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Ohio researchers on Wednesday announced that they’ve identified two coronavirus variants that likely originated in the United States. One of the new strains was identified in a single patient in the state, "so researchers do not yet know the prevalence of the strain in the population," according to Ohio State Wexner Medical Center where researchers first identified the variants. This new variant "carries a mutation identical to the U.K. strain, but it likely arose in a virus strain already present in the United States," officials said. Additionally, researchers also found what was described as an "evolving strain with three new mutations" that has become "the dominant virus in Columbus during a three week period in late December 2020 and January."  (Farber, 1/13)

One of the new strains, found in just one patient in Ohio, contains a mutation identical to the now-dominant variant in the U.K., researchers said, noting that it “likely arose in a virus strain already present in the United States.” However, the “Columbus strain,” which the researchers said in a press release has become dominant in the city, includes “three other gene mutations not previously seen together in SARS-CoV2.” “This new Columbus strain has the same genetic backbone as earlier cases we’ve studied, but these three mutations represent a significant evolution,” Dr. Dan Jones, vice chair of the division of molecular pathology at Ohio State and lead author of the study, said in a statement. “We know this shift didn’t come from the U.K. or South African branches of the virus.” (Feuer, 1/13)

Peter Mohler, a co-author of the study, said there is no evidence showing that the coronavirus vaccines will be less effective against the new mutations. "At this point, we have no data to believe that these mutations will have any impact on the effectiveness of vaccines now in use," Mohler said. (Evans, 1/13)