PHOENIX – A variant of the coronavirus first seen in the United Kingdom would have gone to Arizona, sources for ABC15 say.
Sources alerted ABC15 on Friday that the variant, which has been shown to spread more easily from person to person, has been detected in our state and that officials are in contact with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding its arrival.
The state is expected to release more information about the variant at some point on Friday.
Preliminary data from the United Kingdom suggest that the coronavirus variant detected in that country last fall could be more deadly, according to Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
It seems that the evidence comes from the analysis of the trends in the number of people dying with the UK variant compared to the old variants. The BBC reports that the new variant appears to be about 30% more deadly.
It was first identified in England in September and became the dominant strain there in a few months, leading to several blocking measures by the British government.
Earlier this month, the CDC warned that the British version could become widespread in the United States by March.
Some welcome news is that some vaccines seem to continue to protect against variants, including the UK version.