Midnightmom Posted January 19, 2021 Share Posted January 19, 2021 NEW TREATMENT (bamlanivimab) FOR COVID BEING USED IN MISSOURI Quote ST. LOUIS (KMOV.com) -- A brand new COVID-19 treatment is being used to make patients feel better, faster. Currently, St. Joseph's Hospital in St. Charles is the only SSM hospital using bamlanivimab for treatments, a process that takes about two hours. Some patients report feeling better within just 24 hours of the treatment. Experts say it could be revolutionary in keeping patients out of hospitals and on the road to recovery. "This is a brand new drug, it has not been used before," said Joseph Buchanan, director of pharmacy at St. Joseph's. "What bamlanivimab does is it stops that virus from replicating. So it slows down the virus basically and increases your own body's chance of fighting off the virus." The infusion is only effective within five days of symptom onset, but for those that have gotten it, the relief from symptoms was badly needed. "I basically felt like I got hit by a truck. Body aches, and my cough started getting bad," said Robert Dodd. Dodd, 50, first felt the effects of the infection on Christmas Day. He had no underlying health conditions, but that he was hit hard by aches and fatigue. He tested positive for COVID-19 the following day. "I basically just isolated myself at home and just took it easy," he said. But Dodd got a call a few days later asking if he’d like to be treated with a new experimental drug. The treatment is not fully FDA-approved, but is approved for emergency use. It’s known to reduce the severity of symptoms and decrease sick time by two to three days. "I mean considering how I felt at the time, with the body aches and things like that, coughing, I was willing to pretty much do anything," Dodd said. On December 28 he was escorted through an outside entrance to an infusion room at St. Joseph’s Hospital. The treatment, administered through an IV, took about two hours; one hour for the actual infusion and another hour where Dodd was monitored for a reaction. "I feel like I had a little more energy once they gave me the drug," Dodd said. "I was skeptical and I was up for anything at the time, but afterward I started feeling better and I was quite amazed that it actually worked." Now, Dodd is back to work and back to feeling like himself. He hopes the treatment will help others and eventually save lives. "Absolutely I highly recommend it. If someone has COVID and has the symptoms I had, I highly recommend they get the drug," he said. So far, about 40 people have received the treatment at St. Joseph's. Medical experts say there can be mild side effects from the treatment like nausea and dizziness, but none of their patients have reported any so far. Healthcare workers' focus is to treat older, more vulnerable patients before they wind up in the hospital. Another advantage to bamlanivimab is consistency in treatment compared to convalescent plasma therapy. "You know exactly what you’re getting with this one, with the plasma you’re getting various kinds of antibodies, with this one you know what you’re getting," said Buchanan. "The same dose for every patient." Those who want the treatment are encouraged to ask their primary care physician about it. Copyright 2020 KMOV (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved 2 Link to comment
Ambergris Posted January 19, 2021 Author Share Posted January 19, 2021 (edited) The investigational neutralizing IgG1 monoclonal antibody bamlanivimab (LY-CoV555; Lilly) has been granted an FDA Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for treatment of recently diagnosed mild to moderate COVID-19 in patients who are ≥12 years old, weigh at least 40 kg, and are at high risk for progressing to severe disease and/or hospitalization: Eligible Patients Considered High Risk Patients With ≥1 of the Following: BMI ≥35 Chronic kidney disease Diabetes Immunosuppressive disease Currently receiving immunosuppressive treatment ≥65 years old Patients ≥55 Years Old and ≥1 of the Following: Cardiovascular disease Hypertension COPD or other chronic respiratory disease Patients 12-17 Years Old and ≥1 of the Following: BMI ≥85th percentile for their age and gender Sickle cell disease Congenital or acquired heart disease Neurodevelopmental disorders (eg, cerebral palsy) A medical-related technological dependence (eg, tracheostomy, gastrostomy, or positive pressure ventilation [not related to COVID-19]) Asthma, reactive airway or other chronic respiratory disease that requires daily treatment Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. a Patients ≥12 years old who weigh ≥40 kg with ≥1 of the criteria listed are considered at high risk for progressing to severe COVID-19 and/or hospitalization. FDA fact sheet for health care providers emergency use authorization (EUA) of bamlanivimab. Available at: https://www.fda.gov/media/143603/download. Accessed November 19, 2020. Edited January 19, 2021 by Ambergris 2 1 Link to comment
Homesteader Posted January 19, 2021 Share Posted January 19, 2021 Some snippets from LC.org today: California paused the Moderna COVID vaccine and issued a warning to all vaccine facilities after people had serious reactions less than 24 hours after receiving the injection. In the United States alone, at least 55 people have died after taking a COVID vaccine — and some were perfectly healthy before this injection. The small country of Norway already has had 29 deaths following the Pfizer vaccine. That nation has now completely reversed its recommendations. Now people older than 75 years are instructed to NOT receive this vaccine. In Israel, four people have died and 13 developed Bell's Palsy. 1 1 Link to comment
Ambergris Posted January 20, 2021 Author Share Posted January 20, 2021 Norway has not changed its policy, although that fact was reported widely for a day or so. Read here: Norway policy on Pfizer vaccine unchanged after alarm over deaths Several elderly and frail people who received the vaccine have died, but official says ‘not a given’ that there is any connection. 19 Jan 2021 Norway will not change its policy on the use of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine following deaths among highly frail recipients, but officials have said that health workers should properly assess patients before deciding whether to give them the jab. As of January 14, 23 reports of deaths suspected to be associated with COVID-19 vaccines had been submitted to the Norwegian health registry. Of the 13 cases analysed in detail so far, the concerned individuals were elderly, frail and had serious diseases, Camilla Stoltenberg, director of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (FHI), told reporters on Monday. “It is important to remember that about 45 people die every day in nursing homes in Norway, so it is not a given that this represents any excess mortality or that there is a causal connection,” she said. Stoltenberg reiterated that the FHI’s guidelines on administering the vaccine remained the same, stating doctors should consider the overall health of their patients before giving them the jab. “One should have an assessment of each and every one before offering the vaccine,” she said. But, she added: “It’s not impossible that some of those who have gotten the vaccine are so frail that maybe you should have reconsidered and not given them the vaccine, because they are so sick that they might have become worse from the normal side effects as the body reacts and builds up immunity.” News of the deaths had raised alarm over the safety of the vaccine. BioNTech had earlier said that Norwegian health authorities changed their recommendation in relation to vaccination of the terminally ill. But the company later retracted the statement following clarification from Norway. Pfizer did not have any immediate comment. Norway’s death toll from the pandemic currently stands at 521 people, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Norway is currently vaccinating residents of care homes, including those with serious underlying conditions. An average of 400 people die each week in nursing homes and long-term care facilities in the Nordic country. Common adverse reactions to messenger RNA vaccines – such as the Pfizer-BioNTech shot – include fever, nausea, and diarrhoea. A number of countries, including Norway’s neighbours Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Sweden, have also reported post-vaccination deaths, but no direct links to the vaccine have been established. More than 48,000 people have been vaccinated in Norway so far. Norway has had one of the lowest infection rates in Europe during the pandemic, imposing tighter restrictions earlier than many other countries. The 14-day cumulative number of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 inhabitants was at 157.95 in the week ending January 10, the fifth-lowest in Europe behind Iceland, Greece, Bulgaria and Finland, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Prime Minister Erna Solberg on Monday announced the easing of some coronavirus restrictions after extra measures put in place for two weeks appeared to have achieved the desired effect in slowing transmission. But Solberg stressed that infection rates remained too high for comfort. “Although the measures seem to be working, and the infection rates are somewhat lower, the situation is still uncertain,” she told parliament. “Infection rates are still too high but with common efforts, we can reduce the spread.” 4 1 Link to comment
Virginia Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 Ambergris you have no idea how much information I glean from your writing about the virus. Your work on this topic is such a help. You are appreciated. 5 1 Link to comment
Jeepers Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 Fire breaks out in India's Covid vaccine manufacturing plant. https://nypost.com/2021/01/21/huge-fire-breaks-out-at-covid-19-vaccine-manufacturer-in-india/ 2 2 Link to comment
Ambergris Posted January 23, 2021 Author Share Posted January 23, 2021 BARCELONA — It was a bad end to a bad COVID week in Europe. On Friday evening, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that researchers had found “some evidence” that the recently discovered U.K. variant of the coronavirus, which was already known to be more contagious than the original strain and has prompted an alarming surge of cases and a lockdown in that country, “may be associated with a higher degree of mortality.” A 30 percent higher mortality, added his government lead scientific adviser, Patrick Vallance, in revealing the assessment by that country’s New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group. He added there is still “a lot of uncertainty” about exactly how lethal the variant is. Responding to the news, Yahoo News Medical Contributor Dr. Kavita Patel explained that “10 different studies with models show that the [U.K.] variant has a higher risk of death compared to the non-U.K. variants,” but underscored that “these are studies and models, not necessarily clinical trials.” She added that if the U.K. strain is in fact more deadly, it becomes “more urgent to get vaccines out as soon as possible” and that epidemiologists need to more clearly “understand the spread of the variant here in the U.S.” The variant, which is believed to be as much as 70 percent more transmissible than the predominant strain in the U.S., has been identified in at least 20 states among Americans with no recent history of foreign travel, indicating it is spreading rapidly. The CDC says it could become the dominant strain in the U.S. by March. The U.K. report hit Spain particularly hard, as new cases there have been spiking since the holiday season ended, with Friday’s announcement of 44,357 new cases breaking all previous daily records. Only the U.S. and Brazil are reporting higher numbers of new cases. At least 5 percent of the cases in this Spanish “third wave” are believed to be the U.K. variant, which the Spanish government’s chief scientific COVID adviser, Fernando Simón, believes will be the dominant strain in Spain within a few weeks. Boris Johnson British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. (Leon Neal/Pool/AFP via Getty Images) The dramatic spike was initially believed to be a reflection of the extended holiday season in Spain, which stretches from Dec. 24 to Jan. 6, during which some restrictions, such as curfews and travel between regions, were eased. However, with hospitalizations hitting new highs, epidemiologists realized that the U.K. variant, which first showed up in Spain a month ago, was evident in increasing numbers, and appears to be fueling the rising cases, particularly in the country’s south. Thus far, the Spanish national government — which has mandated mask wearing in all public places, including on the streets, curtailed hours of restaurant operations and imposed a nationwide 10 p.m. curfew in October — is denying requests from Spain’s regions to set the curfew to 8 p.m. or to impose a full lockdown. In fact, in the land where tourism is an economic driver, Spanish authorities have recently announced they hope Spain’s tourism will be back on track by late summer, by which time the prime minister believes at least 70 percent of Spaniards will have been vaccinated, a process that started last month. Patel stressed that “despite this sobering news, we still believe vaccines can work against these variants and be incredibly important, especially for those at high risk for dying from COVID.” But as vaccines may need to be tweaked to address the British and other new variants, Americans “need to triple down on our public health efforts” such as donning masks and social distancing. +++++++ Note that the common variety in the US is the Italian Variant. According to the last report I read, the vaccines being distributed in the US are understood to be effective against the UK variant too. The other variant they're worried about is the South African variant, which as far as I know isn't in the US yet. The vaccines are less effective against the South African variant. 1 Link to comment
Ambergris Posted January 23, 2021 Author Share Posted January 23, 2021 Friend of mine said she felt fine after the first dose of the vaccine. After the second dose, she felt like she had been hooked to a truck and drug down a dirt road. 4 Link to comment
Ambergris Posted January 23, 2021 Author Share Posted January 23, 2021 Cumulative cases reported by country 24,806,034 US 10,625,428 India 8,753,920 Brazil 3,637,862 Russia 3,594,094 United Kingdom 3,069,695 France 2,499,560 Spain 2,441,854 Italy 2,418,472 Turkey 2,125,261 Germany 1,987,418 Colombia 1,853,830 Argentina 1,711,283 Mexico 1,464,448 Poland 1,392,568 South Africa 1,360,852 Iran 1,222,459 Ukraine 1,082,907 Peru 965,283 Indonesia 951,731 Netherlands 924,847 Czechia 742,268 Canada 706,475 Romania 690,066 Chile 686,827 Belgium 612,092 Iraq 609,136 Portugal 589,028 Israel 547,166 Sweden 530,890 Bangladesh 528,891 Pakistan 509,887 Philippines 509,279 Switzerland 464,844 Morocco 401,886 Austria 380,802 Serbia 365,988 Saudi Arabia 357,174 Japan 356,973 Hungary 318,911 Jordan 305,752 Panama 272,461 Lebanon 270,810 United Arab Emirates 268,948 Nepal 251,974 Georgia 237,158 Ecuador 234,111 Belarus 233,027 Slovakia 228,526 Azerbaijan 227,969 Croatia 221,053 Kazakhstan 214,430 Bulgaria 201,145 Dominican Republic 196,393 Bolivia 193,720 Denmark 193,273 Tunisia 189,308 Costa Rica 184,279 Ireland 176,180 Malaysia 174,846 Lithuania 165,711 Armenia 160,463 Egypt 160,367 Kuwait 155,745 Slovenia 155,302 Moldova 154,557 West Bank and Gaza 152,956 Guatemala 151,041 Greece 148,521 Qatar 138,044 Honduras 136,591 Burma 132,881 Ethiopia 132,486 Oman 126,370 Paraguay 122,260 Venezuela 119,420 Bosnia and Herzegovina 118,138 Nigeria 112,540 Libya 105,124 Algeria 99,769 Kenya 99,210 Bahrain 98,786 China 90,124 North Macedonia 83,703 Kyrgyzstan 78,272 Uzbekistan 74,262 Korea, South 70,655 Albania 60,565 Norway 59,586 Latvia 59,480 Ghana 59,250 Singapore 57,482 Montenegro 57,317 Kosovo 56,863 Sri Lanka 54,483 Afghanistan 52,672 El Salvador 49,438 Luxembourg 43,333 Zambia 41,915 Finland 39,701 Estonia 38,935 Uganda 34,992 Uruguay 31,848 Namibia 30,848 Mozambique 30,523 Zimbabwe 29,758 Cyprus 28,759 Australia 28,010 Cameroon 26,315 Cote d'Ivoire 26,279 Sudan 24,209 Senegal 21,597 Congo (Kinshasa) 20,060 Cuba 19,654 Botswana 19,269 Angola 18,301 Madagascar 17,365 Malawi 16,423 Malta 16,322 Mauritania 14,830 Maldives 14,658 Jamaica 14,262 Guinea 14,219 Eswatini 13,479 Syria 13,381 Cabo Verde 13,308 Tajikistan 13,104 Thailand 12,443 Rwanda 11,700 Belize 11,035 Haiti 10,278 Gabon 9,857 Burkina Faso 9,416 Andorra 8,101 Bahamas 7,945 Suriname 7,937 Mali 7,794 Congo (Brazzaville) 7,555 Lesotho 7,456 Trinidad and Tobago 7,143 Guyana 6,204 Nicaragua 5,981 Iceland 5,917 Djibouti 5,401 Equatorial Guinea 4,974 Central African Republic 4,744 Somalia 4,545 Togo 4,308 Niger 3,958 Gambia 3,788 South Sudan 3,643 Benin 3,104 Chad 3,093 Sierra Leone 2,861 San Marino 2,510 Guinea-Bissau 2,432 Liechtenstein 2,276 New Zealand 2,160 Comoros 2,118 Yemen 1,940 Eritrea 1,912 Liberia 1,592 Mongolia 1,548 Vietnam 1,380 Burundi 1,311 Monaco 1,182 Sao Tome and Principe 1,156 Barbados 972 Seychelles 851 Bhutan 835 Papua New Guinea 755 Saint Lucia 690 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 556 Mauritius 509 Tanzania 456 Cambodia 195 Antigua and Barbuda 175 Brunei 139 Grenada 113 Dominica 55 Fiji 53 Timor-Leste 41 Laos 35 Saint Kitts and Nevis 27 Holy See 17 Solomon Islands 4 Marshall Islands 2 Samoa 1 Micronesia 1 Vanuatu State/Territory Cases in Last 7 Days California 222,075 Texas 142,944 Florida 80,913 New York* 59,562 Georgia 53,475 Arizona 50,902 North Carolina 47,173 Ohio 42,411 Virginia 41,117 New York City* 41,024 Pennsylvania 40,270 New Jersey 36,468 Illinois 33,651 South Carolina 33,312 Massachusetts 29,613 Tennessee 27,301 Indiana 23,443 Kentucky 20,689 Alabama 17,953 Oklahoma 17,769 Louisiana 17,170 Maryland 16,176 Michigan 15,809 Arkansas 14,709 Wisconsin 14,528 Connecticut 14,252 Mississippi 12,978 Utah 12,910 Washington 12,310 Colorado 12,033 Missouri 11,881 Kansas 11,371 Nevada 10,171 Minnesota 8,827 Iowa 7,776 West Virginia 7,398 New Mexico 6,280 Oregon 5,727 New Hampshire 5,516 Rhode Island 5,400 Nebraska 5,215 Idaho 4,842 Delaware 4,458 Maine 3,494 Puerto Rico 3,328 Montana 2,539 South Dakota 1,888 District of Columbia 1,792 Wyoming 1,723 Alaska 1,406 Vermont 1,007 North Dakota 968 Hawaii 774 Virgin Islands 103 Guam 90 Northern Mariana Islands 1 State/Territory Average Daily Cases per 100k in Last 7 Days Arizona 99.9 South Carolina 92.4 California 80.3 New York* 77 Rhode Island 72.8 Georgia 72 Texas 70.4 New York City* 69.8 Arkansas 69.6 Virginia 68.8 Kentucky 66.2 Delaware 65.4 North Carolina 64.3 Oklahoma 64.2 Mississippi 62.3 Massachusetts 61.4 West Virginia 59 New Jersey 58.7 New Hampshire 58 Utah 57.5 Connecticut 57.1 Tennessee 57.1 Kansas 55.8 Florida 53.8 Louisiana 52.8 Alabama 52.3 Ohio 51.8 Indiana 49.8 Nevada 47.2 Pennsylvania 44.9 New Mexico 42.8 Wyoming 42.5 Idaho 38.7 Nebraska 38.5 Maryland 38.2 Illinois 37.9 Maine 37.1 District of Columbia 36.3 Wisconsin 35.7 Iowa 35.2 Montana 33.9 South Dakota 30.5 Colorado 29.9 Missouri 27.7 Alaska 27.5 Vermont 23.1 Washington 23.1 Michigan 22.6 Minnesota 22.4 Oregon 19.4 North Dakota 18.2 Puerto Rico 14.9 Virgin Islands 14.1 Guam 7.8 Hawaii 7.8 Northern Mariana Islands 0.3 State/Territory Deaths in Last 7 Days California 3,350 Texas 2,235 Pennsylvania 1,386 Florida 1,126 Arizona 918 Georgia 914 New York* 859 Illinois 699 Ohio 528 North Carolina 514 New Jersey 507 New York City* 489 Massachusetts 466 Tennessee 452 South Carolina 439 Alabama 434 Michigan 422 Indiana 391 Louisiana 362 Wisconsin 362 Virginia 346 Mississippi 302 Maryland 298 Missouri 284 Arkansas 268 Oklahoma 262 Kentucky 259 Nevada 252 Connecticut 221 Kansas 220 New Mexico 208 Iowa 194 Minnesota 194 Washington 189 West Virginia 147 Colorado 124 Oregon 106 Utah 87 Rhode Island 80 Puerto Rico 69 Idaho 65 New Hampshire 65 Maine 63 South Dakota 59 Nebraska 50 Delaware 32 North Dakota 30 Wyoming 28 Alaska 25 Montana 23 District of Columbia 22 Hawaii 10 Vermont 6 Guam 4 State/Territory Average Daily Deaths per 100k in Last 7 Days Arizona 1.8 Pennsylvania 1.6 Mississippi 1.5 New Mexico 1.4 Alabama 1.3 Arkansas 1.3 California 1.2 Georgia 1.2 Nevada 1.2 South Carolina 1.2 West Virginia 1.2 Kansas 1.1 Louisiana 1.1 New York* 1.1 Rhode Island 1.1 Texas 1.1 Massachusetts 1 Oklahoma 1 South Dakota 1 Tennessee 1 Connecticut 0.9 Iowa 0.9 Wisconsin 0.9 Florida 0.8 Illinois 0.8 Indiana 0.8 Kentucky 0.8 New Jersey 0.8 New York City* 0.8 Maryland 0.7 Maine 0.7 Missouri 0.7 North Carolina 0.7 New Hampshire 0.7 Ohio 0.7 Wyoming 0.7 Michigan 0.6 North Dakota 0.6 Virginia 0.6 Alaska 0.5 District of Columbia 0.5 Delaware 0.5 Idaho 0.5 Minnesota 0.5 Nebraska 0.4 Oregon 0.4 Utah 0.4 Washington 0.4 Colorado 0.3 Guam 0.3 Montana 0.3 Puerto Rico 0.3 Hawaii 0.1 Vermont 0.1 413,818 cumulative US deaths attributed Today's numbers, January 22, 2021. 2 Link to comment
Ambergris Posted January 23, 2021 Author Share Posted January 23, 2021 This last page, and certainly much of the next page, appear to be more wishful thinking (or PR) than statistics. I thought you'd be interested in the foregoing, though, with which countries are listed as going up or down. Note that several countries are worse off, per capita, than we are, and remember that a lot of these countries are state-sized and have populations to match. 4 2 Link to comment
Mother Posted January 23, 2021 Share Posted January 23, 2021 I've tried to make sense out of all the numbers but what I come up with is that it's both worse and better than what we are led to believe. If we go by the sheer numbers of cases and even deaths the numbers are almost staggering. Yet if we go by the numbers per capita some countries really look hard hit. What bothers me is the rising number of cases in countries that closed down early. Thailand closed down their tourism early on and for a long time their numbers stayed low. So much of what they do and how they live is spent outside I suppose that helped. I believe masks were mandated there early on as well but then lately their case loads have gone up rather fast. It appears their death rate is lower than some though. What these numbers are telling me is that I still need to be cautious. I feel this is going to get worse before it gets better. Thanks for posting them Ambergris. 4 Link to comment
Mt_Rider Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 While Hawai'i has been quite low this past year, DD has told me that recently their numbers have "shot up". I'm not sure if that's relative to how they've been doing....?? Not sure what "recently" means either. But there is concern there. As "gateway to Asia" ....they have done remarkably well. MtRider 2 Link to comment
Midnightmom Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 Apparently the standards for diagnosing that you have the virus have changed. Anthony Brian Logan discusses this as well as the recent death of two celebrities. 2 Link to comment
Littlesister Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 Here in N. Suffolk where I am, We can't seem to get a true quote on how things are going with this virus. I am starting to see more and more people going in and out of stores with no mask. Despite the fact that the stores are demanding it. In Western Tidewater Suffolk, that seems to be where the most cases are. That is also where we have the jail, downtown, and several nursing homes. So that might explain the spike on that end of Suffolk. Not letting my guard down and still going to keep taking the precautions needed to keep us as safe as possible. Praying for everyone to stay safe from this mess and that it will end soon. 1 Link to comment
TheCG Posted January 25, 2021 Share Posted January 25, 2021 I've been calling trying to get a COVID test for the last 45 minutes. Lines are busy. That doesn't bode well. 1 Link to comment
Ambergris Posted January 25, 2021 Author Share Posted January 25, 2021 (edited) 25,236,815: confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United States. (That’s 491,369 more than Friday morning.) 420,516: US deaths attributed to coronavirus. (That’s 9,076 more than Friday morning.) 110,628: people currently hospitalized with coronavirus 295.01 million: The number of coronavirus tests that have been administered in the United States so far, according to researchers at The COVID Tracking Project. At least 18.5 million: The number of Americans who have received one or both vaccine shots so far. Edited January 25, 2021 by Ambergris 1 Link to comment
Ambergris Posted January 25, 2021 Author Share Posted January 25, 2021 California Has Its Own Coronavirus Variant, Researchers Reveal Mary Papenfuss Mon, January 25, 2021, 3:31 AM The U.S. now has its very own COVID-19 variant and scientists believe the burgeoning strain is likely linked to the surge in cases in Los Angeles County. Two independent research groups discovered the strain in California while seeking the more contagious, possible more deadly, British variant in the state. Although the researchers found the UK strain ― B.1.1.7 ― in scattered cases in Los Angeles, San Diego and San Bernardino counties, they weren’t expecting to discover a homegrown variant. The California variant ― CAL.20C - was barely detectable in early October, researchers from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles said. But by late December, it accounted for 24% of virus samples taken from southern California patients and about 36% of tested Los Angeles samples. The strain, scientists warned in their research report, “may be partially responsible for the magnitude of the surge in COVID-19 on the West Coast.” Los Angeles County has emerged as one of the nation’s coronavirus hotspots. By mid-January, the county reported more than 1 million COVID-19 cases and nearly 14,000 deaths. More than two-thirds of the cases have occurred since the beginning of November, which is about the time or shortly after that scientists said the California variant took off. The variant has also been detected in northern California, New York, Washington, D.C., and outside the country in Oceania. While scientists suspect the strain is more contagious, they don’t yet know if it’s more dangerous or lethal, or if vaccines will be as effective against it. 3 Link to comment
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