U.S. News
Covid-19 strain found in California
Multiples outbreaks in California including, San Jose
Reporter Victoria Nuzzi
The strain L452R was first discovered in May 2020 in California but has recently been increasing in cases in California especially Santa Clara County because of its special mutations.
Scientists at the University of San Francisco in Mid-November sequenced genomes of Covid-19 that they gathered from around the state. L452R was found in 3.8% of the samples. In January of 2021, it spiked to 25.2%.
According to California’s Department of Public Health, this strain has been found in other countries and states but has been detected in certain counties in California including Santa Clara County, Humbolt, Lake, Los Angeles, Mono, Monterey, Orange, Riverside, San Francisco, San Bernadino, San Diego and, San Luis Obispo counties.
The only identified outbreaks so far are in Santa Clara County.
“This variant carries three mutations, including L452R, in the spike protein, which the virus uses to attach to and enter cells, and it the target of the two vaccines that currently available in the United States. Now that we know this variant is on the rise in our local communities, we are prioritizing it for study. Researchers at UCSF and elsewhere will now be able to perform the critical laboratory experiments to determine whether or not this virus is more infectious or affects vaccine performance” said Dr.Chiu who is a professor of laboratory medicine at UCSF (University of California, San Fransico) apart of the press release from the California Department of public health stated
Why the surge of this particular strain of Covid-19 is unsure. Some think the rise in L452R could coincide with a surge in Covid-19 cases in California making it not being the cause of the surge but instead getting “carried by the surge rather than causing it” said on Twitter Trevor Bedford who is an infectious disease specialist.
Further testing will need to be done to know for sure if vaccines such as the Pfizer vaccine or Moderna and others will need to be modified for this new strain. It is possible nothing needs to be done to the vaccine like is likely for the strains found in South Africa and the United Kingdom.
“It is common to identify variants of viruses like SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes Covid-19), and we are working with our federal, local, and university partners to better understand this variant and how it might impact Californians. It’s too soon to know if this variant will spread more rapidly than others, but it certainly reinforces the need for Californians to wear masks and reduce mixing with people outside their immediate households to help slow the spread of the virus” said Dr.Eroca Pan, state epidemiologist for CDPH.
A press release from the California Department of public health also urged residents to
Staying home except for essential activities
Wearing a mask when leaving home
Limiting interactions with people outside your immediate household
Keeping a physical distance of at least 6 feet apart
Washing hands for 20 seconds
Getting the COVID-19 vaccine if you are eligible and vaccine is available in your area