immunity is achieved, the CDC chief said. Sunday. .
Dr. Rochelle Walensky spoke about the implications of the rapidly evolving virus during a Fox News Sunday interview as the
More than 25 million Americans are infected with the virus and more than 418,000 deaths have occurred just over a year after the first US case of COVID-19 was documented.
Walensky, who took over as CDC director last Wednesday, the day President Joe Biden was sworn in, also said the biggest direct culprit for slow vaccine distribution is a stock crisis exacerbated by inventory confusion inherited from the Trump campaign. government.
“The fact that we don’t know how much vaccine we have today, five days after this administration and weeks after planning, gives you an idea of the challenges we face,” she told Fox News on Sunday.
Biden’s transition team was largely banned from government deliberations on vaccination weeks after his election, as then President Donald Trump refused to admit defeat and give the incoming government access to information needed to prepare for vaccination. the government.
Since the pandemic began last year, more than 25 million cases of the virus have been reported in the US
Ron Klain, Biden’s chief of staff, said in a separate interview on NBC’s Meet the Press that a plan to distribute the vaccine, especially outside of nursing homes and hospitals, “ didn’t really exist when we entered the White House. ”
Walensky said she was confident the government would quickly resolve supply issues and drastically expand vaccine production and distribution by the end of March.
However, uncertainty about immediate deliveries will hamper efforts at the state and local levels to plan ahead for how many vaccination sites, personnel and appointments to set up in the meantime, increasing shortages in the short term, she said.
Vaccination has become increasingly critical with the recent emergence of several coronavirus variants believed to be more transmissible, and potentially more deadly in the case of one strain first discovered in Britain.
“We are now scaling up both our oversight of this and our study of this,” Walensky said, adding that the CDC partnered with the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration, and even the Pentagon.
The goal, she said, is to track “the impact of these variants on vaccines, as well as our therapies,” as the virus continues to mutate as it spreads.
Until vaccines can provide “ herd ” immunity to the population, wearing masks and social distancing will remain vital to “ reduce the amount of virus that is circulating and therefore the number of variants out there, ” Walensky said.
Although British officials warned Friday that the so-called British variant of the coronavirus, which has already been discovered in at least 20 US states, has been linked to a higher death rate, scientists have said existing vaccines were still found to be effective against it.
However, they are concerned that a more contagious South African variant may reduce the efficacy of current vaccines and show resistance to three antibody therapies developed for the treatment of COVID-19 patients.
Similarities between the South African variant and another one identified in Brazil suggest that the Brazilian variant may also resist antibody treatment.
“We are in a race against these variants,” said Vivek Murthy, nominated by Biden to become the next US surgeon general, on ABC’s This Week program on Sunday.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s leading infectious disease specialist, said in late December that he was optimistic that the US could achieve enough collective immunity to COVID to regain “ some semblance of normalcy ” by the fall of 2021.
But Murthy said it was “an ambitious goal” to get immunity before a new school year starts in September.
Nonetheless, Murthy suggested that the government exceed Biden’s target of administering 100 million vaccinations in the first 100 days of his presidency, told ABC News, “that’s a deepening; it is not a ceiling ‘.
Fauci, who appeared separately on CBS News’ Face the Nation, said the target of 100 million shots includes people who may have received both injections of the two-dose vaccines as well as those who just received the first shot.