The Virginia Department of Health announced Thursday the first cases of two COVID-19 variants, B.1.427 and B.1.429, have been found in samples that were collected between December 2020 and February 2021 from Virginia residents.
The B.1.427 and B.1.429 variants, which first emerged in California in the summer of 2020, are associated with increased person-to-person transmission of COVID-19. At this time, there is no evidence that infections with these variants cause more severe disease.
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These two variants were only recently added to CDC’s Variant of Concern list.
With the identification of these new variant cases, Virginia now has identified a total of 14 cases of the B.1.427 variant, nine cases of the B.1.429 variant, 26 cases of the B.1.351 variant (first identified in South Africa) and 127 cases of the B.1.1.7 variant (first identified in the United Kingdom).
VDH says they expect to see new variants of the virus as COVID-19 spreads. VDH recommends wearing masks correctly, staying at least six feet from others, avoiding crowds, washing hands often, getting vaccinated for COVID-19 when it is your turn, and staying home if you are infected with COVID-19 or if you have had close contact with someone with COVID-19.
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For more information about COVID-19 variants, click here.