Epidemiological investigations are underway to identify, notify, and quarantine close contacts
Houston – Harris County Public Health (HCPH) has confirmed three cases of the B.1.429 (California strain) variant in Harris County residents. The three individuals with the California variant are no longer in isolation nor contagious. HCPH is in the process of further investigating these cases and conducting contact tracing. To date, HCPH has confirmed a total of 28 cases with variant strains; in addition to the three California strain, 25 previous cases were confirmed with the B.1.1.7 UK variant.
Both variants are believed to be associated with increased transmissibility than previously identified strains of the SARS-CoV-2. Early studies found no evidence to suggest that the UK variant has impact on vaccine efficacy, however, the impact on vaccine by the CA strain is to be further studied.
“Mutations of a virus are expected, and we are closely monitoring emerging COVID-19 variants”, said Dr. Sherri Onyiego, local health authority. “We must continue to practice prevention measures to protect ourselves and our loved ones by avoiding crowds, wearing facemasks, social distancing, washing hands frequently and getting a vaccine as soon as it becomes available. We all want this pandemic to be over, and that cannot happen unless we all do our part. If we let our guard down, we may cause cases and hospitalizations to spike again.”
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to be a threat to our community. As of today, the positivity rate is 13.3% with more than 355,000 confirmed cases in Harris County and 3,323 COVID-19 related deaths. If you are eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, please register through vacstrac.hctx.net or call 832.927.8787. If you are not eligible yet for a vaccine, get tested to make sure you don’t have COVID-19. HCPH offers free COVID-19 testing at various locations throughout Harris County, register at https://covidcheck.hctx.net/ or call 832 927 7575.
For the latest updates and resources on COVID-19, visit www.hcphtx.org or www.readyharris.org.