NEW VARIANT: The dangerous South Africa COVID-19 strain is now confirmed in the U.S. – two unconnected South Carolina cases with no travel history – with concerns it may fuel another surge and more problems with the vaccine rollout. Whit Johnson reports. https://abcn.ws/3p5x61W | ABC World News Tonight with David Muir

THURSDAY NIGHT: Whit Johnson joins David Muir as the first cases of that COVID-19 variant from South Africa are confirmed in the U.S., with Dr. Fauci warning it appears to be more contagious and as the CDC reports more than a dozen states have used less than half their doses; and James Longman has a closer look at how the South Africa COVID-19 strain is having a crippling effect in that country’s fight against the virus. https://abcn.ws/3p5x61W | ABC World News Tonight with David Muir