Just when it seemed things couldn’t get any worse, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Wednesday that a new, more contagious variant of COVID-19 has been detected in Southern California.
"An hour or so ago we were informed that this new variant, this new strain that we’ve identified from the United Kingdom…. and in Colorado yesterday has been identified here in the state of California, in Southern California," Newsom said in a joint news conference with Dr. Anthony Fauci on Wednesday afternoon.
Public health officials later said that the strain was detected in San Diego County in a patient with no known travel history, which suggests that they became infected through community transmission.
"I don't think that Californians should feel this is something odd. This is expected,” Fauci said.
Fauci said that although the variant is more infectious, “there’s no indication at all that it increases the virulence … the ability to make you sick or kill you."
Dr. Fauci also said there is no reason to believe it is less likely to respond to a vaccine.
British officials were first to say announce that the new strain may be more contagious than others because within a short period of time it has become the dominant strain in England. However, it is not clear whether this is due to a biological change in the virus itself or other factors.
On Wednesday, a Colorado National Guardsman was identified as the first person in the U.S. to be diagnosed with the variant. Health officials have said a second Guard member may have it as well.
“The virus is becoming more fit, and we’re like a deer in the headlights,” warned Dr. Eric Topol, head of Scripps Research Translational Institute.