He new variant of coronavirus The first time it was seen in the UK is likely to become the dominant strain in the United States in March, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported Friday. The mutation is believed to be more contagious and research shows it could experience “rapid growth” earlier this year.
The CDC explored several different related scenarios the stump, which experts believe is about 50% more transmissible than the original. In each of them, the new strain accounted for the majority of cases in the U.S. over the next two months.
“Several lines of evidence indicate that B.1.1.7 is transmitted more efficiently than other variants of SARS-CoV-2,” the CDC said.
The variant, known as B.1.1.7, was first detected in the UK in mid-December and has since spread to more than 30 countries. The variant so far has been detected in at least 10 states, with approximately 76 cases as of January 13, although the actual number is expected to be much higher.
This week, coronavirus cases in the United States exceeded 23 million, with more 392,000 dead since the pandemic began, according to Johns Hopkins University.
The CDC said the new strain “guarantees universal compliance and greater compliance with mitigation strategies, including distancing and masking. Greater vaccination coverage may need to be achieved to protect the public.” .
The researchers reiterated the need to follow health guidelines such as wearing a mask, proper hygiene and social distancing, among other things, to continue limiting the spread of the virus while the nation works quickly to vaccinate the most vulnerable. The new strain can also make it difficult to achieve so-called “herd immunity.”
The CDC warned that while no variant is shown to cause more severe cases, “a higher rate of transmission will lead to more cases, increasing the number of people in general who need clinical care, which exacerbates the burden of a health system already tense and resulting in more deaths. “
New research suggests that Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine may still protect against the mutation, as well as more than a dozen strains. However, the Trump administration has done just that could not meet targets for vaccinating Americans, with only about 12 million doses administered as of Saturday.
As fears of UK tension increase, the CDC has published stricter travel guidelines which require all international travelers to submit negative coronavirus tests before entering the country.