The Bay Area now has at least one case of the emerging “double mutant” coronavirus variant, which was first observed in India, according to Stanford’s Clinical Virology Laboratory.
Dr. Benjamin Pinsky, the lab's medical director, says the variant has two mutations in the spike protein, the part of the virus used to infect healthy cells. The sample with this mutation comes from Santa Clara County.
"This is a variant that is important to monitor," he said, "but at this point, not to get too concerned about."
For its part, Santa Clara County health officials indicated that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not list this variant as one of great interest or concern.
Last month, Indian health authorities published a report that tracked an increased number of cases of this variant in the state of Maharashtra. As soon as the report was released, Pinsky's lab started to test for the mutation and reported the case to health authorities last week.
Although Pinsky said these mutations can affect the ability of antibodies to neutralize the virus, he was quick to point out that vaccines "are extraordinarily effective at preventing hospitalization and death no matter what the variant."
While some other variants have been associated with a more rapid spread, researchers in India have not confirmed a similar impact for this variant.
On Thursday, Santa Clara County health officials confirmed that the variants first detected in South Africa, the United Kingdom and Brazil have all been detected in the county. Additionally, over 1,000 cases have been confirmed of the so-called "California variant."
The San Francisco Department of Public Health said through a statement that "while particular mutations are concerning, we don't have evidence that this virus variant (the “double mutant”) has demonstrated increased transmission or decreased susceptibility to vaccines."
The Stanford lab has only confirmed one case of the variant and are still waiting for results on seven other potential cases. Pinsky signaled that further research is needed to understand the full impact this mutation has on how antibodies respond to the virus.
