(WKOW) -- The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) and its laboratory partners found a second variant strain of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in Wisconsin Thursday.
The strain found is different than the first variant, B.1.1.7, also referred to as the UK variant, that wasfound in Wisconsin Jan. 12.
This strain is known as B.1.351, and was first discovered in South Africa around October.
DHS reported that epidemiologic and modeling studies said this new strain is similar to the UK variant in terms of speed, but they don't know the severity of it.
Research suggests the Moderna vaccine may be less effective against this variant, but studies are ongoing, according to DHS.
More at WKOW 27 News