White House sending SC $3.7M to help slow spread of very infectious COVID-19 variants
South Carolina is slated to receive $3.7 million as part of a federal initiative to fight COVID-19 variants, according to a statement from the White House Friday.
The money, which will be sent to the state in May, is part of a $1.7 billion investment from the Biden administration to monitor and track different virus variants that are emerging inside of the United States.
The funding is part of the American Rescue Plan, the latest COVID-19 response package passed by Congress.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are currently five COVID-19 variants that have been identified within the United States. The variants spread more quickly and easily than the original strain of the coronavirus.
South Carolina has identified two different variants within its borders: the South Africa variant and the U.K. variant. As of April 7, according to the Department of Health and Environmental Control, 279 variant cases have been identified.
The federal funds will go toward helping states and the CDC expand their genomic sequencing efforts, which will help them identify COVID-19 mutations and monitor their circulation within the population, according to the White House. Specifically, the money will bolster efforts to collect COVID-19 specimens, to sequence the viruses and to share the data.
“With the information from sequencing, the CDC and state and local public health leaders can implement known prevention measures to stop the spread,” the White House statement read.
