A new “double mutant” variant of the coronavirus has been discovered in California, with scientists worrying the strain could be more infectious.
The Stanford Clinical Virology Lab identified and confirmed one case of the variant — which first emerged in India — in the Bay Area, Stanford Health Care spokesperson Lisa Kim told the San Francisco Chronicle Sunday.

Seven other presumptive cases are also being screened by Stanford.The emerging strain is called the “double mutant” because it carries two mutations in the virus that helps it latch onto cells, the news outlet reported.

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The “double mutant” variant has been found in 20 percent of cases sequenced from India’s hard-hit state of Maharashtra, where coronavirus cases have surged more than 50 percent in the past week, noted Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease expert at the University of California, San Francisco.

It is not yet known whether this new COVID-19 variant is more infectious or resistant to the coronavirus vaccine, but Chin-Hong said it “makes sense” that it could be more transmissible.

“It also makes sense that it will be more transmissible from a biological perspective as the two mutations act at the receptor-binding domain of the virus, but there have been no official transmission studies to date,” he told the San Francisco Chronicle.

One of the variant’s mutations is similar to one found on the coronavirus variants first detected in Brazil and South Africa, and the other mutation is also found in a variant first detected in California, Chin-Hong added

“This Indian variant contains two mutations in the same virus for the first time, previously seen on separate variants,” the scientist said.

“Since we know that the domain affected is the part that the virus uses to enter the body, and that the California variant is already potentially more resistant to some vaccine antibodies, it seems to reason that there is a chance that the Indian variant may do that too,” he explained.

Several other COVID-19 variants have already been detected in the US – including the highly contagious UK variant, known as B.1.1.7, the South African variant called B.1.351, and the Brazilian variant known as P.1.

The UK variant accounts for 12,505 cases in the US, while the South Africa and the Brazil variants make up 323 and 224 cases in the country, respectively, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A new variant of the coronavirus has been found in California's Bay Area.

The Stanford Clinical Virology Lab, through genomic sequencing, has identified and confirmed one case of the emerging variant, which originated in India, according to a spokesperson for Stanford Health Care on Sunday. At least seven presumed cases of the Indian variant were also found.

The variant is being labeled as the "double mutant" because it carries two mutations in the virus that helps it latch onto cells, reports said.

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"If you are in an elevator with someone that is infected with the variant you are more likely to be infected by that variant," said Stanford Clinical Virology Lab Director, Dr. Ben Pinsky, according to FOX 2 of the San Francisco Bay Area.

UCSF's Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease expert, called the variant "less forgiving."

He noted that the variant could be more infectious because it accounts for 20% of cases in the hard-hit Indian state of Maharashtra. Cases there have increased 50% within the last week, he said.

"It also makes sense that it will be more transmissible from a biological perspective as the two mutations act at the receptor-binding domain of the virus, but there have been no official transmission studies to date," he told the San Francisco Chronicle.

Chin-Hong added that it’s too early to know if the variant -- first detected by Indian health officials this year -- can cause reinfections or is more resistant to vaccine antibodies. One of the mutations was similar to a variant that was first detected in California. Another mutation was found on variants that were first detected in Brazil and South Africa.

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"This Indian variant contains two mutations in the same virus for the first time, previously seen on separate variants," Chin-Hong said. "Since we know that the domain affected is the part that the virus uses to enter the body, and that the California variant is already potentially more resistant to some vaccine antibodies, it seems to reason that there is a chance that the Indian variant may do that too."

While Chin-Hong said studies have yet to confirm this, he felt "optimistic" vaccinations could work based on the known efficacy against variants originating from South Africa and California. Chin-Hong added that the UK Variant, B.1.1.7, is more transmissible.

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"I, in my heart of hearts, believe that the vaccines will still be effective against this new Indian variant based on some of the information we’ve been getting about the even scary variants, like the South Africa variant, and how Pfizer's vaccine is actually effective against it," Chin-Hong told FOX 2. "The sun is shining over California, our cases are down. We’ve made great progress. But, we need to be safe, we need to keep our guard up."