“We have a little breathing room right now, but if these new variants become dominant in our country, we are going to be right back where we were in November and December and perhaps even worse,” says an emergency room doctor.
The U.S. is racing to get COVID-19 vaccines in the arms of Americans as new, more contagious variants of the coronavirus threaten to prolong the pandemic.
At least 467 cases of the coronavirus strain first identified in the United Kingdom have been reported in the U.S. across 32 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These include 147 cases in Florida, 113 cases in California, 42 in New York and 22 in Michigan.
The variant, known as B.1.1.7, is believed to have first emerged in the U.K. in September and was identified in the U.S. in December. The strain is associated with increased transmissibility and scientists from the U.K. have reported evidence that suggests it may be associated with an increased risk of death, although more research is needed to confirm if that’s the case. While the strain has shown to be more infectious, there’s no evidence the variant has any impact on vaccine efficacy.
But as cases and hospitalizations are trending down across the U.S. and vaccinations are steadily increasing, health experts warn the British variant will soon become the dominant strain and possibly cause another spike of infections.
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US is in race against time with new COVID-19 variants already in 32 states and set to explode https://t.co/VcXC22WDIC pic.twitter.com/V0p7Jz4Z6B
— The Hill (@thehill) February 1, 2021
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