1st Coronavirus Variant Identified In Austin-Travis County

AUSTIN, TX — Austin Public Health officials on Wednesday confirmed the first case of the B.1.1.7 (U.K.) variant of the coronavirus in the Austin-Travis County region.

The variant was discovered and confirmed through lab testing by a private local testing organization, and was reported to the Texas Department of State Health Services, officials said in a prepared statement. The "UK" descriptor to the variant name is used to distinguish it from other mutated forms of the virus detected in South Africa and Brazil.

Austin Public Health Director Stephanie Hayden-Howard said the emergence of a variant form of the virus was not unexpected given its recent emergence in Houston. “While it is concerning that there is a confirmed COVID-19 variant in Austin-Travis County, it does not come as a surprise,” she said.

In a previous Q&A session on the coronavirus response countywide — sessions that are staged weekly with local media outlets — health district officials theorized a mutant form of the virus was likely already in the region given a recent case emerging in Houston. A variant form of the virus does not produce a more potent illness but is especially adept at entering cells to thrive within a person's body thus yielding easier transmission from one person to another, doctors explained to Patch in a recent interview.

“It is important to remember that these COVID-19 variants spread the same way, and so it is important to continue the prevention measures we have been using for almost a year," Hayden said. "People need to keep wearing a mask, social distancing, avoiding gatherings, and washing your hands frequently.”

On Wednesday, health officials reiterated that COVID-19 variants likely have been in Austin-Travis County for weeks after a Harris County man with no history of travel was discovered to have a variant. Austin Public Health lab testing will detect the coronavirus, but at this time, extended lab testing is required to determine the variant strains under the coronavirus umbrella, officials added.

“It is common for viruses to mutate, especially when the original virus is in the community longer," Dr. Mark Escott, Interim Austin-Travis Health Authority, said. "Based on everything we have heard from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, while the variants are potentially more contagious than the original virus, they are not more deadly."

At this time, health district officials said, not all labs have the capabilities to test for the variants which is why data presented on the COVID-19 dashboards will not be distinguished by variant.

Patch recently interviewed Anthony Harris and Brittany Busse, both medical directors at WorkCare — a national health care firm advising companies in Texas and internationally during the Covid-19 pandemic — who said the new UK COVID-19 variant will soon ramp up transmission of the virus in Texas. The prediction is in line with reports from the Baylor College of Medicine warning of bolstered transmissions blamed on mutated forms of the virus.

"Mutations are very common in viruses, and they happen very quickly," Busse told Patch. "Even bacteria cannot mutate as quickly." The variant essentially will "...go around in this little package looking for a cell to adapt and acquire to deposit more virus cells. They will adapt very quickly. This virus is very capable of infiltrating into all kinds of cells," she said, naming nerve cells and those in the respiratory systems as key examples. "It's very capable of infiltrating, making it more 'sticky' and better at moving from person to person."

However, Busse said the threat of reinfection among people who have already contracted the illness is slim. To date, there have been less than 100 known cases of reinfection from a variant from among 100 million known cases, she said.

Harris concurred, saying he worries about illness hot spots such as Texas — second only to California in the number of cumulative coronavirus cases — where hospital beds already are in dwindling supply. But he suggested taking some solace in knowing the variant form of the virus won't necessarily produce more severe illness. "The ability to enter the cells is what the mutation produces," he said. "It makes it more transmissible."

The physician said herd immunity would guard against transmission, but 200 million U.S. residents would have to be vaccinated for that to occur. On Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said some 20.7 million people have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and about 3.8 million have been fully vaccinated. Over the last week, CDC officials added, more than 1 million people a day (on average) have received vaccinations.

Harris worries about the number of people who are hesitant, for myriad reasons, to get vaccinated as protection against COVID-19. The hesitancy is particularly acute in the Black community, where less than half of respondents to a recent poll said they would take the vaccine if offered.

The Pew Research Center survey found that 60 percent of Americans overall say they would definitely or probably get a vaccine for the coronavirus if it were available today. White and Hispanic respondents responded similarly, with 63 percent and 61 percent respectively saying they definitely or probably would get the vaccine.

By contrast, the poll found just 42 percent of Black respondents said they would get vaccinated. The findings were more striking given that 71 percent of Black respondents said they knew someone who had died or been hospitalized for coronavirus — a rate nearly 20 points higher than Americans overall at 54 percent.

Harris urged everyone to get vaccinated, ticking off a list of potential coronavirus side effects — cardiovascular illness, stroke, and even erectile dysfunction — to further encourage inoculation.

For more information about the respiratory illness, visit the city's COVID-19 Information portal.