UpdatedWed, Mar 3, 2021 at 12:46 pm PT
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In this March 11, 2020 photo, a laboratory technician prepares COVID-19 patient samples for semi-automatic testing at Northwell Health Labs, in Lake Success, N.Y. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
SHORELINE, WA Washington is boosting efforts to identify new COVID-19 strains across the state and ramping up capacity at its Shoreline lab, the Department of Health announced Wednesday.
Public and private labs have genetically sequenced random samples since the early days of the pandemic, which helps researchers learn more about how the virus mutates as it moves through the community.
While mutations are common in all viruses, some variants of concern are more troublesome, with traits that make them spread easier or cause more serious illnesses. Washington s previous sequencing efforts successfully identified the B.1.1.7 variant, which earlier swept across the UK, and, most recently, the B.1.351 variant, previously linked to outbreaks in
NYC health officials say new COVID variant not yet concerning nydailynews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nydailynews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
US efforts to detect dangerous, fast-moving COVID-19 mutations that are already bedeviling states remain slim and disconnected as the Biden administration seeks to speed up the process.
While as many as 7,000 to 8,000 samples are being analyzed weekly, that s just 1.7% of the 463,843 new cases in the US last week, making it little more than a random effort. Meanwhile, three highly-contagious variants have gained significant footholds in the country, with two showing an ability to evade - though not yet overcome - existing vaccines.
State health departments directly send just 770 of the samples analyzed by US health officials, with the rest coming from academic, commercial and state labs. That can lead to over-sampling in areas where labs are located. And the academic labs often have little direct contact with local health departments that need to swiftly start contact tracing to control spread, said David Haussler, scientific director at the University of California-Santa Cruz G
Gov Andrew M Cuomo raises concern over UK COVID-19 variant newsday.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from newsday.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.