Public health officials in Hawaii are on the lookout for a new COVID-19 variant that originated in California and urgently advises residents to be vaccinated as soon as possible to avoid serious illness or hospitalization.
Three mutant strains are already circulating on the islands, and one of them – the B.1.429 variant that originated in California – is now responsible for 59% of COVID-19 samples that have undergone genomic sequencing in the State Laboratories Division of the Department of Health, to data released today.
The B.1.1.7 strain from the United Kingdom has a lesser appearance in Hawaii and the B.1.351 strain that was first found in South Africa, according to Dr. Edward Desmond, administrator of the Division of State Laboratories, to an even lesser extent.
But on the horizon looming on the east side of the islands is a ‘mysterious’ new variant recently spotted in California, Desmond said in The Healthly Department’s video, ‘The Weekly Dose’, which was posted on Facebook today . The new variant, first found in Mumbai, India, contains mutations of both the California and South African variants, which are known to increase transmission and respond less to antibodies against vaccines or previous infections.
Desmond said the threat to the double mutant strain is not yet known.
“This strain is brand new, it has not been studied,” he said. ‘I think the ominous news is that shortly after it was reported in India, it was also reported in California, and I think we’ve seen what’s happening here in California come here pretty quickly, like the California variant B.1.429 here came. . So this is something we will be watching. ”
Although variants are resistant to vaccines, health officials say that the vaccine against COVID-19 can reduce transmission and reduce symptoms if infected.
“The good news is that although the antibodies are less effective, people who have been vaccinated or previously infected are still not going to get seriously ill,” Desmond said. ‘So you do not have to worry that vaccination will not protect you because of these variants.
‘Get vaccinated anyway. You may get a mild case, but the vaccine prevents serious diseases and you will not go to hospital. ‘
The DOH reported Friday that 906,777 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered so far in Hawaii, with 31% of the state’s population receiving at least one shot.
But just as the DOH announced Thursday that the vaccination on Oahu will expand to residents 50 years and older from Monday, the state learned that its weekly allocation of coronavirus vaccine will be significantly reduced next week due to production issues with Johnson & Johnson’s single dose vaccine.
DOH spokesman Brooks Baehr said today that Hawaii received 90,080 doses this week, including 21,300 doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Next week’s allocation will drop to 76,060 doses, with only 2600 doses from Johnson & Johnson.
The supply of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine nationwide will be extremely limited until federal regulators approve production at a production plant in Baltimore with a pattern of quality control, the White House coordinator’s response to pandemic said Friday.
Baehr said officials hope the vaccine outage will be temporary, but it provides another reason to ‘sign up now,’ and before April 19, when the suitability on Oahu expands to residents 16 years and older.
People 16 and older are already eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations in the provinces of Hawaii, Maui and Kauai.
He said to go to hawaiicovid19.com to find vaccination opportunities at local pharmacies.