State Confirms Second Case Of New COVID-19 Variant

A second case of the new strain of coronavirus that originated in the United Kingdom has been confirmed in Massachusetts.

State Public Health Commissioner Monica Bharel did not give much information about the new case, which was confirmed Tuesday. She only said it was discovered in the state's Public Health Laboratory.

A Boston woman in her 20s over the weekend became the first Massachusetts resident to test positive for the new strain, which is more contagious than the dominant strain but not believed to be more deadly or resistant to the vaccine.

"The public health measures for these new variants remain the same," Bharel said during Wednesday morning's meeting of the Public Health Council.

Officials have assumed the new strain has already been here for some time. Gov. Charlie Baker said Jan. 5 he was working on the belief it had arrived.

The council passed an amendment allowing pharmacy students and those training to become physicians to administer vaccines, including the COVID-19 vaccine, making more people eligible to give the vaccine as the state looks to ramp up inoculations.

Materials from the State House News Service was used in the report