Mutant coronavirus variants are a growing threat

While emerging coronavirus variants remain a threat, health experts are confident that rising vaccination rates and continued wearing of masks can mitigate the potential new waves.

Indeed, there are concerns about the immunity offered by vaccines against some coronavirus variants, including strain B.1.351 first identified in South Africa and native California strain B.1.427 / B.1.429.

Researchers at UC San Francisco said the California strain was more resistant to the effects of neutralizing antibodies generated by the immune system in response to COVID-19 vaccines or by previous coronavirus infection in laboratory tests. Compared to other variants, the protection provided by the antibodies was reduced by a “moderate … but significant” amount, said the UCSF researchers.

When the neutralizing antibodies raised against the native strain, their effectiveness was cut in half. For comparison: if these antibodies hit the coronavirus strain, that is now dominant in South Africaits effectiveness has been reduced to one sixth of its usual level.

Vaccine manufacturers have started working on booster vaccinations that would better suit the new variants. However, researchers say the vaccines are still quite good and remain our best bet to be protected from the virus. Doctors urge people to take the recordings as soon as they are eligible.

The vaccination campaigns are a major contributor to the ongoing decline in daily coronavirus cases, and that trend is encouraging, said Dr. Eric McDonald, medical director of the San Diego County’s Epidemiology Division, this week.

McDonald said Wednesday that even if the Californian strain is “a little more contagious than the rest of the community floating around, the takeaway message is the same: you must do all of the things we have recommended to prevent transmission – So wear masks, social distance, stay at home. “

Vaccinations have been a factor in the decline in new coronavirus cases in LA County, along with the fact that so many residents have developed some immunity from exposure to the virus. Health officials also appreciate the increased compliance with guidelines for wearing masks in public and avoiding social gatherings since the fall and winter floods began. (Officials also saw no increase in cases related to Super Bowl weekend gatherings.)

LA County’s qualified care facilities – among the earliest places to receive vaccines – have seen new daily coronavirus cases decline in the past few weeks, public health director Barbara Ferrer said this week. As of February 7, the average number of daily coronavirus cases associated with residents of qualified care facilities was only five. Four weeks earlier it was more than 100.

As of February 14, 74% of residents who could be shot in LA County’s qualified care facilities and 77% of staff had received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Of those who received their first dose, 83% of staff and 79% of residents also received their second dose.

“With many more staff and residents vaccinated, new cases should continue to decline, which means fewer outbreaks and luckily fewer deaths,” Ferrer said.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government’s foremost infectious disease expert, said the rise of variants made it all the more important that people get vaccinated as soon as possible.

“Take the vaccine. This is a race … between the virus and getting vaccines into people, “Fauci said Thursday on NBC’s” Today “show. “The longer you wait for the vaccination, the greater the chance that the virus will get a variant or a mutation.”

His conclusion on the vaccine: “If you have it, get it.”

Fauci previously expressed concern that a struggle for survival between the British and California variants could accelerate the spread of the strain best able to evade the effects of COVID-19 vaccines. The best way to prevent this from happening, Fauci told The Times, is to stop the spread of both variants by getting vaccinated, wearing masks, and limiting exposure to others.

On Thursday evening, California had an average of 5,800 new coronavirus cases per day for the past seven days – the lowest since the fall and winter began to quicken in early November. The nationwide daily case count has fallen 87% since the beginning of January when there were 45,000 new cases per day.

California COVID-19 hospital stays are down 73% from their January 6 high of 21,936. That number had fallen to 5,934 on Wednesday, its lowest level since November 24th.

In addition, the number of people with COVID-19 in intensive care units in California fell 65%, falling from a high of 4,868 on Jan. 10 to 1,708 on Wednesday. This is the lowest number since November 28th.

The rate at which coronavirus test results were positive again for the past seven days hit 2.95% on Thursday, a marked decrease from the peak of the winter surge when the rate of positivity for the seven day period that ended in January was 14.34% 7. California’s positivity rate is now the lowest since Halloween.

Hundreds of COVID-19 deaths are still reported daily, albeit at a slower rate than the peak of around 562 deaths per day in late January. On Thursday, 401 more COVID-19 deaths have been reported by California’s 61 local health authorities, according to a Times tally.

As of Thursday evening, California’s local health authorities had reported a total of 51,393 COVID-19 deaths in the state since the pandemic began. On a per capita basis, California has the 30th highest cumulative COVID-19 death rate among the 50 states and the District of Columbia.