An epidemiologist on Thursday compared the highly contagious version of the coronavirus in Britain to a “Category 5 hurricane” that is rolling off the coast – the strain has spread to more than half of the US, infecting more than 500 Americans and leading to two known deaths.
“It will take much longer than the vaccine to keep this variant at bay and not have the potential for major growth in the coming weeks,” said epidemiologist Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. , he told CNN’s “New Day.”
“I think my colleagues would agree that this variant in the United Kingdom, which is now starting to circulate much more widely in the United States, is a huge challenge for us. And that, in just a few weeks, we could see the number of cases increase dramatically, “Osterholm added.
According to the latest data from the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, COVID-19, known as B.1.1.7, has been detected in 33 US states.
The data show that 541 cases of the British variant were reported across the country, including 186 cases in Florida, 127 cases in California, 42 cases in New York and 22 cases in Michigan.
The variant was first detected in the USA in Colorado at the end of December.
Since then, two Americans have died after contracting the mutant virus – a father in Alabama and a person in New Jersey who state health officials say have “significant underlying health conditions.”
The United Kingdom first identified the variant last fall, the CDC said. It has been found to spread more easily and faster than other variants.
Last month, health experts in the UK reported that the variant may be associated with an increased risk of death compared to other variants of the virus, but the CDC says more studies are needed to confirm this finding.
A total of 73 countries around the world have so far detected the UK variant, including the Netherlands, Spain, France, Ireland, Belgium, Switzerland and Italy, according to the tracking website, cov-lineages.org.
In addition, two other variants of the coronavirus, one known as B.1.351, which first appeared in South Africa and another known as P.1, which was first identified in Brazil, circulated. globally, including in the US.
According to the CDC, three cases of South African strain and two variants of Brazil have been reported so far in the US.
The CDC says antibodies generated by vaccination with COVID-19 licensed vaccines recognize the variants.
Dr Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, said he believed current coronavirus vaccines would protect against the UK variant.
“What is more formidable and worrying is the South African version,” Fauci said last week in a group of public health experts.
“The bottom line is that we take these mutations very seriously,” Fauci said. “The UK variant is much less worrying. We need to be prepared to improve vaccines. ”