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BioNTech CEO assured shot works in opposition to India pressure

BioNTech CEO confident shot works against India strain

Ugur Sahin, CEO of BioNTech, told CNBC on Thursday that he was “confident” that the company’s Covid-19 vaccine with US partner Pfizer will be effective against a variant of the coronavirus first identified in India.

The strain known as B.1.617 contains two key mutations that have been found separately in other coronavirus variants. The variant, also known as the “double mutant,” was first discovered in India, where some believe it is behind a recent spike in new Covid-19 cases.

The variant has since been identified in other countries, including the United States.

Sahin said the German drug maker had tested its two-dose vaccine, currently not available in India, against similar “double mutants”. Based on that data, Sahin said he feels confident the shot will still be protective.

“We evaluate [the strain] … and the data will be available in the coming weeks, “he told CNBC.

“However, we had similar double mutants in our previous tests and are confident from the data we had in the past that we could see a similar way of neutralizing this virus. But we will only know when we have the data in our hands, “he added.

In recent months, US health officials have said they fear that new, highly contagious variants of the virus may one day be able to evade the protection of currently approved vaccines. They urge Americans to get vaccinated as soon as possible before new and potentially more dangerous variants emerge.

Studies have shown that the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine still protects against other strains, including B.1.526, the variant first identified in New York, and B.1.1.7, the variant found in the UK

An Israeli study found that B.1.351, the variant discovered in South Africa, was able to bypass some of the protection provided by the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine, even though the shot continued to be highly effective.

Although the shot continues to be effective, Sahin said people will likely need a third shot of his two-dose Covid-19 vaccine to reduce immunity to the Tureci virus.

In February, Pfizer and BioNTech announced that they were testing a third dose of their Covid-19 vaccine to better understand the immune response against new variants of the virus.

Sahin said Thursday that researchers are seeing a decrease in antibody responses to the virus after eight months.

“If we give a boost, we could actually increase the antibody response beyond what we started with, and that could give us real comfort in protection for at least 12 months, maybe 18 months,” he said.

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CDC director says U.Ok. pressure changing into the predominant pressure in elements of U.S.

CDC director says U.K. strain becoming the predominant strain in parts of U.S.

CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky speaks to the press after visiting the FEMA mass vaccination center at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, Massachusetts on March 30, 2021.

Erin Clark | Pool | Getty Images

The highly contagious variant of coronavirus, first identified in the UK, is becoming the predominant strain in many regions of the United States, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday.

The variant known as B.1.1.7 now accounts for 26% of the nationwide spread of Covid-19 cases, said CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky reporters during a White House press conference on the pandemic. It’s the predominant variety in at least five regions, she added.

The UK identified B.1.1.7 last fall, which appears to be more deadly and spreads more easily than other strains. Since then, it has spread to other parts of the world, including the US, which on Tuesday identified 11,569 cases in 51 jurisdictions, according to the CDC.

Florida has the most confirmed cases of the new variant, according to a map from the CDC data, closely followed by Michigan, Wisconsin and California. Public health officials say they are working as soon as possible to identify more cases.

Walensky said on Wednesday that she expected further infections in the United States due to the portability of variant B.1.1.7. She urged the public to continue pandemic security measures such as hand washing, wearing masks and social distancing.

Walensky’s comments come two days after she issued a terrible warning to reporters. She said Monday that she feared the nation was facing “impending doom” as variants spread and daily Covid-19 cases rise again, threatening to send more people to the hospital.

“I’m going to pause here, I’m going to lose the script, and I’m going to think about the recurring feeling I have of impending doom,” Walensky said. “We can look forward to so much, so much promise and potential where we are and so much reason to hope, but right now I’m scared.”

According to the Johns Hopkins University, an average of more than 63,000 new Covid-19 cases per day have been reported in the U.S. That number is up 16% over a week.

The Chief Medical Officer of the White House, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday that the recent surge in cases is not only being caused by new varieties of the virus, but that travel and the relaxation of business restrictions are also a factor in the increase in infections.

“This is a critical moment in our fight against the pandemic,” Walensky said on Wednesday. “We cannot afford to let go of our watch.”

– CNBC’s Nate Rattner contributed to this report.

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Fauci says Biden administration is taking Covid pressure ‘very critically’

Fauci says Biden administration is taking Covid strain 'very seriously'

The director of the National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci speaks during the daily briefing in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington on January 21, 2021.

Almond Ngan | AFP | Getty Images

The Biden administration is taking the emergence of a new strain of coronavirus in New York “very seriously,” said White House chief medical officer Dr. Anthony Fauci, on Monday.

The new strain, which researchers call B.1.526, is spreading rapidly in New York and carries a mutation that, according to The New York Times, could make vaccines less effective. The variant first appeared in November and now makes up about 1: 4 virus sequences, the Times reports.

Fauci said Monday the strain likely came from Washington Heights, a neighborhood in the uppermost part of Manhattan, before it spread to other boroughs. He said US officials must “keep an eye on” the strain, including the possibility that it could evade protection from antibody treatments and vaccines.

“We take the New York variant 526 very seriously,” said Fauci during a press conference at the White House.

US health officials are increasingly concerned that the emergence of new, highly contagious varieties could reverse the downward trend in infections in the US and delay the nation’s recovery from the pandemic. They are also urging Americans to get vaccinated as soon as possible before potentially new and even more dangerous variants continue to take hold.

At the same press conference, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Dr. Rochelle Walensky said she was “really concerned” that some states are rolling back public health measures to contain the pandemic, as US cases appear to be weakening at a “very high” rate of 70,000 cases per day.

“Seventy thousand cases a day seem good compared to what we were a few months ago,” she said. “Please listen to me clearly: at this level of cases with expanding variation, we are completely losing the hard-earned ground we have gained.”

In addition to the B.1.526 strain in New York, officials monitor four other variants. As of Sunday, the CDC had identified 2,400 cases of variant B.1.1.7, which were first identified in the UK. The agency identified 53 cases of the B.1.351 strain from South Africa and 10 cases of P.1, a variant for the first time in Brazil. California scientists are also monitoring a variant called B.1.427 / B.1.429.

Fauci said Monday that there are many “unknowns” about the New York variant, but officials are “looking very carefully” at the strain.

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U.Okay. coronavirus pressure doubling within the U.S. each 10 days, research finds

U.K. coronavirus strain doubling in the U.S. every 10 days, study finds

The mutant strain of coronavirus, first identified in the UK, remains at low levels in the US, but doubles its range roughly every 10 days, according to a study published by researchers on Sunday.

The study helped model the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which last month had predicted that the more contagious variety could be the dominant strain in the US by March.

The US still has time to take steps to slow the new strain of the virus, the researchers wrote, but they warned that the variant “without” determined and immediate public health action “is likely to have devastating consequences for COVID-19. Mortality and morbidity in the EU will have US in a few months. “

The research, which was partially funded by the CDC and the National Institutes of Health and Canadian Institutes of Health Research, has been published on medRxiv, a preprint server, and has not yet been peer-reviewed.

The new strain of coronavirus, also known as B.1.1.7, spread quickly in the United Kingdom and has become the dominant strain in that country, which by some standards is the hardest hit in Europe.

Health officials have said that existing vaccines are likely to work against new strains, although their effectiveness may be somewhat reduced.

The study found that there are “relatively small” amounts of B.1.1.7. in the US at the moment, but given its rapid spread, it is “almost certainly destined to become the dominant SARS-CoV-2 line by March 2021”.

The new strain accounted for 3.6% of coronavirus cases in the United States in the last week of January, according to the study.

Researchers found that tracking the nationwide spread of the strain is made difficult by the lack of a national genomics surveillance program like in the UK, Denmark and other countries.

They wrote that they had “relatively robust” estimates from California and Florida, but that data outside of those states were limited.

The growth rate of the virus was different in the two states, with B.1.1.7. seems to spread a little more slowly in California. The study’s authors wrote that the strain doubled roughly every 12.2 days in California, 9.1 days in Florida, and 9.8 days nationally.

The study supports the conclusion that the new strain is already spreading via “significant community transmission”.

The authors suggest that the virus was introduced into the country via international travel and spread via domestic travel as millions of Americans crossed the country around Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years in the fall and winter.

The authors also found that the variant grew a little slower than in European countries. This is another investigation, but it may be due to the sparse current data or other factors – including “competition from other, more transferable” variants.

Other strains of coronavirus of concern have been detected in South Africa and elsewhere.

The researchers warned that their results “reinforce” the need for robust surveillance for possible new and emerging coronavirus variants in the US.

“Since laboratories in the US only sequence a small subset of SARS-CoV-2 samples, the true sequence diversity of SARS-CoV-2 is still unknown in this country,” they wrote.

“The more established oversight programs in other countries have issued important warnings of worrying variants that could affect the US, with B.1.1.7 being just one variant that demonstrates the ability to grow exponentially,” they added.

“Only with consistent, unbiased, large-scale sequencing that encompasses all geographic and demographic populations, including the often underrepresented, along with continued international scientific collaborations and open data sharing, can we accurately assess and track new variants emerging during COVID-19 Pandemic, “the researchers wrote.

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Moderna engaged on booster pictures for South African pressure

Moderna working on booster shots for South African strain

Moderna said Monday it was speeding up work on a Covid-19 booster shot to protect against the recently discovered variant in South Africa.

The researchers said that the current coronavirus vaccine appears to work against the two highly communicable strains found in the UK and South Africa, although it may be less effective against the latter.

The two-dose vaccine produced an antibody response against several variants, including B.1.1.7 and B.1.351, which were first identified in the UK and South Africa, respectively. This was the result of a Moderna study carried out in collaboration with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The study has not yet been peer-reviewed.

The vaccine produced a weaker immune response against the South African tribe, but the antibodies remained above levels expected to protect against the virus, the company said, adding that the results may indicate a “potential risk of previous weight loss of immunity to the new “indicate B.1.351 strains.

“Out of caution and taking advantage of the flexibility of our mRNA platform, we are bringing an ambitious variant booster candidate against the variant first identified in the Republic of South Africa to the clinic in order to determine whether it is more effective to increase the titre against it.” these and possibly future variants, “said Stephane Bancel, CEO of Moderna, in a statement.

Moderna shares rose nearly 4% in premarket trading after the announcement.

Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Philadelphia Children’s Hospital, said he was glad Moderna is preparing for the possibility that the virus could mutate enough to evade the protection of current vaccines.

“This is not yet a problem,” said Offit, also a member of the FDA’s Advisory Committee on Vaccines and Related Biological Products. “Prepare for it. Sequencing these viruses. Be ready in case a variant appears that is resistance to the vaccine.”

On Thursday, White House health advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci, new data showed that the Covid-19 vaccines currently on the market may not be as effective against new, more contagious strains of the coronavirus. Some early results posted on the bioRxiv preprint server indicate that the South African variant can evade the antibodies of some coronavirus treatments.

The Food and Drug Administration approved Moderna’s vaccine for people aged 18 and over in December.

Moderna’s vaccine, like Pfizer’s, uses messenger RNA or mRNA technology. It’s a new approach to vaccines that uses genetic material to trigger an immune response. Late-stage clinical trial data released in November shows that Moderna Covid’s vaccine is more than 94% effective at preventing, safe and appearing to ward off serious illness. For maximum effectiveness, the vaccine requires two doses four weeks apart.

Bancel told CNBC that Moderna’s vaccine will protect against the South African tribe in the short term, but the company doesn’t know how long that protection could last.

“What is currently unknown is what will happen in six months, twelve months, especially in the elderly because, as you know, they have weaker immune systems,” he said during an interview with Squawk Box. “Because of this unknown … we decided, out of caution, to bring a new vaccine to the clinic.”

“We cannot lag behind. We cannot fall behind this virus,” he said, adding that the virus “will continue to mutate”.

–CNBC’s Noah Higgins-Dunn contributed to this report.

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Proof new UK Covid pressure could also be extra lethal

Evidence new UK Covid strain may be more deadly

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during a press conference on Coronavirus (COVID-19) on Downing Street on January 15, 2021 in London, England.

Dominic Lipinski | Getty Images

LONDON – There is “some evidence” that a new variant of Covid, first identified in the UK, could be more deadly than the original variety, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Friday.

“We were informed today that not only is there a faster spread, but there is also evidence that the new variant – the variant first discovered in London and the south east (of England) – may be associated with a higher one Mortality rate, “Johnson told a press conference.

He added that all the evidence suggests that the vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca-Oxford University, both of which are currently in use in the UK, will remain effective against both the old and new variants of the virus.

The evidence is still in a preliminary stage and is being assessed by the Advisory Group on New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats, which is advising the UK Government.

The variant known as B.1.1.7 has an unusually high number of mutations and was already associated with more efficient and faster transmission.

Scientists first discovered this mutation in September. It has since been found in at least 44 countries, including the US, which has reported its presence in 12 states.

Last week, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that the US variant’s modeled trajectory “is growing rapidly in early 2021 and will become the predominant variant in March”.

Patrick Vallance, the UK’s chief scientific adviser, said alongside Johnson on Friday that there were early signs that the risk for those with the new variant was increased compared to the old virus.

“If you were to … take a man in his sixties, the average risk is that for every 1,000 people infected, about 10 would die from the virus. With the new variant, for 1,000 people infected, about 13 or 14 would be expected People are dying, “said Vallance.

He described the data as not yet strong and emphasized more concern about other variants of Covid in Brazil and South Africa.

– CNBC’s Sam Meredith contributed to this article.

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New Covid variant first present in UK might develop into dominant pressure in U.S. by March, CDC says

New Covid variant first found in UK could become dominant strain in U.S. by March, CDC says

The director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Robert Redfield, holds up a CDC document that reads “COVID-19 Vaccination Program Interim Playbook for Jurisdiction Operations” while speaking during a Senate Subcommittee on Appropriations hearing on Capitol Hill Washington, United States, Sept. 16, 2020 .

Andrew Harnik | Reuters

A more contagious strain of the coronavirus, first found in the UK late last year, could become the dominant strain in the United States by March as the nation seeks to vaccinate people against the disease, according to a new study by the Centers for Disease Control fights contraception.

“The modeled trajectory of this variant in the USA shows Rapid growth in early 2021, which will become the predominant variant in March, “according to the CDC study published on Friday.

The researchers warned that increasing its spread could place a greater strain on the country’s hospitals and require greater public health action to curb transmission of the virus until enough people are vaccinated. Increased surveillance of the mutating viruses, coupled with better compliance with public health measures such as masks, hand washing and physical distancing, could help slow the spread of the virus.

“These measures will be more effective if taken sooner rather than later to slow the initial spread of variant B.1.1.7. Efforts to prepare the health system for further spikes in certain cases are warranted,” the researchers said.

So far, according to CDC data, which were last updated on Wednesday, the country has only found 76 Covid-19 cases with the highly infectious variant B.1.1.7. However, many of the identified cases involved people with no travel history, suggesting that the variant is spreading undetected in the community.

Global health experts have claimed that while the new strain found in the UK and a similar strain found in South Africa are more contagious, they do not appear to make people sick or make a person more likely to die.

However, more cases could ultimately lead to additional hospital stays if the nation is already home to record Covid-19 patients. The rapid transmission of the new variants could require more people to be vaccinated in order to achieve something called herd immunity, the researchers said.

Herd immunity is when enough of the population is immune to a disease, either through vaccination or natural infection, which makes it unlikely to spread and protect the rest of the community, the Mayo Clinic says.

The US has been sluggish in its vaccination efforts and missed its target of vaccinating 20 million people by the end of last year. The US has delivered more than 31.1 million doses to date, but only administered 12.3 million of them, according to CDC data.

There is also concern that the new variants, particularly the strain found in South Africa, may be more resistant to monoclonal antibody treatments, which have been shown to reduce the chances of someone ending up in hospital if infected early enough.

The CDC study

The agency’s investigation found that while the current prevalence of the variant in the US is still unknown, the analysis makes up less than 0.5% of cases. The US has not yet discovered the variant found in South Africa or any other strain identified in Japan in travelers from Brazil, the researchers said.

In their model, the researchers estimated that the variant was 50% more transmissible than the current strains. They also estimate that between 10% and 30% of people already have immunity to pre-existing infections and will be given 1 million doses of vaccine daily starting this month.

Although the prevalence of strain B.1.1.7 is estimated to be low due to its high transferability, it is likely to grow rapidly in early 2021, as the model showed. Even with vaccines, the variant will continue to spread, although the drugs showed the greatest effect in reducing the transmission of the strain in places where the disease was already regressing.

“Early efforts that can limit the spread of variant B.1.1.7, such as universal and increased adherence to public health containment strategies, will leave more time for ongoing vaccinations to achieve higher population immunity,” said it in the study.

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Texas, Connecticut well being officers determine states’ first instances of latest Covid pressure present in UK

Texas, Connecticut health officials identify states' first cases of new Covid strain found in UK

Medical staff examine a patient with coronavirus in the COVID-19 intensive care unit (ICU) at the United Memorial Medical Center in Houston, Texas on November 16, 2020.

Go Nakamura | Getty Images

Public health officials in Texas announced Thursday that they had identified the state’s first case for a new, more contagious variant of the coronavirus that was originally discovered in the United Kingdom.

The patient, a man between 30 and 40 years of age with no travel history, was discovered in Harris County, home of Houston, the county health department said in a statement. The man was isolated and in stable condition, and local infectious disease experts are following all of his contacts to find and monitor other people he may have exposed to the virus.

It’s likely the variant is already floating around in Texas as the man had no history, said Dr. John Hellerstedt, the Texas Department of Health commissioner, in a statement. He added that genetic variations in viruses “are the norm,” and it’s not surprising that the variant was discovered in Texas, given how quickly it spreads.

“This should get us all to double our commitment to the infection prevention methods we know: masks when you are around people you don’t live with, social distancing, and personal and environmental hygiene,” Hellerstedt said.

Shortly after Texas officials announced their first case, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont said in a tweet that his state had identified two Covid-19 cases with the new variant B.1.1.7 in people aged 15-25 . Both patients had an out-of-state travel history – one to Ireland and the other to New York, Lamont said.

“As we said last week, given the speed of this new strain of virus and its identification in several states across the country, we assumed it was already in our state and that information confirms that fact this morning,” the governor said in a tweet .

The strain, which has also been found in California, Georgia, New York, Florida, and Colorado, is believed to be communicable but doesn’t appear to make people sicker or increase the risk of death from Covid-19, experts have said. Earlier Thursday, Pennsylvania health officials said they had identified their state’s first case with the new variant.

Harris County judge Lina Hidalgo, the county’s most elected official, said in a tweet Thursday that the discovery of the variant in the region was “worrying” given its already rapid spread.

As of Thursday, the district was still in its most serious threat level, “Level 1”. This means that testing and contact tracing efforts are strained and outbreaks are “present or worsening” according to the county’s website.

When the county is at this level, residents are advised to only leave their homes for essential purposes and to minimize contact with other people whenever possible.

Officials at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have stated that current vaccines should work against the new variant, although additional hospitalizations could occur if allowed to spread uncontrollably. Federal health officials are also on the lookout for a second separate new strain, first identified in South Africa.

The CDC does not yet know how widespread the new variant B.1.1.7 is in the USA. The agency now requires all passengers traveling from the UK to the US to provide evidence of a negative Covid-19 test before boarding, which was carried out no later than three days before their departure.

– CNBC’s Will Feuer contributed to this report.

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New York Gov. Cuomo confirms state’s first case of latest Covid pressure initially present in UK

NY Gov. Cuomo briefs the press on Covid pandemic as state distributes vaccines

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo wears a protective face mask as he approaches during a daily briefing following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Manhattan in New York City, New York, the United States, on July 13, 2020 Word comes.

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New York State confirmed its first case of a new, contagious variant of the coronavirus originally discovered in the United Kingdom, Governor Andrew Cuomo said Monday.

The strain, which has also been found in California, Florida, and Colorado, is believed to be communicable but doesn’t appear to make people sicker or increase the risk of death from Covid-19, experts have said.

The case was identified in a 60-year-old man from Saratoga County who had no travel history, Cuomo said during a conference call with reporters. The man, who is now recovering, worked in a jewelry store where three other people also tested positive for Covid-19. The state is investigating whether these cases were caused by the new strain.

Cuomo told reporters that the state had conducted about 5,000 tests looking for the new variant known as B.1.1.7. Cuomo said he believed it was “a lot more common” than people already know.

“If other states could test as much as we tested and tested on the British strain, as much as we tested, they would find them,” Cuomo said, adding that officials haven’t had any cases with the strain in the EU have established Downstate New York City area.

U.S. health officials have said the variant’s arrival in the nation comes as no surprise, although if it is allowed to spread uncontrollably it could make matters worse.

While the new variant doesn’t appear to cause more serious illness in infected people and current vaccines should still work against it, it could lead to more hospitalizations due to the increase in cases, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last week. The US is also on high alert for a second new, highly infectious strain first found in South Africa, similar to the one in the UK, CDC officials said.

“Increased infection is a problem, but increased hospitalization rates change the game because if hospital capacity in a region is threatened, that region would have to be closed,” Cuomo told reporters.

In California, Governor Gavin Newsom said Monday that the state has now confirmed six cases of the new variant, all in the southern part of the state. One person was hospitalized in San Diego County, he said.

“We actually imagine that one should only expect others to be identified,” Newsom said during a press conference.

State officials are expected to provide an update by the end of Tuesday on the genome tests in California, which are being carried out to “understand more fully what this strain looks like and what it has done,” Newsom said. He said state health officials are conducting contact tracing efforts.

The CDC now requires all passengers traveling from the UK to the US to provide evidence of a negative Covid-19 test, which was carried out no later than three days prior to departure, before boarding.

In the UK, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Monday a new national blocking order for England until at least mid-February, in hopes of slowing down the spread of the new variant. He said the best doctors in the country believe the burden is between 50% and 70% more transmissible compared to previous versions.

“With most of the country already facing extreme measures, it is clear that we must do more together to get this new variant under control while our vaccines are rolled out,” Johnson said on a television announcement.

– CNBC’s Riya Bhattacharjee contributed to this report.

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California has recognized first case of recent Covid pressure recognized in UK, Newsom says

California has identified first case of new Covid strain identified in UK, Newsom says

In this file photo dated June 30, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom removes his face mask before giving an update during a visit to Pittsburg, California.

Rich Pedroncelli | AP

California health officials have identified the state’s first case of a new and contagious strain of Covid-19 that was originally discovered in the UK.

The patient is a 30-year-old male from San Diego county who showed symptoms on Sunday, San Diego county officials confirmed on Wednesday.

“I don’t think Californians should feel like this is anything strange. This is expected,” said White House coronavirus advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci, on Wednesday during a live Q&A session with California Governor Gavin Newsom. Fauci said other states are likely to identify their own cases of the new strain soon.

Nathan Fletcher, a supervisor for San Diego County, said the patient was tested for Covid-19 Tuesday morning. Because he had not traveled, state officials believe there are other cases of the new strain in the county, Fletcher said at a press conference after Newsom announced the case.

Fletcher urged residents to follow public health instructions over the next few days to prevent further strain on the county’s hospitals, which are “under tremendous stress” from an onslaught of Covid-19 patients.

On Tuesday, Colorado health officials confirmed the first case of the B.1.1.7 variant of coronavirus. During a news conference Wednesday, Colorado Governor Jared Polis said the state is investigating a possible second case of the new tribe.

Officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said earlier Wednesday that the new tribe could put pressure on the country’s hospitals, which are already overwhelmed with Covid-19 patients.

Dr. Henry Walke, the agency’s Covid Incident Manager, said the new variant appears to be spreading “easier and faster than other strains”, but it doesn’t seem to make people sick or increase their risk of death.

A particularly worrying aspect of the Colorado case was that the patient had not traveled, “suggesting this variant was transmitted person-to-person in the United States,” Walke told reporters on a conference call.

Some good news: The new variant doesn’t appear to affect the vaccines’ effectiveness or make diagnosis difficult with existing tests, Fauci told Newsom. The UK has also found that people who were already infected with previous strains of Covid-19 do not appear to be re-infected with this new variant.

Researchers have yet to determine whether the new strain may be resistant to monoclonal antibody treatment, which has successfully helped some patients recover from the disease, Fauci said. Unlike vaccines, which trigger an immune response that attacks different parts of the virus, monoclonal antibodies target a very specific component, according to the country’s leading infectious disease expert.

Monoclonal antibodies have shown promising benefits if the virus is detected early enough. President Donald Trump attributed Regeneron’s treatment for feeling better “immediately” when he was infected and finally hospitalized with Covid-19 in early October.

“We know that about it now, but we’re following this extremely carefully,” said Fauci, adding that they are studying the exposure at the National Institute of Health and a number of laboratories across the country.

– CNBC’s Will Feuer and Amanda Macias contributed to this report.