MURRAY – If coronavirus variants now spreading in the United States become dominant strains, health experts fear the potential for a spring increase.
That is why the speed of the vaccination campaign and the measures to protect public health are so important.
On January 15, the Utah Department of Health confirmed the first case of Utah variant B.1.1.7 COVID-19, referred to as the “United Kingdom variant,” by continuous genetic sequencing of positive COVID-19 samples.
According to Dr. Eddie Stenehjem, an infectious disease physician at Intermountain Healthcare, Utahns must maintain personal protective measures until the vaccine has an impact.
“From an epidemiological point of view, we are heading in the right direction and we need to make sure that we continue to do what we do,” Stenehjem said.
While critical COVID-19 numbers in Utah are currently heading in the right direction, Stenehjem said the options could change that.
“It is certainly our concern to really monitor this current situation with viral variants,” he said. “It’s just that we need to get the vaccines out, because the vaccines seem to be protective against these variants.”
It’s a race to get vaccines out faster than the spread can spread.
We are on a good path now, as long as people continue to disguise themselves, limit their contacts and not gather in large groups.
–Dr. Eddie Stenehjem, PhD in Infectious Diseases at Intermountain Healthcare
An updated COVID-19 forecast from the Institute of Health Metrics and Assessment at the University of Washington, which includes highly transmissible variants, shows the potential for an additional 25,000 deaths over the next three months. Researchers project a total of another 160,000 deaths before May 1.
The British strain has now been detected in 33 states, including Utah.
“If there was a predominant form of infection here in Utah, I think we would know about it right now because of the amount it’s sequencing,” Stenehjem said.
As state health officials continue to monitor the strains, Stenehjem said we must continue to protect ourselves.
“We are on a good path now, as long as people continue to disguise themselves, limit their contacts and not gather in large groups,” he said.
If Utah can get vaccines out quickly, he said, and protect more of our communities, then we can worry less about strains.
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Jed Boal