Whatcom County sees 13 new B.1.1.7 variant COVID-19 cases — second most in the state
Whatcom County’s number of confirmed B.1.1.7 variant COVID-19 cases has grown to 14, according to data released Thursday by the Washington State Department of Health, making Whatcom No. 2 in the state behind only King County.
The data was released in the Department of Health’s March 4 SARS-CoV-2 Sequencing and Variants in Washington State report.
Last week’s report showed Whatcom County had only one case of the B.1.1.7 variant — also known as the U.K variant — but that total grew substantially as of Thursday’s report.
“We have no evidence of specific events associated with B.1.1.7, but given its more efficient transmissibility, we expect that close contacts are more likely to become infected and that it will be associated with future outbreaks,” Whatcom County Health Officer Dr. Greg Stern told The Bellingham Herald in an emailed statement.
No other information about the people who tested positive for the variant was provided.
King County has the highest number of B.1.1.7 variant cases in the state with 43, followed by Whatcom’s 14. Pierce County has four, Clark and Island counties have three and Snohomish County has two, while Skagit County has one. Overall, the state has 70 cases of the B.1.1.7 variant.
The B.1.351 variant — also known as the South Africa variant — has not been found in Whatcom County, according to the report, as King County has all five cases diagnosed in the state so far.
The state still has not seen the P.1 variant — or Brazil variant — according to the report.
During the month of January, the report says that 2.5% of all confirmed molecular COVID-19 cases were sequenced by the state to determine if variants could be detected.
The state notified the Whatcom County Health Department of its first known U.K. variant case on Feb. 22.
“We expected to detect the B.1.1.7 variant in Whatcom County since its first detection in Washington State,” Stern told The Herald. “The variant is continuing to spread within our state and nationwide. The first case in Whatcom was identified in February, and we did not see evidence of it during the early January surge.”
First discovered in the United Kingdom in December, the variant concerns health officials because of its ability to spread more easily and more quickly than the original strain that causes COVID-19.
The U.K variant is thought to be approximately 50% more transmissible than the original coronavirus strain, according to a story Wednesday by pharmaceutical-technology.com. However, the story said there is no indication that it reduces the effectiveness of the Moderna or Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines, though information about the recently approved one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine against the B.1.1.7 variant was not included.
“The current vaccines protect against this variant as effectively as they do the original variant,” Stern wrote. “We encourage people to get vaccinated when they are eligible, and to maintain and be more vigilant in wearing masks, keeping distance, limiting the size and frequency of gatherings, washing their hands, and staying away from others if they have symptoms consistent with COVID-19 or have been in close contact with someone who has COVID-19.”
Nationwide, the CDC reports there have been 2,672 reported U.K variant COVID cases as of March 4. There have been an additional 68 B.1.351 variant cases and 13 P.1 cases, according to the CDC.
“The more people who are vaccinated and who take measures to avoid transmission of the virus, the slower the original and the variant strains will spread, and decrease the likelihood of worse strains evolving,” Stern told The Herald.
“We have the opportunity to get ahead of the virus with widespread vaccination and patience with masking and the other measures as vaccine eligibility and supply expand.”
This story was originally published March 5, 2021 at 8:58 AM.
