There’s a new variant of COVID-19 raging in California.
It’s being called CAL.20C.
In Los Angeles, where the coronavirus is most active, more than half the new cases are from this new variant. It really started spreading a couple of months ago and continued through the holidays.
"So it came in July, it was sprinkled in October and then in our population, especially in Los Angeles, it went to about 40 percent in December," said Dr. Jasmine Plummer, research scientist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. "Now that we’re tracking it, it seems to be around at least 50 percent of the samples in January."
The variant "is believed to be in part responsible for the dramatic increase in cases over the last two months," according to a Cedars-Sinai blog post.
She said this virus is doing what comes naturally - it’s mutating to protect itself.
"It can become more infectious," Dr. Plummer said, explaining that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s outcome is more severe.
More virulent or not, Dr. Plummer said the same protection measures apply.
"Please wear masks and socially distance," she added.
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