Health officials in South Carolina have confirmed that two people in the state tested positive for a new variant of the coronavirus that was first identified in South Africa. These are the first two confirmed cases of the most infectious variant in the United States. The South African strain, called B.1.351, is one of several new variants that have emerged worldwide and are causing concern among government officials and medical experts about its transmissibility. The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control confirmed the two cases in residents of Lowcountry and the Pee Dee region in a press release on Thursday. None of the adults have a travel history and do not know each other, officials said. Health departments use genomic sequencing to identify new strains or variants among the COVID-19 test samples; that’s how the South Carolina health department identified the two cases. Another variant, B.1.1.7, which was first detected in the United Kingdom, has infected more than 300 people in the United States so far, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This variant is also considered to be more infectious. This week, Moderna Inc. MRNA,
said a laboratory study showed that his COVID-19 vaccine is less effective against strain B.1.351, and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. REGN,
said one of the two antibodies used in its treatment COVID-19 is also less effective against this strain of the virus.
