UK COVID-19 variant detected in California, Colorado
- by Jake Bell
- in Research
- — Jan 2, 2021
And it's not believed to affect the efficacy of the new COVID-19 vaccines. But if the new variant does turn out to be significantly more transmissible, it could place additional pressure on already strained USA hospitals at a time when air travel within the country recently reached its highest peak since the pandemic began.
On Tuesday, Colorado reported the first USA case of the new, potentially more contagious coronavirus variant first discovered in England, report Carl Zimmer and Bryan Pietsch for the New York Times.
"You'll be hearing reports from other states and more cases in the state that is already reported".
In a statement to CBS News, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spokesperson Belsie González said, "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is aware of Colorado's report of the first U.S. case associated with the United Kingdom variant of COVID-19".
So now, Bedford is anxious that there will be another spike in the virus just like it did in spring since the "virus has just gotten a little bit faster "than the vaccine". "It's a race with the vaccine, but now the virus has just gotten a little bit faster". The patient is now in isolation and will remain there until he is cleared by health officials.
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A second guard member who was deployed to the nursing home has tested positive for COVID-19 is being investigated as potentially having the variant, too, state health officials say.
Neither are residents of Elbert County, and they are isolating outside the county. Gavin Newsom in a press conference that he isn't surprised California confirmed the strain's presence and he expects other states to do so shortly. The U.S. has fallen far short of other countries on its contact tracing efforts during the pandemic, as cases here have spiraled more and more out of control since last spring.
Also, the coronavirus vaccines available are also believed to have the same efficacy against the new strain.
According to Newsweek, Dr. Mike Ryan, head of the World Health Organization emergencies program, warned media outlets on Monday that despite the spread of this new COVID-19 strain and how serious the pandemic has been, this has "not necessarily [been] the big one".
More news: Milwaukee pharmacist who 'deliberately spoiled vaccineDENVER (STL.News) Governor Jared Polis provided an update on Colorado's response to the state's confirmation of the first known variant case of COVID-19 in the U.S. Gov. Polis was joined by Dr. Rachel Herlihy, State Epidemiologist, CDPHE; Dr. Emily Travanty, PhD, Scientific Director, Laboratory Services Division, CDPHE; and Dr. Eric France, Chief Medical Officer, CDPHE.
In addition to the first case of the new COVID-19 variant detected in Colorado on Tuesday, there is now a second possible case, Colorado health officials said Wednesday.
Just as coronavirus infections are showing signs of leveling off in the USA, the concern is that the new variant could cause cases to spike yet again in the New Year.
Worry has been growing about the variant, known as B.1.1.7, since the weekend before Christmas, when Britain's prime minister said the new variant was moving rapidly through southeast England. They also reassured the public that there's no evidence that the new strain makes patients more sick, or increases their risk of death.
The announcement came 24 hours after word of the first reported US variant infection, which emerged in Colorado.
More news: New York City declares 3/14/21 a day of remembrance for COVID victims"It's already something that we have seen that can spread efficiently, so this just amps it up one more notch", she told local media.
