COVID variant that could harm vaccination effort is found in Washington, officials say

Brooke Wolford
·3 min read

A new COVID-19 variant that threatens to reduce the effectiveness of the vaccine has been detected in Washington, officials say.

Washington’s Department of Health announced a patient in King County tested positive on Jan. 29 for B.1.351, a variant of COVID-19 that was initially identified in South Africa, according to a news release. The UW Medicine Virology Laboratory used genomic sequencing to identify the variant Monday, the release said.

“COVID-19 is threatening us in new ways, and we need to rise to the challenge,” Dr. Jeff Duchin, Health Officer at Seattle and King County Public Health, said in the news release. “The B.1.1.7 variant can spread more readily and B.1.351 viruses might reduce vaccine effectiveness. For these reasons we need to continue to do all we can to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and push our case rates as low as possible.”

The B.1.1.7 variant was initially detected in the United Kingdom and is 30% to 50% more contagious than the strain that is already prevalent in the region, “meaning it takes less exposure to the virus to infect you,” McClatchy News previously reported. Evidence of this strain in Washington was first found a month ago and now there are 39 cases of the B.1.1.7 variant in the state, according to the release.

There are no confirmed cases of the P.1 variant, which originated in Brazil, in Washington as of Tuesday, the release says.

A recent study by researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch indicates the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines showed a decreased ability to neutralize the B.1.351 strain, according to the Washington Post.

B.1.351 was first detected inSouth Africa in December and has since been found in 10 states in the U.S., according to the release. Officials do not yet know if this variant spreads more easily or if the symptoms are more severe than other strains, the release says.

“Although this strain can reduce the effectiveness of some vaccines, vaccines still provide strong protection against severe illness and death,” the release says.

Precautions still needed

Health experts are recommending that people take extra precautions to avoid spreading the strain, including:

  • Wear a multi-layer mask that fits well whenever you’re outside your home.

  • Watch your distance, and avoid gatherings with people you don’t live with.

  • Wash your hands regularly.

  • Get vaccinated when you’re eligible.

Washington is in Phase 1B tier 1 of the governor’s vaccine distribution plan.

“The vaccine is available to anyone 65 and older, and all people 50 and older who also live in a multigenerational household,” the department says. “This is in addition to populations eligible during Phase 1A, including health care workers at high risk for COVID-19 infection, first responders, people who live or work in long-term care facilities and all other workers in health settings who are at risk of COVID-19.”

More than 1.3 million doses of the vaccine have been given in Washington as of Feb. 20 — nearly 91% of the doses that were delivered to providers and long-term care programs across the state, the health department said.

Washington has a 7-day average of giving 26,380 vaccinations as of Feb. 20, Shelby Anderson, a spokesperson for the Department of Health, told McClatchy News in an email.

The Department of Health has reported 317,223 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Washington as of Feb. 21 and 4,857 deaths, the department’s coronavirus dashboard says.