‘There is genuine concern.’ What the latest COVID U.K. variant case means for Fresno region
A variant of coronavirus that emerged in the United Kingdom last fall has been discovered in a Madera County resident, the fifth person in the central San Joaquin Valley to be infected with the mutated strain.
The B.1.1.7 variant, also called the U.K. variant, showed up in a test sample that was sent to a state testing lab for genetic sequencing. Officials with the Madera County Department of Public Health said the person has already completed an isolation period and is no longer contagious.
County health staff identified people with whom the patient had been in close contact and reported that those people are now in quarantine, but no other cases of the U.K. variant have been identified in Madera County.
Three Fresno County residents were identified last week as having had the U.K. variant after test samples were taken in late February and early March. Earlier this month, Kings County health officials reported one case of the U.K. variant, as well as one person who tested positive for one of two similar variants that together are known as the West Coast strain.
The U.K. variant is now being found in more than 200 countries around the world, including almost 6,400 cases in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. The CDC and state Department of Public Health also reported 471 cases of the B.1.1.7 strain in California as of March 19.
“While cases are decreasing in Madera County, the discovery of this variant is concerning,” Dr. Simon Paul, Madera County’s public health officer, said Tuesday. “Residents should continue to stay vigilant by limiting gatherings, practicing social distancing, and wearing a mask.”
“All approved vaccines are believed to be effective against this variant,” Paul added, “and I strongly recommend residents get vaccinated to protect themselves and their families.”
The CDC reports that the U.K. variant of coronavirus spreads more easily and quickly than other variants.
Health experts in the United Kingdom said in January that there is evidence that the variant could be associated with an increased risk of death. The CDC, however, indicated that more studies are needed to confirm that concern.
The CDC and the California Department of Public Health both have labeled B.1.1.7 as a “variant of concern” because it is believed likely to cause greater illness or severe disease.
The state health department reported that as of March 19, a relatively small number of coronavirus test samples – fewer than 27,000 statewide out of more than 52.5 million tests to date – have been submitted to labs for genomic analysis to determine if they represent any of the variants that are emerging in California or around the world.
Of those, about 8,000 cases of COVID-19 caused by the U.K., West Coast and other variants have been identified in California.
In Fresno County, interim health officer Dr. Rais Vohra said Tuesday that his department has not received any additional notification from the state about more instances of variant strains among patients.
Like Paul in Madera County, Vohra is troubled by the prospect of more cases floating around in Fresno County that may be undetected, and underscored the need for people to continue to be tested for the virus.
“There is genuine concern that (the variants) will create some complications in our control of coronavirus,” Vohra said about the possibility that one or more variants may be resistant to vaccines or other treatments.
Even after people have been vaccinated, it’s worth getting tested, he added, because none of the shots are guaranteed to be 100% effective in preventing someone from becoming infected, whether by the mainstream version of the virus or one of the variants.
Vohra said testing is important to monitor the spread of the virus, whether it’s surveillance testing of people who have no symptoms or for people who do come down with symptoms of the respiratory disease.
He also urged people to get vaccinated because it provides not only a layer of personal protection, along with face masks, social distancing, avoiding crowds in public and hand sanitation, but can also help stop the virus from spreading and possibly mutating into new variants when it reproduces itself in a host.
“The virus can’t mutate if it can’t replicate,” he said. “Get vaccinated so it doesn’t find new victims.”
New vaccination sites
On Tuesday, the Fresno program of UC San Franscisco expanded its vaccine operations in Fresno County to begin offering shots at Fresno City College.
It’s now one of about four dozen sites throughout Fresno County providing COVID-19 vaccinations to eligible individuals – currently health care workers; senior citizens ages 65 and older; workers in the agriculture and food industries including grocery and restaurant workers; people in the education and child-care sectors; people ages 16 to 64 with major underlying health conditions that put them at greater risk for serious illness or death from the coronavirus; and workers in the transportation and utility industries.
That doesn’t include about 40 retail chain pharmacies locations across Fresno County that are receiving allocations of vaccine doses directly from the federal government.
The city of Selma announced Tuesday that it is partnering with Fresno County to open a new vaccination site on Wednesday from 1 to 7 p.m. at the Nick Medina Senior Center in downtown Selma.
It will be open Tuesdays through Saturdays by appointment only. The shots are being administered by Curative Inc. According to information provided by the city, appointments are available online at www.cur.tv/selmavax or by calling 888-702-9024.
Tuesday case updates
Across the central San Joaquin Valley, Tuesday COVID-19 updates from counties include:
Fresno County: 65 new cases, 98,276 to date; three additional deaths, 1,571 to date.
Kings County: eight new cases, 22,532 to date; one additional death, 239 to date. More than 7,200 of Kings County’s cases, and 17 deaths, are associated with state prisons in Avenal and Corcoran.
Madera County: seven new cases, 15,821 to date; five additional deaths since last week, 231 to date. Almost 2,500 of the total cases are associated with state prisons in the Chowchilla area.
Mariposa County: two new cases, 405 to date; no additional deaths, seven to date.
Merced County: 41 new cases, 30,298 to date; one additional death, 430 to date.
Tulare County: 46 new cases, 48,878 to date; two additional deaths, 801 to date.
Since the first local cases of coronavirus in the global pandemic were identified in early March 2020, more than 216,000 people have been infected with COVID-19, including almost 3,300 who lost their lives to the disease.
This story was originally published March 23, 2021 at 4:18 PM.
