(CNN) – Less than 20% of Americans are fully vaccinated and some areas of the United States are concerned about increases in COVID-19 cases.
Experts warn of a variant of the virus that appears to infect school-age children and younger adults.
The highly contagious B117 variant is on the rise in Europe and experts fear the United States could be next if security measures are not implemented.
“What we know from last year’s pandemic is that we tend to tend to be three to four weeks behind Europe,” said Dr. Celine Gounder, an epidemiologist.
In Minnesota, more than 740 schools have had cases of the variant first identified in the UK.
In Michigan, there are more and more young people hospitalized as cases increase.
Last month in Florida, Orange County officials reported an increase in COVID-19 cases in the 18-25 age group.
“What we are seeing are bags of infection across the country, especially in younger people who have not been vaccinated and also in school-age children,” the former food and drug administration commissioner said. Dr.
Although this age group is relatively well protected, experts say younger groups are still vulnerable as the variant circulates.
Experts say the variant is more contagious and can cause more serious illnesses. Research suggests it may also be more deadly.
“It acts differently to anything we’ve seen before in terms of transmissibility, in terms of affecting young people, so we need to take it very seriously,” said Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the School National Tropical Medicine of Baylor College of Said Medicine.
Experts say current vaccines seem to work well against the variant.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the United States reported a record over the weekend with more than four million doses of COVID-19 vaccine administered in 24 hours, but despite vaccination figures, experts say that there are not enough protected people and that the country may be the start of another wave.
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