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The first known cases of a COVID-19 variant originally found in South Africa have been identified by researchers at Stanford University in two Bay Area residents, one in County of ‘Alameda and the other in Santa Clara County.
Governor Gavin Newsom shared the news in a Wednesday press conference, arguing that while infection rates and hospitalizations in the state are on the decline overall, the pandemic remains severe and people need to be vigilant about social distancing and wearing masks.
Newsom said Wednesday that 30 state genomics labs had identified 159 cases of one variant from the UK and 1,203 from two variants from the west coast. The variant first detected in Brazil was not found in California, he said.
“The issue of transfers is at the heart of concerns, not only here in the state of California, in this country but increasingly around the world,” Newsom said at a press conference in Fresno.
The South African variant is one of many recent mutations in the virus, most of which involve changes in its spike protein – the part of the virus that allows it to enter human cells – that can make it more contagious and mild more resistant to vaccines.
It is typical for any virus to mutate, but concerns are growing about the growing number of new variants of the coronavirus around the world, as some are proving more difficult to fight. The British variant is more contagious and is thought to be more deadly than the original, while the South African variant can make vaccines a little less effective.
In South Africa, where the variant is now dominant, officials will start immunizing frontline health workers next week with a vaccine that is still being tested – an unorthodox strategy announced on Wednesday after officials gave up. their plan to use another vaccine which, according to a small study, is only minimal. effective against the dominant variant in the country.
A small study that suggested the AstraZeneca vaccine was weak in preventing mild to moderate disease caused by the variant threw South Africa’s vaccination campaign into disarray this week as it was about to begin . Experts say the vaccine – the only one licensed for general use in South Africa – can still prevent serious illness.
But officials quickly focused on the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine – which has only been approved for use in studies in South Africa and, in fact, has not yet been cleared for general use in no country. The company has applied for emergency use authorization from the United States Food and Drug Administration and the South African regulatory authority.
The first six Bay Area cases of the UK variant were all found in Alameda County. Two of them were students at UC Berkeley.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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