New U.K. Coronavirus Variant in Southern California is Spreading

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SAM LUO (Web Editor)

The discovery of a new coronavirus variant first identified in Kent, southern England, has raised major health concerns nationwide. The variant, also classified as B.1.1.7, has spread across the country at a rapid pace, reaching 32 states and infecting 467 persons and counting. B.1.1.7 has made an appearance in states along the East Coast like New York to the islands of Hawaii on the west, but it has become increasingly rampant in California.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the variant will soon become the nation’s dominant strain in weeks. San Diego County has disclosed last week that the first death linked to B.1.1.7 occurred, a 71-year-old man who came in contact with an infectee of the variant. Dr. Wilma Wooten, the San Diego County health officer, has confirmed that the strain has been found in all age groups, from newborns to the elderly. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory stated last month that this variant has an “unusually large number of mutations,” which would make it difficult for pre-developed vaccines to neutralize the virus. 

The Innovative Genomics Institute at UC Berkeley has analyzed tests from both the campus and their community from the start of the pandemic. Lately, they found that the new strain is becoming much more frequent in recent trials. 

“We see [B.1.1.7] in 30 percent of the cases that we sequence,” Stacia Wyman, Senior Genomic Researcher at the Innovative Genomics Institute said. “That’s quite concerning.”

As determined by 7 News, B.1.1.7 is estimated to be 70 percent more infectious than the initial variants and perhaps deadlier. 

“What’s going to likely happen is that the prevalence is going to be high in certain regional hot spots,” Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said. “So we’ll have hot spots of infection and maybe epidemics in parts of Florida, parts of Southern California, because of B.1.1.7. They’ll never really get out of it, but the rest of the country will see the prevalence come down.”

In the meantime, the CDC has continued to encourage mask-wearing for anyone gathering in places with other people. The organization has urged for smaller get-togethers more than ever with the recent Super Bowl among other safety precautions found on their official website: 

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/holidays/small-gatherings.html.