the new variant of coronavirus first seen in the UK is likely to become the dominant strain in the United States by March, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Friday. The mutation is considered to be more contagious, and research shows it could experience “rapid growth” earlier this year.
The CDC has explored a number of different scenarios involving stem, which experts believe is about 50% more transmissible than the original. In each case, the new strain accounted for the majority of cases in the United States over the next two months.
“Several lines of evidence indicate that B.1.1.7 is transmitted more efficiently than other SARS-CoV-2 variants,” the CDC said.
The variant, known as B.1.1.7, was first detected in the UK in mid-December and has since spread to more than 30 countries. The variant has been so far detected in at least 10 states, with about 76 cases since January 13, although the actual number is expected to be much higher.
This week, US coronavirus cases exceeded 23 million, with fish 392,000 deaths since the pandemic began, according to Johns Hopkins University.
The CDC said the new strain “guarantees universal and increased compliance with mitigation strategies, including distancing and masking. Greater vaccination coverage may be needed to protect the public.”
The researchers reiterated the need to follow health guidelines, such as wearing a mask, proper hygiene and social distance, among other things, to continue to limit the spread of the virus, while the nation is working quickly to vaccinate the most vulnerable. The new strain may make it difficult to achieve so-called “herd immunity”.
The CDC warned that while no variant has been shown to cause more severe cases, “a higher rate of transmission will lead to more cases, increasing the number of people in need of clinical care, exacerbating the burden of an already health care system.” tense and resulting in more deaths. “
New research suggests that the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine may continue to protect against mutation, as well as over a dozen other strains. However, the Trump administration did he failed to meet targets for vaccinating Americans, with only about 12 million doses given since Saturday.
As fears about the UK strain grow, the CDC has issued stricter travel rules requiring all international travelers to take negative tests for coronavirus before entering the country.