, who led the UCSF team of geneticists, epidemiologists, statisticians and other scientists in a wide-ranging analysis of the new variant. “I wish it were different. But the science is the science.”
They call the new variant B.1.427/B.1.429. It will likely account for 90% of California’s infections by the end of the month, Chiu said. Since Sept. 1, the California strain has risen from complete obscurity to account for more than 50% of all coronavirus samples that were subjected to genetic analysis in the state. It has shown an enhanced ability to spread compared to strains that were prominent here in early fall — but just how much more contagious it is remains to be seen.is a mutation that helps the virus attach more firmly to the human cells it targets.
As if that weren’t enough motivation to keep sticking with public health strategies to slow the spread of the coronavirus, the scientists also found that the California variant was associated with.
Chiu said the increased risk of death doesn’t necessarily mean the California strain is more lethal. It could reflect the fact that greater virus transmissibility caused hospitals to become overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients, and the higher death rate may have been due to healthcare resources being stretched too thin.
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