California health officials warned on Sunday about a separate variant of the coronavirus, known as L452R, which has been on the rise across the state since last November.
It is too early to say whether the strain is more transmissible than others, including the highly contagious variant first identified in the UK, said Dr. Erica Pan, a state epidemiologist in the public health department, in a statement. However, the authorities are asking the public to wear masks, avoid socializing with people who are not family and isolate themselves after exposure.
Like the UK variant, coined B.1.1.7, the L452R variant involves several mutations in the peak surface protein, which the virus uses to infect cells. Scientists believe that recently approved vaccines remain effective against the UK variant, although research is underway on the impact that a separate variant first identified in South Africa could have.
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The variant strain includes three mutations in the peak proteins on the virus surface. (iStock)
The L452R variant was first found in Denmark at the start of the pandemic and then detected elsewhere, including in California, Dr. Charles Chiu, virologist and professor of laboratory medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, told reporters in a call on Sunday by the San Francisco Chronicle. Chiu said the variant was found in about 4% of samples in December and jumped to 25% of samples in early January, according to the outlet.
“The data so far are very preliminary, but basically raise the concern that there may be some impact on the vaccine,” said Chiu, according to the agency.
The variant has appeared more quickly in California laboratories since November, along with increased surveillance, and has been found in major outbreaks in Santa Clara County, according to the state health department.
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The San Francisco Chronicle also reported that Dr. Sara Cody, a public health officer in Santa Clara County, said the variant was found in an outbreak among Kaiser Permanente employees in San Jose, which made headlines after dozens of cases and a death are linked to an inflatable costume worn by an employee at Christmas. Since then, the outbreak has increased to more than 90 infections among employees.
Cody told the agency that officials were trying to understand whether the variant could explain the size of the hospital’s outbreak.
“That’s the question of the day,” Cody told the outlet.
A spokesman for Kaiser Permanente wrote to Fox News on Monday morning, confirming that the L452R variant was detected in the hospital outbreak.
“We can confirm that the L452R COVID-19 variant was found in some results associated with the recent outbreak of COVID-19 in the San Jose Emergency Department,” says the statement sent by email. “While this information helps in the epidemiological investigation of the outbreak and the advancement of important scientific research, it does not immediately affect our patients or staff, whose health and safety remain our highest priority. Staff and patients tested positive for COVID-19 as a result of this outbreak. has passed the contagious period and is free of symptoms “.
Fox News requested additional comments from the Santa Clara Department of Public Health.
“In addition to Santa Clara County, the 452R variant has been detected in Humboldt, Lake, Los Angeles, Mono, Monterey, Orange, Riverside, San Francisco, San Bernardino, San Diego and San Luis Obispo counties,” says the secretary’s statement. state health. “Since genomic sequencing is not done equally across the state or country, it is too early to know how prevalent variant 452 is across the state, nationally or globally.”
State data show a sharp increase in new daily infections in Santa Clara County in late November, reflecting state trends. The test’s positivity rate across the state also rose from about 3% in early November to more than 12% now.
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“Now that we know that this variant is increasing in our local communities, we are prioritizing its study,” said Chiu, according to the outlet. “Researchers at UCSF and elsewhere will now be able to conduct critical laboratory experiments to determine whether this virus is more infectious or affects the performance of the vaccine.”
The news coincides with reports that the county of Los Angeles this weekend exceeded 1 million cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic and reported its first case of the UK’s most contagious variant.
Although California is among the country’s most rigid states in implementing blockages, it has continued to see an increase in cases over the past two weeks, with an average of more than 41,000 new coronavirus cases per day.
Bradford Betz of Fox News contributed to this article.