[ad_1]
The disturbing South African strain of coronavirus, which appears to be more contagious and more resistant to certain vaccines, has surfaced in California, and the first two cases are residents of the Bay Area.
Scientists at Stanford University detected two cases of the variant, known as B.1.351 – one in Santa Clara County and the other in Alameda County – during testing on Tuesday, Governor Gavin Newsom said at a press conference in Fresno. It is not known how people got infected.
First discovered in South Africa in October, the variant has now been found in more than 30 other countries. It was first detected in the United States in January in South Carolina and is 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 the other variants. The South African strain doesn’t appear to be more deadly, however, according to the US Centers for Disease Control.
Its emergence raises concerns about the protection that current vaccines will offer against the strain. Early research suggests that Pfizer and Moderna vaccines work against it, but their effectiveness may be somewhat reduced 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 trial data. But research suggests that immunity may not last that long or reduce transmission.
“It’s worrying. It’s important if these cases represent true community transmission, ”said Dr. George Rutherford, epidemiologist at UC San Francisco. “This needs to be studied thoroughly.”
Rutherford said that as the coronavirus continues to mutate, California, the United States and the world are in a race to get people vaccinated as quickly as possible to slow the spread.
“People should avoid getting infected, as we’ve always said,” Rutherford said. “If you have risk factors, if you’re older, if you go to a crowd, like the supermarket, I would definitely wear two masks. And get vaccinated when your turn comes.
Santa Clara County health official Dr Sara Cody said the affected person in Santa Clara County was an adult who had traveled overseas in mid-January, but Cody did not say or. The person exhibited symptoms after being returned and quarantined at home for 10 days, as required by county rules. The person was not hospitalized and has recovered, she said. Another person who lives in the household also became ill and quarantined but was not tested.
“The encouraging news from our side is that this person on his return immediately quarantined,” Cody said. “We don’t know of any opportunity to spread in our community.”
Less information has been released on the Alameda County case. Dr Nicholas Moss, Alameda County’s health official, said the person “was no longer contagious to others” but gave no further details.
Cody and Moss both said COVID cases were on a downward trend overall. But they warned the numbers were still above pre-Thanksgiving levels and if Bay Area residents let their guard down, there could be another increase in March or April due to the new, more contagious variants.
“We have to be prepared that if things start to go in the opposite direction, we may have to increase the restrictions again,” Moss said.
For now, California continues to make consistent progress overall in the pandemic. A month ago, the state was reporting nearly 50,000 new cases of COVID per day. There are now 8,400. The number of people hospitalized statewide with COVID is down 34% from two weeks ago, and ICU cases are down 28%.
Big new vaccination centers are opening at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Oakland Coliseum, Petco Park in San Diego and other places. The statewide positivity rate, 13.9% two weeks ago, has fallen to 4.8%.
“We are seeing progress in all categories,” Newsom said, 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 received at least one dose. The state ranks 19th among the 50 states in per capita vaccinations, ahead of most other large states, including New York, Pennsylvania, Texas and Ohio. However, to gain herd immunity and stop the spread, about 75% of people, or 30 million Californians, need vaccines, experts said.
The search for viral variants and the rapid identification of new mutations are essential to control the pandemic.
The Bay Area cases were discovered by the Stanford Clinical Virology Lab, which discovered the two cases out of 1,708 samples examined, said Dr. Ben Pinsky, the lab’s medical director.
Stanford uses a technology called reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, or RT-PCR. This screening looks for the two characteristic mutations of this variant. It also looks for mutations linked to other variants. Their identity was confirmed by whole genome sequencing.
“We should expect the virus to continue to adapt and change,” Cody said. “So it’s important that we continue to do whatever we can to prevent any opportunity from spreading.”
Although the South African variant only accounts for a fraction of COVID-19 infections globally, scientists are already studying how to improve vaccines to better target it.
On Tuesday, researchers at the University of Texas reported that the Pfizer vaccine is effective in stopping the South African strain and also another mutation in the virus called the UK variant. Last month, Moderna officials announced that their vaccine protects against the South African and British variants.
But the South African government on Sunday halted its rollout of a third vaccine, made by AstraZeneca, after initial studies showed it offered only “minimal protection” against the new variant. AstraZeneca scientists say they are updating their vaccine to boost its ability to fight the new strain. The AstraZeneca vaccine is not yet approved for use in the United States.
South African health officials said on Wednesday they would start using the Johnson & Johnson vaccine instead. Tests have shown that the vaccine, which is pending approval in the United States and is expected to receive the green light later this month, was 57% effective in preventing moderate to severe COVID-19 against the variant. South African and 85% to prevent serious illness.
[ad_2]
Source link