The new most contagious variant of the coronavirus that originated in the UK is perhaps already here in Massachusetts.
California on Wednesday announced the country’s second confirmed case of the mutated strain of COVID-19. This occurred 24 hours after the news of the first variant infection reported in the United States, which arose in Colorado.
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The cases sparked a lot of questions about how the version circulating in England arrived in the United States and if it’s too late to stop it now, and the best experts say it’s probably already spreading to other parts of the country.
Massachusetts and Delaware are also analyzing samples of suspicious viruses for the variant, said Dr. Greg Armstrong, who directs genetic sequencing at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He said the CDC is working with a national lab that gets samples from across the country to expand that search, with results expected in a few days.
The discovery of the new strain in the U.S. has added urgency to the country’s vaccination against COVID-19, which has killed more than 340,000 Americans.
Britain sees infections soar and hospitalizations rise to the highest levels on record. The variant has also been found in several other countries.
Several countries are closing their borders with the UK after discovering a new strain of coronavirus that is believed to be much more infectious. Dr. Noc, a scientist who has been educating TikTok users about the virus, stopped by LX News to answer our questions about what exactly this means.
Scientists have found no evidence that it is more lethal or causes more serious disease and believes the vaccines being dispensed will now be effective against it. But a faster-spreading virus could flood hospitals with seriously ill patients.
On Wednesday, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker was asked about the new strain and didn’t seem overly concerned.
“Both Pfizer and Moderna said they do not believe this variant will have a minor impact on the operating capacity of their products,” he said. “Really the main problem isn’t the strength of the new strain, it’s the contagiousness. Viously, obviously, the rules of the game we talked about would generally apply, new contagion or not.”
Secretary of Health and Human Services Marylou Sudders added that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention monitors the situation very closely and gives guidance to states.
“It’s highly contagious, so we assume that because we know we have community transmission in Massachusetts, we need everyone involved in the good public health measures that we know are effective,” he said.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Wednesday provided more details about the first person in the United States who tested positive for the highly contagious variant of coronavirus first identified in the United Kingdom Polis warned that while this is the first case confirmed by a laboratory test, it is likely that there were previous cases. in the US who had not been identified.
Even before it was discovered in Colorado and California, experts told NBC10 Boston last week that the new COVID strain was probably already in the United States.
“I can’t imagine it wouldn’t be,” said Dr. Shira Doron, a hospital epidemiologist at Tufts Medical Center. “Would you expect to see this variation in the US? Of course. People travel all the time. I would expect to see it.”
As for the potential impact now that it’s here? Medical experts said it is too early to know.
“The implications of the facility spreading to what’s going to happen here in the United States – it’s too early to tell,” said Dr. Paul Sax, clinical director of the infectious diseases division at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “It’s something we need to keep a close eye on and let virologists do the right research.”