Just when it seemed things couldn’t get any worse, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Wednesday that the COVID-19 variant, originally found in the UK and then Tuesday in Colorado, 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.
"I don't think that Californians should feel this is something odd. This is expected,” Fauci said.
Fauci has stated that although the variant is more transmissible, it is not more virulent and there’s no reason to believe it is less likely to respond to a vaccine.
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.
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