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A new strain of coronavirus has popped up in California.
Unlike the newer strain identified in the UK, a third strain of the virus has been seen in a dozen California counties, including LA, health officials said Sunday.
This comes as California has 3 million infections, with Los Angeles being the epicenter of the virus.
The California Department of Public Health said it’s not yet clear whether this strain is more contagious than the other two, but it has come up in lab work.
“This virus continues to mutate and adapt, and we cannot let down our guard,” Dr. Sara Cody, Santa Clara County health officer and director of the Public Health Department, said in a statement.
Health officials say that there have been a few large outbreaks in Santa Clara County and cases in Orange, San Francisco, San Bernardino, San Diego, Riverside, Monterey, Mono, Lake, Humboldt, Los Angeles, and San Luis Obispo counties.
Virologist Dr. Charles Chiu said researchers are now looking at if this strain is “more infectious or affects vaccine performance,” according to the LA Times.
