COVID-19: New variant blamed for surge in coronavirus cases in Los Angeles - CAL.20C
Sunday 31 January 2021 22:45
Stuart Ramsay
Scientists in Los Angeles searching for signs that the UK COVID variant had crossed into the US have stumbled on a different one that appears to have been home grown in California - fuelling a surge in cases in the world's entertainment capital.
Nearly 50% of all new coronavirus cases in southern California in January alone are traced to the new variant, CAL.20C, one of the pathologists to identify the strain told Sky News.
... Doctors and researchers at the world-famous Cedars-Sinai medical institution are still testing to see if the California variant is more deadly, more infectious, and more resistant to vaccines, like it is feared others might be.
They found the new strain only because they realised that British scientists were far ahead in seeing the importance of testing for variants.
... The virus is constantly evolving to avoid the immune system, and what is interesting about CAL.20C is that it is developing in a completely different way to the UK, South African and Brazilian variants.
Sunday 31 January 2021 22:45
Stuart Ramsay
Scientists in Los Angeles searching for signs that the UK COVID variant had crossed into the US have stumbled on a different one that appears to have been home grown in California - fuelling a surge in cases in the world's entertainment capital.
Nearly 50% of all new coronavirus cases in southern California in January alone are traced to the new variant, CAL.20C, one of the pathologists to identify the strain told Sky News.
... Doctors and researchers at the world-famous Cedars-Sinai medical institution are still testing to see if the California variant is more deadly, more infectious, and more resistant to vaccines, like it is feared others might be.
They found the new strain only because they realised that British scientists were far ahead in seeing the importance of testing for variants.
... The virus is constantly evolving to avoid the immune system, and what is interesting about CAL.20C is that it is developing in a completely different way to the UK, South African and Brazilian variants.
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