Coronavirus variants continue to spread in the United States, accounting for more and more cases.
The native variant of California, known as B.1.427 / B.1.429, now accounts for more than half of infections in the state and 20 to 40 percent of cases in neighboring states.
Meanwhile, the UK variant, known as B.1.1.7, has spread to every state and accounts for almost one in 10 cases in at least two states.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has previously suggested that B.1.1.7 will become the dominant strain in the US by March, which has so far not proved to be the case.
The latest estimate from outbreak.info is that the British version represents 35% of all cases in the country.
According to the CDC, at least 6,638 cases of various mutant strains have been identified across the country.
In a press briefing on Monday, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said action must be taken in light of the options until more people can be vaccinated.
‘I understand. We all want to return to our daily activities and spend time with family, friends and loved ones. But we need to find the strength to stay there just a little longer, ‘she said.
“We need to act now and I am worried that if we do not take the right action now, we will have a new growth that can be avoided.”
The prevalence of all variants of coronavirus – both those detected for the first time and those of local origin – is spreading in the US
In a press briefing on Monday (pictured), CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said action must be taken in light of the options until more people can be vaccinated.
During the press conference, Walensky discussed the prevalence of the California variant, which was first identified in May 2020 and virtually non-existent until October.
In a recent study, the University of California, San Francisco analyzed 2,172 virus samples collected between September 2020 and January 2021 across California.
As of January, the new variant accounted for more than 50 percent of all genetically engineered coronavirus samples.
Currently, according to Walensky, the variant represents 52% of infections in California, 41% in Nevada and 25% in Arizona.
Dr. Charles Chiu, a professor of laboratory medicine and an expert in infectious diseases at UCSF, told the Los Angeles Times that the virus appears to be 19 to 24 percent more transmissible than previous strains.
In laboratory studies performed at UCSF, the researchers analyzed the genetic material found on nasal swabs that were used to perform coronavirus tests.
They found that B.1.427 / B.1.429 produced a viral load that was twice as high as that triggered by other variants.
This suggests that the house option is better to copy faster once it enters the human body and hijacks its cars.
Although this has not yet been definitively tested, a higher viral load is a sign that someone infected with the variant could be particularly contagious, spreading the virus more efficiently and effectively.
In addition, the California variant was more effective in avoiding antibodies produced naturally by the bodies of COVID-19 survivors or produced by vaccines. The levels of antibodies produced in response to the California variant were twice as low.
On Monday, Walensky revealed that the local version of California, B.1.427 / B.1.429, now accounts for 52% of state cases
It has spread to nearby states and now accounts for 41% of COVID-19 infections in Nevada and 25% in Arizona.
Walensky also discussed prevalence The British variant, known as, B.1.1.7 due to the location of its most significant mutations.
It now accounts for at least 80 per cent of all cases in the UK and most estimates consider it to be about 70 per cent more infectious than older ‘wild’ coronavirus variants.
In a new study published last month on the medRxiv.org prepress server, a team sequenced 500,000 samples of the virus, called SARS-CoV-2, tested at Helix’s July 2020 facility.
As of the week of 18 October 2020, only 0.2% of daily positive cases appeared to be related to the UK variant.
The first case was identified in the US on December 31, showing that the variant was in the country much earlier than previously thought.
However, growth took off rapidly in January.
The British variant, known as B.1.1.7, has also become more widespread, accounting for 9% of coronavirus cases in New Jersey and 8% in Florida.
Cases related to B.1.1.7. tripled in Ohio in two weeks, from 33 on March 7 to 128 months
Proportion at national level of B 1.1.7. cases increased from 0.8 percent of all positive tests in the first week of January 2021 to 3.6 percent in the last week.
According to Walensky, B.1.1.7 accounts for eight percent of all cases in Florida and nine percent in New Jersey.
In addition, cases of the British variant tripled in Ohio over two weeks, from 33 on March 7 to 128 months.
“We’re honest about a race and we don’t know what the enemy is doing,” Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said during a briefing last week.
But from discussions with scientists and epidemiologists, we know that they believe the variants are spreading in Ohio.