Would you like some more Covid variant? After strains from South Africa, the United Kingdom, and Brazil, a brand-new variant, coming straight from California, has been found in Bas-Rhin, France. This is the news reported by our peers from Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace saying that several cases have been reported between January 18 and February 9, after sequencing coronavirus 180 times in Strasbourg University Hospitals.
Among the 180 sequencings, six PCR+ cases of California variant have been confirmed, in a cluster set in Saverne, before the surge of UK and SA variants. Please note that in addition to this new strain, another unknown variant has been found in two other clinical cases. It is said to be the Scotland variant that surged a few weeks ago before it disappeared… and returned. “This variant is not particularly worrying” virology lecturer at Strasbourg University Hospitals Samira Fafi-Kremer tells Le Figaro. She explains: “its mutation – like for other variants – is superficial since it involves the Spike protein vaccines remain effective against”.
But you should be worried still: “Among variants that have been found in our analyses, two are described as avoiding monoclonal antibodies and recovering patients’ plasma” Fafi-Kremer adds. As for the California variant, we do not know much about it since very few data are available as to its contagiousness and virulence. But according to an American study released in Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), this strain is yet resistant to vaccine. A new variant being studied, and another reason to keep on fighting against the epidemic.
