COLUMBIA, SC – A new variant of the coronavirus surfaced in the United States on Thursday and poses a new public health challenge in a country that is already losing more than 3,000 people to COVID-19 every day.
The mutated version of the virus, first identified in South Africa, was found in South Carolina in two cases. Public health officials said it is almost certain that there are more infections that have not yet been identified. They are also concerned that this version will spread more easily and that vaccines may be less effective against it.
The two cases have been discovered in adults in different parts of the state and do not appear to be linked. None of the infected people have traveled recently, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control said Thursday.
“That’s frightening,” because it means there may be more undetected cases in the state, said Dr. Krutika Kuppalli, an infectious diseases physician at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. “It’s probably more widespread.”
The arrival of the variant shows that “the fight against this deadly virus is far from over,” said Dr. Brannon Traxler, South Carolina’s interim health director, in a statement. are still limited. Each of us must re-enter the fight by recognizing that we are all now on the front lines. We are all in this together. “
Viruses are constantly mutating and coronavirus variants circulating around the world, but scientists are especially concerned about the emergence of three that researchers believe could spread more easily. Other variants first reported in the UK and Brazil were previously confirmed in the US.
As the variants carry a potential for greater risk of infection in the US, pandemic-weary lawmakers in several states are pushing back against mask mandates, corporate closures, and other protective restrictions imposed by governors.
States such as Arizona, Michigan, Ohio, Maryland, Kentucky and Indiana are weighing up proposals to limit their governors’ ability to enforce emergency restrictions. The Republican-controlled Wisconsin Assembly was expected to vote to revoke Democratic Governor Tony Evers’ mask mandate, but lawmakers abruptly halted the vote on Thursday amid widespread criticism and concern that it would bring in more than $ 49 million in federal aid. would endanger. Pennsylvania lawmakers are considering a constitutional amendment to strip the governor of many of his emergency powers.
Governors argue that they need authority to act quickly in a crisis, and that restrictions can slow responses to critical emergencies.
Meanwhile, Nebraska health officials said the state could be several days away from lifting restrictions on indoor meetings, citing a low rate of COVID-19 hospitalizations. Other states that see infections declining are also relaxing restrictions on restaurants and other businesses, though experts have warned the public to remain vigilant about masks and social aloofness or risk further spikes.
In South Carolina, the state health agency said the variant was found in one person from the coastal region of the state and another in the northeast corner. The state gave little other information, citing privacy issues, although Traxler said none of the people were contagious anymore.
“Both were tested very early in the month and I understand that both are going well,” said Traxler.
Republican Henry McMaster, Governor of South Carolina, lifted most of the state’s remaining pandemic restrictions in the fall. Spokesperson Brian Symmes said McMaster has no plans to impose any new restrictions based on the discovery of the variant.
“This is important information for South Carolinians to have,” McMaster said in a tweet, “but it is not cause for alarm.”
Scientists reported preliminary signs last week that some of the recent mutations may modestly slow the effectiveness of two vaccines, although they stressed that the injections still protect against the disease. There are also signs that some of the new mutations could undermine tests for the virus and decrease the effectiveness of certain treatments.
The coronavirus has already sickened millions of people and killed approximately 430,000 people in the United States.
While the introduction of vaccines has been slow, President Joe Biden has pledged to give 100 million injections in his first 100 days in the office – and suggested the US could potentially hit 1.5 million injections a day.
While some European countries are conducting extensive genetic testing to detect these variants, the US has done little of this detective work. But scientists have been quick to try to do more, which has revealed the more contagious variants.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have reported at least 315 cases of the variant discovered in the UK in the United States. Those reports come from at least 28 states, and health officials think it could become the dominant species in the US in March. This variant has been reported in at least 70 countries.
The first US case of the variant found in Brazil was announced by health officials in Minnesota earlier this week. It was a person who recently traveled to that South American country. That version of the virus has surfaced in more than half a dozen countries.
The variant first found in South Africa was discovered in October. It has since been found in at least 30 other countries.
Some tests suggest that the South African and Brazilian variants may be less susceptible to antibody drugs or antibody-rich blood from COVID-19 survivors, both of which help people fight the virus.
Health officials are also concerned that if the virus changes enough, people could get COVID-19 a second time.
Biden on Monday reinstated COVID-19 travel restrictions for most non-US travelers from Brazil, the UK and South Africa. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that Americans avoid travel.
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Stobbe reported from New York.
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