Health professionals administer free Covid-19 tests to people in their cars in the parking lot of the Columbus West Family Health and Wellness Center in Columbus, Ohio, on November 19, 2020.
Stephen Zenner | AFP | Getty Images
Researchers in Ohio said on Wednesday that they had discovered two new variants of the coronavirus that probably originated in the United States – one of which quickly became the dominant strain in Columbus, Ohio, over a three-week period in late December and January.
As the strain first detected in the UK, American mutations appear to make Covid-19 more contagious, but they do not appear to diminish the vaccine’s effectiveness, the researchers said.
Researchers at Ohio State University have not yet published their full results, but said an unrevised peer study is close. They said in a press release that the new variant has three genetic mutations “not previously seen” in the coronavirus.
One of the new strains, found in only one patient in Ohio, contains a mutation identical to the now dominant variant in the UK, the researchers said, noting that “it probably appeared in a strain of virus already present in the United States”. However, the “Columbus strain”, which the researchers said has become dominant in the city, includes “three other genetic mutations not previously seen together in SARS-CoV2”.
“This new Columbus strain has the same genetic structure as previous cases that we studied, but these three mutations represent a significant evolution,” said Dr. Dan Jones, vice president of the molecular pathology division of the State of Ohio, in a statement. “We know that this change did not come from the United Kingdom or the South African branches of the virus.”
The researchers identified the strain that became dominant in Columbus as COH.20G / 501Y and said that “the same mutation may have been occurring independently in various parts of the world during the past few months”.
Peter Mohler, scientific director at Ohio State Wexner Medical Center and co-author of the next study, said there is no data to indicate that the new strain will impact vaccine effectiveness.
“It is important not to overreact to this new variant until we get additional data,” he said in a statement. “We need to understand the impact of mutations on virus transmission, the prevalence of the strain in the population and whether it has a more significant impact on human health.
Representatives from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did not immediately return CNBC’s request for comment. Ohio researchers will hold a press conference on their discovery at 11 am Eastern Time.
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