New COVID-19 Strain Discovered in L.A., but Researchers Say It Was First Identified in Denmark

Just two days after the Public Health Department of Los Angeles announced that the U.K variant known as B.1.1.7 had been identified, the California Department of Public Health revealed a lesser-known strain that has been circulating the country. 

Another New COVID-19 Strain

The newly announced arrival of the strain L452R was first identified in Denmark last March 2020 and showed up in California in May.

Dr. Charles Chiu, a UCSF and virologist professor, has been genetically sequencing test samples with state authorities to identify new variants stating early indication of the L452R strain may be lee susceptible to currently used vaccines but need more investigation.

Dr. Chiu explains that the new variant carries three mutations, including the L452R in its spike proteins, which the virus uses to attach to cells and is the target of two vaccines currently used in the United States. He further states that spike protein mutations could, in theory, interfere with the efficacy of approved vaccines.

According to the California Department of Public Health, the L452R variant is linked with multiple outbreaks in Santa Clara county. Large numbers of positive specimens were collected. Findings show that L452R was present in samples from several large outbreaks where many people contracted the virus.

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"This variant was identified in several large outbreaks in our country. It serves as a red flag and must be investigated further," says Dr. Sada Cody, Santa Clara County Health Officer.

The L452R variant has been detected in Monterey, Orange, Los Angeles, Mono, San Francisco, San Diego, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Lake countries, and Humboldt. Due to the scarcity of genomic sequences, it is currently unknown whether the L452R is prevalent nationwide or globally.

Dr. Chui explains that from 3.8% of L452R samples tested in late November of 2020, it is now up to 25.2% in early January 2021. Hinting of possible problems with the efficacy of current vaccines used in the United States.

Dr. Erica Pan, California State Epidemiologist, says, "higher than the usual number of people had an apparent allergic reaction to a batch of Moderna's vaccine at the San Diego-area clinic."

On the side of caution, Pan recommends that clinics cease to use doses from a specific batch currently under investigation vaccines. California received roughly 330,000 doses of the batch in an investigation that equates to about 10% of all vaccine distribution across the entire state.

Meanwhile, U.K variant B.1.1.7 is slated to become a more potentially contagious variant. Los Angeles Public Health officials have recently confirmed the first case in the area.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention warns that the undeniable presence of B.1.1.7 may mark the new phase of "exponential growth" in COVID-19 cases. Adding the threat of the potentially vaccine-resistant strain, L452R.

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