South Carolina detects first US cases of coronavirus strain first seen in South Africa. By Michael Nedelman, CNN

 Jan 28, 2021

(CNN) - South Carolina officials have announced the United States' first two confirmed cases of a more contagious coronavirus strain first spotted in South Africa.

There is no known travel history or connection between the cases, both adults, according to a release Thursday from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. 

One case was confirmed to the department late yesterday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the other was identified by the state's public health laboratory while testing samples over the past several days.

CDC said in a statement it was aware of the cases, noting "we have no evidence that infections by this variant cause more severe disease." The agency said it would continue working with labs around the country to genetically sequence samples of the virus.

The variant  -- also known as B.1.351 -- has raised concerns over being more transmissible than other versions of the virus, and potentially evading the immune protection offered by antibodies. Experts say they believe vaccines will still be effective against the variant.

"The arrival of the SARS-CoV-2 variant in our state is an important reminder to all South Carolinians that the fight against this deadly virus is far from over," Dr. Brannon Traxler, the health department's interim public health director, said in a statement Thursday.

The variant has been detected in over 30 other countries, according to the World Health Organization.

White House staff welcomes new first family: 'The residence has life again'

White House staff welcomes new first family: 'The residence has life again'

By Kate Bennett, CNN

(CNN) - The new President and first lady settled in at the White House this weekend, and did so with extended Biden family members. 

"The residence has life in it again," a White House source told CNN of the energy inside. "It's the honeymoon period where everything feels new." 

There were nighttime movie binges in the White House movie theater, complete with snacks from the White House kitchen cooks, many of the Bidens' five older grandchildren piling into the seats to watch, said another source familiar with the activities. The increased activity was met with pandemic precautions, including mask wearing.

On Sunday, the first dogs arrived from Delaware, where they had been waiting until things were unpacked and settled enough to allow a comfortable entry for the two German Shepherds at their new pad. 

"Champ is enjoying his new dog bed by fireplace and Major loved running around the South Lawn," the White House said a press release early Monday morning. Champ lived at the vice president's residence during the Biden's time there, and Major was adopted by the family in 2018 from a Delaware pet rescue.

Sunday saw a church-and-bagel run by the President, son Hunter and granddaughters Finnegan and Maisy. The narrow streets of Georgetown were clogged with motorcade vehicles while Hunter ran to grab bagels from Call Your Mother, a popular deli. (The choice of stop was tinged with a shmear of swamp: one of Call Your Mother's owners and investors is Jeff Zients, Biden's Covid "czar." According to the Washingtonian, much of the recipe-testing for the deli's first location was done in Zients' kitchen.) 

Biden's visit to a DC dining establishment on Day 5 of his presidency already ties him with the number of local restaurants former President Donald Trump visited. In his four years in Washington, Trump seldom ate out and when he did, only did so at one place -- the steakhouse at the Trump hotel.

Yet all of the new people in the White House residence meant more stringent Covid-19 precautions, a stark reminder of the pandemic amid a week of celebratory events. 

"The family was good about it," said the White House source of adherence to mask-wearing and being socially distant from staffers. 

"Every employee is masked especially when near the family," added a longtime residence staff member who said the Biden family does remove their masks once on the second floor of their private quarters. The staff member told CNN that the majority of the residence workers -- including ushers, butlers, housekeepers and cooks -- have had at least the first round of Covid-19 vaccination and several have received both shots.

The White House did not immediately respond to a CNN request for comment on the staff vaccinations.

The residence staff is operating "as usual," said the first White House source, noting the departure of chief usher and Trump hire, Timothy Harleth, which occurred on Inauguration Day. The move was initiated by a senior Biden administration official prior to the first family's arrival at the White House. White House residence staff typically stay on in their roles through different administrations, politically unaffiliated with presidents and first ladies. But Harleth was hired by Melania Trump in 2017 from Trump's Washington hotel, where he was a manager. In recent weeks, he had made a play to stay in the Biden White House, say several sources, to no avail.

"He was not particularly well-liked," said a former White House official of Harleth's reputation inside the White House, adding there was friction between Harleth and Trump's social secretary. 

The chief usher's office is currently being operated by Katie Hinson, who was deputy chief usher under Trump, until the first lady installs her choice to fill the role of chief.

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Moderna expects vaccine will be protective against variants, but will test boosters to improve immunity By Elizabeth Cohen and John Bonifield, CNN Updated Jan 25, 2021

Moderna expects vaccine will be protective against variants, but will test boosters to improve immunity

By Elizabeth Cohen and John Bonifield, CNN

Updated Jan 25, 2021

(CNN) - The Moderna Covid-19 vaccine created antibodies that neutralized coronavirus variants first found in the United Kingdom and South Africa, the company said in a news release on Monday.

But there are concerns that the vaccine may have a somewhat decreased efficacy against the strain first spotted in South Africa, and Moderna is working on a booster aimed at fighting it.

Two doses of the vaccine are "expected to be protective against emerging strains detected to date," according to the release.  

The company's study showed that the variant first found in the UK had "no significant impact" on the vaccine's effectiveness.  

But in the press release, Moderna noted that "a six-fold reduction in neutralizing titers was observed with (the variant discovered in South Africa) relative to prior variants."  

The company said the vaccine was still expected to be effective.  

"Despite this reduction, neutralizing titer levels with (the variant discovered in South Africa) remain above levels that are expected to be protective," according to the press release.  

David Montefiori, a virologist at Duke University Medical Center, said while he's "cautiously optimistic" Moderna's vaccine will work well against this strain, he's still not sure.  

"The efficacy might be reduced somewhat, but it may still be very effective," he said. "Hopefully the vaccine will still be 70-80% effective." 

The variant first identified in the UK has appeared in more than 45 other countries, including 195 cases in the US.  

The variant first identified in South Africa has appeared in more than 20 other countries. No cases have been identified in the US, but experts say it's likely there are cases and US surveillance, which has been widely criticized, has not yet found them.

Vaccine maker to test booster shots

Moderna will test whether an additional booster dose of its Covid-19 vaccine can help protect against emerging variants of the coronavirus, the company said Monday.

The company said that while two doses of its vaccine are expected to be protective against emerging strains detected to date, it expects another dose will be able to boost the vaccine's neutralizing ability.

The company also said it is developing a new Covid-19 booster vaccine to protect against a variant of the coronavirus first spotted in South Africa. The company plans to first test the vaccine in the lab and in a small, Phase 1 clinical trial in the US. 

"Out of an abundance of caution and leveraging the flexibility of our mRNA platform, we are advancing an emerging variant booster candidate against the variant first identified in the Republic of South Africa into the clinic to determine if it will be more effective to boost titers against this and potentially future variants," Moderna's CEO Stephane Bancel said. 

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