A person from a suburb east of New York City has been confirmed as the first New York resident to be infected with a more contagious variant of the coronavirus that originated in South Africa, said Governor Andrew M. Cuomo Sunday said.
Little other details were offered about the case, including specifically when it was confirmed whether the person infected, a Nassau County resident on Long Island, had recently traveled. This was not the first case of the South African variant found in New York; Mr. Cuomo announced last Monday that the variant had been detected in a Connecticut man who was hospitalized in New York City.
The variant, known as B.1.351, was originally identified in South Africa in December and has since been found in dozens of other states and at least nine states, including California, Texas and Virginia. The variant has mutations that help it hold the human cells tighter and that can help the virus evade antibodies.
Its rise in New York, which officials have warned is inevitable, has highlighted the dangers of new vaccines that are more contagious or resistant to vaccines, especially as the state’s vaccination effort is still limited by a limited amount of doses.
“We are currently in a race – between our ability to vaccinate and these variants that are actively trying to multiply – and we will only win the race if we stay smart and disciplined,” Cuomo said in a statement on Sunday.
Two weeks ago, South Africa discontinued the use of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine after evidence emerged that it did not protect participants in a clinical trial against mild to moderate disease caused by the variant.
Scientists in South Africa have also said that the immunity acquired by humans infected with earlier versions of the coronavirus does not appear to have the protection against mild or moderate cases if it has been re-infected by the South African variant.
The Food and Drug Administration is working on a plan to update vaccines as the variant increases in the United States.
But Cuomo also gave reason for optimism on Sunday, noting that the average percentage of positive test results for the first time since November was less than 3 percent. He said hospitalizations were also still declining across the country.