(Reuters) – A more contagious version of COVID-19 that has crossed the UK has been reported in at least five US states, said Francis Collins National Institutes of Health director in an interview with the Washington Post on Wednesday.
“We have now seen the same virus from the UK to the US in at least five states and I would be surprised if this does not grow fast enough,” Collins said, adding that it does not appear to be more severe.
Last week, Reuters reported that Florida became the third known US state to identify such a case, with two other cases identified in Colorado and California.
Scientists have said that newly developed vaccines should be just as effective against both.
The NIH director said that immunizations are expected to be done through pharmacies as soon as the country faces an increase in the number of cases, the number of vaccinations being much lower than the initial targets.
He said in an interview that at least 80% -85% of Americans should receive the vaccine to achieve “herd immunity.” (Bit.ly/3opexFt)
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the leading infectious disease specialist in the United States, said in a separate interview that it is unclear what percentage of the population should be vaccinated for herd immunity.
“I initially said 70%, now based on my estimates, it’s probably between 70% and 85%,” Fauci said in an interview with the Washington, DC Economic Club on Wednesday.
“We need to vaccinate enough people so that the dynamics of the outbreak decrease dramatically,” he added. “I don’t think this will happen until late summer or early fall, if we do it right.”
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it has administered more than 4.8 million initial doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country since Tuesday morning and distributed more than 17 million doses.
Reporting of Vishwadha Chander in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur and Shounak Dasgupta