A new “double mutant” strain of coronavirus has been discovered in San Francisco that is believed to be the cause of a wave of cases in India, believed to be the first time the variant has been discovered in the US.
The strain is called a “double mutant” because it carries two mutations that help the virus attach to cells, the San Francisco Chronicle notes
The variant, like strains from the United Kingdom and Brazil, is believed to be more transmissible than the pre-existing form of the virus. It is currently unknown whether the “double mutant” strain is more resistant to vaccines available in the US
“This Indian variant contains two mutations in the same virus for the first time, previously seen in separate variants,” Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease expert at the University of California, San Francisco, told the Chronicle.
Because we know that the affected domain is the part that the virus uses to enter the body, and that the California variant is already potentially more resistant to certain vaccine antibodies, it seems to indicate that there is a possibility that the Indian variant may have this can do that too, ”added Chin-Hong.
Chin-Hong said he was “optimistic” that vaccines would be effective against the “double mutant” strain, given the data showing that vaccines are effective against similar strains first discovered in South Africa and California.
Health experts have warned that the US may be heading for a fourth wave of coronavirus cases fueled by new, more contagious strains. However, other experts, such as former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, have predicted that the existing immunity coupled with the rise in vaccine administration could prevent a “true fourth wave” of US cases.
California has administered nearly 20 million doses of coronavirus vaccines, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The state is scheduled to become eligible for the vaccine for anyone over the age of 16 starting April 15. The US recently set a new record by administering more than 4 million doses of coronavirus per day. As of Monday, 32 percent of the U.S. population has received at least one dose.