COVID-19 variants have been confirmed in Adair County. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services has notified the Adair County Health Department that five residents who tested positive for COVID-19 in March 2021 had two of the identified variants of the virus. Three individuals had the B.1.1.7 variant which was first identified in the United Kingdom and two had the B.1.427 variant, first identified in California. PCR tests are randomly sampled for variants by private labs, hospitals, and the State Public Health Lab in Missouri. Because the samples undergo multiple steps to confirm results, those results may not be confirmed until one to two months following the individual’s initial positive test result. In response to the news about the results, Jim LeBaron, Adair County Health Department administrator said vaccines provide the best shot at containing COVID-19 and the faster-spreading variants. LeBaron says more than 14,000 Adair County residents have initiated the vaccine regimen. Roughly half of them are now fully vaccinated.