Idaho confirms cases of two different, faster spreading COVID-19 variants in one day
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare has confirmed two more cases of people infected with COVID-19 variants — mutated versions of the coronavirus that were discovered in the United Kingdom and South Africa last year.
Both variants have shown evidence of spreading much more quickly — causing surges in cases and hospitalizations.
A department spokesperson confirmed to the Statesman on Tuesday night that sequencing in Idaho had just confirmed a case of an Idahoan infected with the B.1.1.7 variant of the virus that causes COVID-19. That mutated version of the virus was first detected in the United Kingdom and is often called the “UK variant.”
The state’s top epidemiologist, Dr. Christine Hahn, told reporters during a press briefing earlier Tuesday that Idaho had confirmed a second case of the B.1.351 variant, first detected in South Africa. Because of where it was first discovered, it is often called the “South African variant.”
Hahn told reporters the department didn’t yet have details to share about that case.
The department and Central District Health issued a news release Wednesday that said the patient who’d been infected by the UK variant was an Ada County woman who traveled out of state earlier this month, and “it is believed that she was exposed during her travels.”
The B.1.1.7 variant is believed to spread significantly faster than the original variants of the virus and to lead to more deaths from COVID-19.
“Idahoans are encouraged to choose to receive the COVID-19 vaccine because there is evidence the authorized COVID-19 vaccines will protect individuals from virus variants,” the news release said.
There also are signs that certain mutations in the virus could help it escape antibodies from vaccines or prior infection. Public health officials are working to determine whether that’s true. They do know that more transmission gives the virus more opportunities to mutate, so they stress the need for Idahoans to continue following public health recommendations.
“As we work to offer vaccine to more Idahoans and learn more about how these variants behave, our best defense is to stay consistent with our health and safety measures,” Kimberly Link, communicable disease control manager with Central District Health, said in Wednesday’s news release. “We know that the choices we’ve made in the last year to wear a face covering, keep our distance from others, wash our hands frequently, and stay home when we’re sick will serve us well in helping to protect us from these potentially more severe variants.”
Idaho was one of the last states to have no confirmed cases of the UK variant, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.
The state’s announcement of the first case of an Idahoan infected with the South African variant noted that the person had traveled outside the U.S. recently.
The Idaho Bureau of Laboratories is now able to sequence COVID-19 test samples to check for specific variants of concern — variants that have mutated in ways that scientists believe make them more infectious, more severe and possibly allow them to evade antibodies.
Earlier this month, Central District Health and the City of Boise announced that testing found in local wastewater the presence of the B.1.1.7 variant, as well as a variant first detected in California.
The California variant, like the others, has now been found to spread more easily. It also may cause more severe illness and death and may be able to escape antibodies, according to reporting from the Los Angeles Times.
This story was originally published February 24, 2021 at 8:10 AM.
