The worrying South African strain of the coronavirus, which appears to be more contagious and resistant to some vaccines, has surfaced in California, with the first two cases being residents of the Bay Area.
Scientists at Stanford University discovered two cases of the variant, known as the B.1.351 – one in Santa Clara County and one in Alameda County – during tests Tuesday, Governor Gavin Newsom said at a news conference in Fresno. It is not clear how humans got infected.
The variant first discovered in South Africa in October, has now been found in more than 30 other countries. It was first discovered in the United States in South Carolina in January and is located in at least four states, although only a handful of cases have been found.
Experts say the South African strain is up to 50% more contagious than other varieties. However, the South African species doesn’t appear to be more deadly, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
Its emergence raises questions about the extent to which current vaccines will protect against the strain. Early research suggests that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines work against it, but their effectiveness may be somewhat diminished compared to other strains.
Even if a vaccine is less potent against the variant, it will still protect people from hospitalization or death, according to clinical research data. But research suggests that immunity may not last that long or reduce transmission.
‘It’s alarming. It is significant if these cases represent true community transmission, ”said Dr. George Rutherford, an epidemiologist at UC San Francisco. “This needs to be investigated intensively.”
Rutherford said that as the coronavirus continues to mutate, California, the US and the world are in a race to vaccinate people as soon as possible to slow the spread.
“People should avoid getting infected, as we’ve always said,” Rutherford said. ‘If you have risk factors, when you’re older, if you go to a crowd like the supermarket, I would definitely wear two masks. And get vaccinated when it’s your turn. “
Dr. Santa Clara County health officer Sara Cody said the affected person in Santa Clara County is an adult who traveled internationally in mid-January, but Cody said no where. The person showed symptoms upon return and quarantined at home for 10 days as required by county regulations. The person has not been hospitalized and has recovered, she said. Another person living in the household also became ill and quarantined, but was not tested.
“The encouraging news from our side is that this person was immediately quarantined upon return,” Cody said. “We have no possibilities for further dissemination in our community.”
Less information was released on the Alameda County case. Dr. Nicholas Moss, Alameda County health officer, said the person is “no longer contagious to others,” but made no other details.
Both Cody and Moss said COVID cases are generally on a downward trend. But they warned that numbers are still above pre-Thanksgiving levels, and that if Bay Area residents drop their guard, another wave could come in March or April because of the new, more contagious variants.
“We have to be prepared that if things start to move in the opposite direction, we may have to increase restrictions again,” Moss said.
For now, California in general continues to make steady progress in the pandemic. A month ago, the state reported nearly 50,000 new COVID cases per day. Now there are 8,400. The number of people hospitalized statewide with COVID is down 34% from two weeks ago, and ICU cases are down 28%.
Major new vaccination centers are opening at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, the Oakland Coliseum, Petco Park in San Diego and other locations. The statewide positivity rate, 13.9% two weeks ago, is down to 4.8%.
“We’re seeing progress in every category,” said Newsom, adding that California receives 1 million doses of vaccine per week from the federal government and needs more.
As of Wednesday, 5.1 million Californians have received at least one dose. The state is ranked 19th out of 50 states in terms of vaccinations per capita, ahead of most other major states, including New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Ohio. To achieve herd immunity and end the spread, about 75% of people, or 30 million Californians, need shots, experts say.
Finding viral variants and quickly identifying new mutations is critical to controlling the pandemic.
The Bay Area cases were found by Stanford’s Clinical Virology Laboratory, which detected the two cases in 1,708 samples screened, said Dr. Ben Pinsky, the laboratory’s medical director.
Stanford uses a technology called reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction or RT-PCR. This screening looks for the two mutations that are characteristic of this variant. It also looks for mutations related to other variants. Their identity was confirmed by whole genome sequencing.
“We can expect the virus to continue to adapt and change,” said Cody. “So it’s important that we continue to do everything we can to prevent it from spreading.”
Although the South African variety accounts for only a fraction of all COVID-19 infections in the world, scientists are already studying how vaccines can be improved to better combat them.
On Tuesday, researchers at the University of Texas reported that the Pfizer vaccine is effective in stopping the South African strain and another mutation of the virus, the British variant. Last month, Moderna officials announced that their vaccine protects against the South African and British variants.
But the South African government stopped launching a third vaccine made by AstraZeneca on Sunday after early studies showed it provides only “minimal protection” against the new variant. AstraZeneca scientists say they are updating their vaccine to make it better able to fight the new strain. The AstraZeneca vaccine has not yet been approved for use in the United States.
On Wednesday, South African health officials said they will start using the Johnson & Johnson vaccine instead. Tests showed that vaccine, which is pending approval in the United States and expected to get the green light later this month, was 57% effective in preventing moderate to severe COVID-19 against the South African variant, and 85 % effective in preventing serious illness.