Washington – Former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb predicted on Sunday that the new variant of coronavirus discovered in the United Kingdom would be the dominant strain in the United States in a few weeks.
In an interview with “Face the Nation”, Gottlieb said that the new variant represents about 0.5% of all infections nationwide, but said it will probably double every week.
“This is the experience of other countries and this is the experience we have seen so far in the United States,” he told Face the Nation. “So it’s 1% now. It will be 2%, then 4%, then 8%, then 16%, then 32%. So in about five weeks, this will start to take over.”
Known as B.1.1.7, the new strain was detected in the UK in December and has since spread to more than 30 countries and at least 10 states. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a report on Friday that the variant discovered in the UK, which is believed to be more transmissible, will be the dominant strain by March. Another variant, known as B.1.351, also appeared in South Africa.
While B.1.351 has not yet been detected in the US, Gottlieb said that “the bottom line is that these strains are already here.”
“This is really changing the equation, and I think what we’re looking at is a relentless shot of this virus heading into spring, while infections would have started to subside in the spring,” he said. “We would have had a quiet spring. We could have persistent levels of infection in the spring until we finally get enough people vaccinated.”
There have been more than 23.7 million confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United States, and the death toll is approaching 400,000, according to Johns Hopkins University. But Gottlieb echoed a prediction from Dr. Rochelle Walensky, President-elect Joe Biden’s election to lead the CDC, that the nation would likely see 500,000 coronavirus deaths by mid-February.
“It simply came to our notice then. What we will probably see is that the infection begins to subside. I think we’re seeing her right now. We see a short-term peak in the number of new cases daily, “he said.” Now, unfortunately, deaths and hospitalizations will continue to rise in the next two to three weeks, as they are an indicator of delay. But we will probably see continuous declines for about four weeks, maybe five weeks until this new variant starts to take over. “
Gottlieb said the new strains and the increased number of deaths underscore the need to speed up the administration of coronavirus vaccines.
The incoming Biden administration has set a target of 100 million vaccinations in Mr Biden’s first 100 days in office, and Gottlieb said that goal is achievable.
“I think the plan that the new administration has come up with makes a lot of sense,” he said. “It’s a kind of general approach, which we talked about, trying to push this through different channels, such as department stores, such as pharmacies, trying to set up more federally leased sites with states. “
According to the CDC, there were over 31.1 million doses of coronavirus vaccine distributed and over 12.2 million administered.