Photographer: David Paul Morris / Bloomberg
Photographer: David Paul Morris / Bloomberg
The Covid-19 variant that emerged in the UK and caused concerns for faster spread could become dominant in the United States as early as March, government researchers in public health reported in a report.
Several lines of evidence indicate that the strain is spreading faster than other versions, and measures should be taken to reduce its transmission, including increased genomic surveillance and adherence to public health measures such as testing and the use of masks, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday at report.
“Increased transmission of SARS-CoV-2 could threaten health resources, require more extensive and rigorous implementation of public health strategies, and increase the percentage of population immunity needed to control health. pandemic, ”the report said.
The variant, called B.1.1.7, has already been detected in the United States, with up to 76 cases confirmed in the country so far, according to the CDC. The agency’s projection was based on models that showed rapid growth of the variant earlier this year, which could further undermine the launch of Covid-19 vaccines, marked by a lack of deadlines and the underuse of supplies.
Currently, the variant accounts for less than 0.5% of circulating viruses, according to the agency, according to the report, although the exact prevalence of B.1.1.7 in the US is currently unknown.
Blockade of the United Kingdom
UK health officials have attributed a recent increase in cases to the spread of the variant and have imposed strict blocking measures. British medical director Chris Whitty warned that while he hopes “things will get better in the spring”, the variant could make it difficult to reopen the economy.
The variant “has the potential to increase the trajectory of the US pandemic in the coming months,” the report said.
Viruses mutate frequently and variants are to be expected, but new variants could take forms that would avoid current testing and therapeutics for Covid-19. Variant B.1.1.7 is one of several that have been detected worldwide, although neither a variant known as B.1.351 found in South Africa nor another variant called B.1.1.28 s ‘have been found in the United States since mid-January, the CDC said.
The high contagiousness of variant B.1.1.7 requires an even more rigorous application of public health measures such as vaccination, distancing, masking, and hand washing to control the spread, the CDC said. These public health measures should be taken “sooner rather than later” to curb their spread and the healthcare system should be prepared for further rises in cases, the regulator said.
“Increased transmissibility also means that vaccination coverage must be achieved higher than expected to achieve the same level of disease control to protect the public compared to less transmissible variants,” he said. ‘report.
The CDC also said it is working with academic, industry and state and local partners to sequence the genomes of the virus, which can detect the emergence of new strains.
(Updates with details of the UK report and dissemination from the fourth paragraph)