[Read the full story about the California variant.]
My colleague Carl Zimmer wrote more about it this month. So I asked him about how things are going and what he’s watching going forward.
Here is our conversation:
When you first wrote about the California variant – or CAL.20C, as the researchers are calling it – scientists found it in half of the samples they collected in LA County, up from 36% last month. Where are things now?
It’s been just over a week since we first heard about this variant, so scientists are still struggling to identify it and find out how it is trending. It will take a few more weeks for things to come into focus.
What have scientists learned from this increase?
It is possible that the variant is increasing because it has the right biology to spread faster than other variants. It is still possible that it is becoming more common because of chance. But it has mutations that help viruses get into cells and escape from antibodies, so we have to take it very seriously.
How does the California variant fit in to discover other variants around the world? (Is it more worrying? Less worrying?)
We still don’t know enough about the variant to make these comparisons. It may be less contagious or more. This can make vaccines less effective or have no impact.
These variants seem to be popping up everywhere – South Africa, the United Kingdom, Brazil, California and elsewhere. We are witnessing an evolutionary event across the planet.
In your report on the California variant, what was the most surprising or alarming thing you learned?
California has a pretty good system for surveillance of variants, thanks to some fantastic labs in the University of California system and strong collaboration with public health departments. And yet this variant appeared in California in July and took off in November, but it didn’t catch anyone’s eye until the end of December.
There will be more variants to deal with, and we need a better national system to stay ahead of them.
What are you paying attention to in the future, both with the California variant and with the wider spread of variants?
I am starting a spreadsheet to track all variants.
In California, I want to find out how mutations in this variant change it, if at all, from its ancestors. I suspect that scientists there are getting sick of my e-mails, in which I constantly ask for new results.
Read More:
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Vaccine manufacturers are updating their plans to handle variants. But that does not mean that current vaccines are ineffective. [The New York Times]
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From smallpox to H1N1, See five previous vaccine launches. [The New York Times]
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Yes, you may want to consider double masking. Here’s more about that and other things you can do to avoid more contagious variants now. [The New York Times]
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State officials went into more detail about the data they used to decide that it was safe to suspend strict home orders. [The Associated Press]
If you lost, the move to suspend the statewide stay order on Monday was a surprise. But many counties were eager to allow businesses to reopen. [The New York Times]
Here’s what else you should know today
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An atmospheric river brought more violent rains to the bay area, raising concerns about flash floods and landslides in burnt areas, causing power outages and requesting evacuation orders. The storm also dropped snow on the Sierra. [The Mercury News]
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Some parts of the Sierra could see more than 2.5 meters of snow on Friday. [NBC Bay Area]
Read more about atmospheric rivers. [The New York Times]
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Five days after a woman posts on Instagram a claim that Burger Records fostered a culture of sexual predation among teenage fans, the independent label closed. But it was not the end of the story. [The Los Angeles Times]
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AN member of the Proud Boys who was elected to the Central Committee of the Sacramento County Republican Party was told to resign after the party initially defended its right to run. [The Sacramento Bee]
If you missed, read more about the role of the Proud Boys, a violent far-right group, in the Capitol riot. [The New York Times]
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In a long and contested move, The San Francisco school board voted to remove the names of 44 schools which honored people with connections to slavery, oppression and racism. Critics said the process was accelerated and driven by emotion, not research. [The San Francisco Chronicle]
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Jungle Cruise at Disneyland is getting an update, after years of criticism that its representation of indigenous peoples is racist. The promenade is one of the original attractions remaining in the park, opened in 1955. [The Orange County Register]
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The book review is 125 years old. As part of the celebration, here are the reviews from other books by 25 famous writers. [The New York Times]
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“This pandemic has opened our eyes to how things need to change going forward, forever.” The closure of restaurants across the country was painful. But it’s also a time for entrepreneurial chefs to start creating small pop-ups, turning Instagram into the largest take-out menu in the world. [The New York Times]
California Today airs at 6:30 am Pacific time during the week. Tell us what you want to see: [email protected]. Have you forwarded this email? Sign up for California Today here and read all online editions here.
Jill Cowan grew up in Orange County, graduated from UC Berkeley and has done reporting across the state, including the Bay Area, Bakersfield and Los Angeles – but she always wants to see more. Follow here or Twitter.
California Today is edited by Julie Bloom, who grew up in Los Angeles and graduated from UC Berkeley.