COVID-19 Variant First Found in Other Countries and States Now Seen More Frequently in California
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH), in coordination with Santa Clara County and the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), today announced that an L452R variant of COVID-19 is increasingly being identified by viral genomic sequencing in multiple counties across the state. The 452R variant has previously been detected in other countries and states, including California, and is now increasingly being found in multiple counties throughout California. The state is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), local public health departments and laboratory sequencing partners to learn more about the variant, including how it spreads.
Covid mutation accounts for up to 25% of state’s cases
An electron microscope image made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in February shows the virus that causes COVID-19.
A Covid mutation is spreading in California, and one expert says it accounts for about 25% of California’s cases, health officials said at a news conference Sunday night.
There’s no evidence that the mutation, known as L452R, produces more dangerous symptoms but because it affects the protein in the Covid virus, there’s a chance that the new vaccines won’t be as effective in preventing the mutation.
A new strain of the coronavirus, CAL.20C, may be contributing to the acceleration of the recent surge of cases across Southern California, according to a study.
Pharmacological evidence, from clinical trials where patients with systemic amyloid diseases are treated with disease-modifying therapies, supports the notion that protein aggregation drives tissue degeneration in these disorders. The protein aggregate structures driving tissue pathology and the commonalities in etiology between these diseases and Alzheimer’s disease are under investigation.