New COVID-19 variant found in Spokane County

SPOKANE — The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) notified Spokane Regional Health District (SRHD) on March 25 of the presence of one case of the COVID-19 B.1.427 variant and four cases of the B.1.429, discovered through genome sequencing.

The B.1.427/B.1.429 variant was initially detected in California in July 2020. The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) has named it a variant of concern, as early research suggests this variant may be more infectious and could potentially cause more severe disease than the initial, dominant strain of SARS-CoV-2.

According to a news release...