March 3, 2021 Body COVID-19 variants pose a significant threat to worldwide efforts to end the pandemic; to date, 46 states have reported at least one case of a variant of concern, including cases caused by B1.1.7, B.1.351, and P.1 lineages. The B1.1.7 variant, first identified in the United Kingdom and associated with increased transmission and disease severity, has been identified in Southern California, including Orange County, for several weeks.
