Health officials have confirmed the presence of a more contagious variant of the new coronavirus in San Bernardino County, officials announced on Friday, January 1.
The COVID-19 strain B117 was detected on December 20 in samples collected from two residents of a home in the Big Bear area, San Bernardino County officials said in a press release. A person from an infected home had contact with a traveler who returned from the UK on December 11 and developed symptoms three days later.
The coronavirus variant recently detected in San Bernardino County was first reported in the UK and may have been circulating there since September, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It has become prevalent in the UK and has been attributed to 60% of all COVID-19 infections in London since November.
The B117 strain “appears to spread more easily and quickly,” said San Bernardino County Health Officer, Dr. Michael Sequeria. It contains a protein that makes it easier for the mutated pathogen to bind to and adhere to an enzyme found in human cells.
The researchers are working to learn more about the most infectious version of COVID-19. Health officials have not collected any evidence suggesting that it causes more serious illness in patients or may be less resistant to vaccines.
“From what we know from experience with this mutation and other mutations, it is unlikely to have a major impact on vaccine-induced immunity or an existing immunity from previous strains,” said Greg Armstrong, director of the CDC’s Advanced Molecular Detection Program, during a conference call on Wednesday, December 30th.
So far, more than 20 million people in the United States have been diagnosed with COVID-19. More than 346,000 Americans have been killed by the disease.
In Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, a total of 645,548 new cases were reported in December alone. Meanwhile, the availability of hospital beds in California has dropped to critically low levels.
Updates on the condition of the two patients in San Bernardino County diagnosed with the virus were not immediately available.