U.S. reports first cases of S. African variant

State health officials in South Carolina on Thursday said they found two cases of COVID-19 linked to a more transmissible coronavirus variant first detected in South Africa, the first cases of the mutated virus discovered in the United States.

This report produced by Chris Dignam.

The highly contagious coronavirus variant first detected in South Africa was reported in South Carolina on Thursday - the first discovery of the fast-spreading variant in the United States.

South Carolina health officials said they found two people infected with the South African variant.

Neither had recent travel history and the two did not appear to be connected, suggesting it's spreading in the community.

But Dr. Brannon Traxler of the state's health department said it was too early to know just how widespread the variant was in South Carolina.

TRAXLER: "These are the first ones we have identified, and so while there is no known travel history with these, we also are doing deeper dives into other history that they might have had or exposures." The presence of the South African variant in the U.S. is especially concerning now that several laboratory studies have shown it reduces vaccine effectiveness.

So far, vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer BioNTech still appear to protect against the South African variant, but the companies this week said they are considering making new versions of their shots just in case.

The CDC said it is aware of the two cases and noted that there is no evidence the variant causes more severe illness.

The South African mutant is 50% more infectious and has been detected in at least 20 countries.

Reuters reported earlier this week that President Joe Biden will ban entry for most non-U.S citizens who have recently been in South Africa but that it wouldn't start until Saturday.