What you need to know about the easiest COVID-19 variant to extend now that it is in Michigan

DETROIT – The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services reported the first Michigan case of the most easily spreading UK coronavirus variant.

The variant is known as B.1.1.7. and was identified as a woman from Washtenaw County who had recently traveled to the UK. There the variant originated. Maybe you bought it there, but the big picture is that the variant has already been identified in several people in the United States and is a reasonable bet to circulate here.

TO READ: First case of COVID variant detected in Michigan: What you need to know

Variant B.1.1.7 of the virus that causes COVID-19 has quickly become dominant in the UK, because it appears to be at least 50 per cent more transmissible. This means that as it spreads here in the US it will produce more infections. The reason it spreads more easily is that several of the variant mutations allow the spike protein, which the virus uses to bind to human cells, to bind more closely. This makes him a more effective invader.

You need to understand that variants are made up of several individual mutations. A change to just one of the 30,000 individual pieces of RNA, or genetic code. A particular mutation in B.1.1.7. variant – known as N501Y has already been found in other variants around the world and seems to be the main driver of increased transmissibility.

Although the B.1.1.7. the variant spreads more easily. There is no indication that it is intrinsically more dangerous. The danger comes from the fact that, as it spreads, it can cause an increase in infections. Which will lead to an increase in hospitalizations and deaths.

Epidemiologists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have already estimated that it could become the dominant strain in the United States in March. But they hope that ongoing vaccination efforts can offset their growth. There is no evidence to suggest that B.1.1.7. the variant would be resistant to vaccine protection.

No one should be too worried about this variant. The value of knowing that there are more contagious variants only highlights the importance of not neglecting basic precautions.