COVID-19 “SOUTH AFRICAN” VARIANT OF CONCERN DETECTED IN ERIE COUNTY SAMPLES

ERIE COUNTY, NY – The Erie County Department of Health (ECDOH) has learned that two COVID-19 samples from Erie County residents have been identified as containing the COVID-19 B.1.351 “South Africa” variant of concern. These samples were collected during March 2021.

The New York State Department of Health Wadsworth Center laboratory detected this variant of concern in samples collected in March 2021. Erie County contact tracers were able to confirm that one of the samples was collected from an individual who reported recent travel to Florida.

Sequencing conducted by the Genomics and Bioinformatics Core in the University at Buffalo Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences recently identified the B.1.427 and B.1.429 “California” variants of concern, the B.1.1.7 “United Kingdom” variant of concern, and the B.1.526 “New York” variant of interest in Erie County resident samples.

“We can expect that genetic sequencing will identify more samples linked to variants of concern and variants of interest,” said Commissioner of Health Dr. Gale Burstein. “The variants of concern found in Erie County are known to have increased transmissibility, meaning the SARS-CoV-2 novel coronavirus is more easily spread between people.”

“COVID-19 vaccination is a powerful, protective tool for any individual aged 16 and older,” she continued. “The more people who are vaccinated to protect against COVID-19, the lower the risk of COVID-19 variant strains spreading in our community. We know how to reduce the risk of infection: wear a mask, avoid large gatherings, stay home when sick. Adding vaccination as another layer of protection for our community brings us that much closer to putting this pandemic behind us.”  

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• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), COVID-19 Variants
• CDC, U.S. COVID-19 Cases Caused by Variants
• ECDOH, “Additional COVID-19 variants of concern detected in Erie County samples” (April 1, 2021)
• ECDOH, “‘California’ variants detected in Erie County COVID-19 samples” (March 26, 2021)
• University at Buffalo, Genome, Environment and Microbiome (GEM) Community of Excellence
• University at Buffalo, "UB researchers detect California variants of coronavirus in WNY" (March 2021)
• University at Buffalo, “Predicting the path of COVID-19 from Wuhan to Buffalo” (September 2020)