Experts are surprised but cautiously optimistic that new cases of coronavirus in Florida continue to decline, despite the high prevalence of the “super COVID” variant in the UK, suggesting that the US could get rid of a new growth fueled by viral mutations.
Florida now leads the nation in confirmed cases of variant B117, which is now an estimated half of all new cases, but has seen a 75% drop in the total number of cases since early January.
Despite terrible warnings from British officials that the B117 variant is up to 70% more contagious than previous threads, and new research suggests that it is twice as deadly, raising fears that an increase in the variant could outweigh the launch of the vaccine.
“I think we continue to track the data. If cases continue to fall in Florida, despite the rumors circulating, it may not be as bad as predicted, “Suzanne Judd, a doctor of epidemiology at the University of Alabama School of Public Health, told DailyMail.com from Birmingham
“That’s why we need to avoid speculating on variants until we have the data,” she added.
“If cases continue to decline in Florida, despite circulating options, the case may not be as bad as predicted,” epidemiologist Dr. Suzanne Judd (not pictured) told DailyMail.com. Above, spring skiers descend on Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Thursday
Florida leads the country in confirmed variant cases, and variant B117 accounts for about half of all new cases there
However, new cases in Florida continued to fall, falling by 75% since early January, despite late-day warnings about the Super Bowl and relaxed business restrictions.
“The good news in Florida is an encouraging sign for the rest of us. It doesn’t mean America came out of the woods. But it suggests we can get out faster than we thought, “Andrew Romano wrote for Yahoo News.
Florida leads the country with 690 confirmed cases of variant B117 – but surveillance tests estimate that the actual number of variant cases is much higher.
Earlier this week, researchers estimate that B117 affected more than half of all new cases in Florida, after accounting for only 4% of cases a month ago.
Meanwhile, the number of cases in Florida has declined, despite forecasts from the day of the court of law regarding lax state restrictions on business and large meetings for the Super Bowl LV in Tampa in early February.
The latest increase in COVID in Florida peaked on January 8, at 84 new daily cases per 100,000 population, but cases steadily declined to 22 per 100,000 on Thursday.
Hospitalizations also fell by half over the same period, as did the Florida test positive rate, which is now at 4.88 percent. Deaths also fell sharply.
The percentage of Florida surveillance tests with “S gene gene failure”, the vast majority of which are B117 cases, is over 50% this week.
Deaths have fallen sharply in Florida as hospitalizations and cases have also declined
Meanwhile, 18.5% of Floridans have received at least one dose of COVID vaccine, and 10% are now fully vaccinated, according to CDC data.
Judd, the epidemiologist, pointed out that data from Israel showed that even partial vaccination seems to limit the spread of B117, suggesting that the vaccine was launched in time.
“While the variant spread rapidly in the UK, there was little data on how it would spread to the population with a certain level of vaccination,” she said.
Dr. Eric Topol, a cardiologist and researcher, called the Florida trend “shaking to see if strain B.1.1.7 will hit the United States.”
And there are no signs of an increase in cases. Everything is good so far ‘, he wrote on Twitter this week.
Meanwhile, a worrying new researcher has emerged suggesting that variant B117, also known in the UK as the “Kent variant”, is more lethal and contagious.
The students went down to Florida for spring break with the beaches of Fort Lauderdale full of parties without masks. Florida is the US capital B117, but has declining cases
The more infectious variant, which swept across the UK late last year before spreading around the world, is 30 per cent and 100 per cent more deadly, a new study found.
Epidemiologists at the Universities of Exeter and Bristol said the data suggest that the variant is associated with a significantly higher mortality rate among adults compared to previously circulating strains.
Robert Challen, of the University of Exeter, lead author of the study, said: “In the community, death from Covid-19 is still a rare occurrence, but variant B117 increases the risk.
“Along with its ability to spread rapidly, this makes B117 a threat that should be taken seriously.”
The researchers analyzed death rates among people infected with the new variant and those infected with other strains.
They found that the variant first detected in Kent led to 227 deaths in a sample of 54,906 patients – compared to 141 of the same number of closely matched patients who had previous strains.
Mutations in the virus have raised concerns about the effectiveness of vaccines against new strains, including B117 strain.
But research suggests that Pfizer Jab is as effective against the coronavirus variant as it is against the original pandemic strain, and other studies indicate that the Moderna vaccine is also extremely effective against the variant.