Monterey Begins Genomic Tracking of COVID-19 Variants 02-19-21 05:51 DC

The Monterey County Health Department says it has begun local genomic monitoring of COVID-19 variants. The program comes as new variants are being detected in the U.S.

So far, Monterey County has found most of the cases locally are of the L452R Variant, a California-borne variant that is associated with 70% of local cases.

However, viruses change constantly, including the virus that causes COVID-19. Surveillance such as that being conducted by the Monterey County Public Health Laboratory can detect new variants with the ability to:

• Spread more quickly among people
• Cause either milder or more severe disease in people
• Evade detection by specific diagnostic tests
• Decrease their susceptibility to therapeutics that employ monoclonal antibodies
• Evade natural or vaccine-induced immunity 

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