California has identified its first cases of a worrying coronavirus variant first discovered in South Africa. The variant, known as B.1.351, has been confirmed in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, Gavin Newsom’s government announced this week.
Newsom said during a news conference Wednesday that two cases have been identified, one in Alameda County and the other in Santa Clara County, the Los Angeles Times reported.
No other details were provided at the time, and it was not immediately clear how the cases were identified, although other countries that announced cases of variants did so by routine genome sequencing of positive coronavirus samples.
When Newsom announced the state’s first case, it was only identified a few hours ago, he said at the time, according to the newspaper.
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A California Department of Public Health spokeswoman did not immediately return Fox News’ request for additional information.
So far, the variant has been detected in a handful of states, including South Carolina, the first state to report cases of the South African variant in the US, as well as Texas, Maryland and Virginia.
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The B.1.351 variant is more transmissible than the other coronavirus strains and is probably more virulent, meaning that it can cause more serious diseases in those who contract it.
Although experts have expressed confidence that vaccines recently approved will remain effective against variants, the South African variant in particular has shown that the vaccine’s effectiveness decreases. While some drug sponsors are creating different booster shots, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is simultaneously drawing up plans to help newly modified vaccines, drugs and diagnostics lead to faster regulatory approval.
Foxla’s Kayla Rivas contributed to this report.