1st Cases Of Brazil Variant, More Contagious S. African Variant In L.A. – Deadline
“Public Health Officials in
Los Angeles reported on Wednesday that the county had detected the first cases of the Coronavirus variants originally seen in Brazil and South Africa. While only three instances of the virus strain from Brazil — also known as P.1 — and one instance of the variant from South Africa — known as B.1.351 — were detected, they are likely far from the only cases in the county.“
L.A. County reports 1st known cases of coronavirus variants detected in South Africa and Brazil | KTLA
“The mutated version of the virus first identified in South Africa, known as the B.1.351 variant, was found in one case last week. Meanwhile, another variant of concern first detected in Brazil, known as the P.1 variant, was found in three cases.
“Although these are the first reported cases of the South Africa and Brazil variant in L.A. County, it is likely there are additional undetected and undiagnosed cases,” Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said in a virtual briefing Wednesday.
That’s because “very few” of the county’s coronavirus specimens undergo genomic sequencing to determine the variant type, Ferrer said.”
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Colorado /
Two COVID-19 variants most prevalent in El Paso County - KRDO
“EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) --
According to state data, El Paso County leads the way on where most positive COVID-19 variant cases are found in the state of Colorado. Multiple variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 have been documented in the United States and globally during this pandemic, and two of them are most prevalent in El Paso County.
"The B117, or the UK variant, is the one we're seeing more of, as far as absolute numbers go," says Dr. Robin Johnson of the El Paso County Health Department.
"The other one we are seeing is the California variant. We haven't seen the other ones of concern in El Paso County, though they are in the state in the smaller numbers," she explains.“
New COVID variants concern Colorado health officials | FOX31 DENVER
“BOULDER, Colo. (KDVR) — State health officials tell FOX31 that the two cases of the
Brazilian COVID-19 variant found in Colorado do not appear to be connected. Officials are still doing contact tracing to try to determine how the two individuals contracted the virus.“
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BBM:
“The spread of the U.K. variant, which scientists have found to be more contagious, adds to growing concerns that the country may be on the cusp of another surge. Both case numbers and hospitalizations are increasing, even as the U.S. is vaccinating an average of nearly 3 million people each day.
Walensky reported that some of the recent clusters of cases have been linked to day care centers and youth sports, adding that the
uptick in infections seem to be driven by young people.
"Hospitals are seeing more and more younger adults — those in their 30s and 40s — admitted with severe disease," she said.”
U.K. coronavirus variant is now the dominant strain in the U.S., CDC says
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BBM:
“All three vaccines authorized in the U.S. -- Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson -- have proven to work effectively against the B-117 variant.
The vaccines are also expected to provide immunity for at least six months, and likely longer, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s chief infectious disease expert, said at Wednesday’s briefing.“
UK variant has become most dominant COVID strain in US, CDC says
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Pfizer, Moderna vaccines may be less effective against B1351 variant
Feb. 18, 2021
“All serum samples were able to neutralize the viruses but were about two-thirds weaker against the B1351 spike protein. However, the authors said that because the vaccines also produce other types of immune responses, such as from T cells, they may be more effective in real life than in the lab.
"Thus, it is unclear what effect a reduction in neutralization by approximately two thirds would have on BNT162b2-elicited protection from Covid-19 caused by the B.1.351 lineage of SARS-CoV-2," they wrote.”
[...]
"Protection against the B.1.351 variant conferred by the mRNA-1273 vaccine remains to be determined," the authors said.”
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Study finds rapid spread of B.1.1.220 variant with E484K mutation in New York
March 24, 2021
“New research led by Patrick McGann from Walter Reed Army Institute of Research found the first cases of the B.1.1.220 variant with an E484K mutation on the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)
spike protein. Their results suggest the variant recently emerged as B.1.1.220 was not found in New York before December 2020. Still, it quickly made up 25% of coronavirus strains in late January and early February.“
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CIDRAP / Feb 25, 2021
New COVID-19 variants found in New York, California
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NY variant may create vaccine issues
In New York, a new variant that carries a mutation that may weaken the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines has been
identified as the B.1.526 variant. It was first discovered in November, and now accounts for about one in four viral sequences in a database shared by scientists, according to the New York Times.
In a paper published today from
Columbia University, the authors noted a steady increase in the detection rate of B.1.526 cases from late December to mid-February, with a rise of 12.3% in the past 2 weeks.
Cases have been detected across New York City, researchers said, and threaten to once again make the city a hot spot of viral infection. They say the strain's "unique set of spike mutations may also pose an antigenic challenge for current interventions," such as vaccines and monoclonal antibody therapies.“
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Expert says Michigan could be the home of next COVID-19 variant
“Michigan has the highest rate of confirmed cases of COVID-19 variants of any state in the U.S., and experts said the state has warning signs of becoming home to a new mutation.
New cases of the virus in Michigan are up more than 600% over the past six weeks to almost 6,000 a day.“
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/04/08/coronavirus-covid-live-updates-us/
BBM:
“Public health experts are raising the alarm over Brazil this week as the pandemic-hit nation has reached several grim coronavirus milestones, including a record number of deaths
and the possible spread of multiple more contagious variants.“
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The big hole in America's plan to fight Covid-19 variants
“The global scramble to produce enough Covid-19 vaccine for 7 billion people is about to get even tougher, as drugmakers and countries ready a second round of shots to combat the growing threat of virus variants.
Finding vaccines that can ward off more contagious or virulent strains is only half the battle. The United States has virtually no capacity to manufacture revised vaccines or booster shots alongside the original versions, according to a half-dozen vaccine experts and Biden administration health officials. Setting up additional facilities could take months or even years.“
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BBM:
What an epidemiologist says you should know about the P.1 variant in Mass. | Boston.com
‘The response needs to be pretty aggressive’: What an epidemiologist says you should know about the P.1 variant in Mass.
“We need to take these variants incredibly seriously, much more seriously than we’re doing now.”
“As of Wednesday, the state has also identified 977 cases of the B.1.1.7 variant, first detected in the United Kingdom, and 12 cases of the B.1.351 variant, initially found in South Africa, according to the CDC. Still, new data from the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard revealed that less than a month from the first detected P.1 case in Massachusetts, the variant had spread faster than any of the other virus strains in the Bay State.“
