The US may have its own version of a more transmissible coronavirus that could spur the virus’s already aggressive spread, the White House coronavirus task force said in its latest report to states this week.
Reports sent to states by the task force on Jan. 3 warned of the possibility of a “US variant” of Covid-19.
“This fall / winter rise has been almost twice the rate of the spring and summer peaks. This acceleration suggests that there may be a US variant that has evolved here, in addition to the UK variant that is already spreading in our communities and may be 50% more transferable, ”according to reports from CNN.
The task force called for “aggressive mitigation … to match a much more aggressive virus”.
That limitation should include the use of face masks, the task force said, and immediate vaccination of as many people as possible.
“Without uniform implementation of effective face masking (two- or three-layer and well-fitting) and strict social spacing, epidemics can quickly worsen as these variants spread and become predominant.”
The US has tracked cases of a variant first identified in the UK that appears to be easier to ship.
The pandemic continues to rage as the nation has turned its attention to the Capitol uprising and the certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, and the task force continued to warn states about “aggressive community dispersal” after the holiday season.
The United States remains at a high plateau of 140-150,000 confirmed and suspected COVID admissions per week and 120-125,000 total hospital patients. Significant continued decline, from California across the Sunbelt and to the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, despite low test numbers over the holidays, suggests an aggressive spread of the community, ”said the task force.
The task force reports also called for the creation of outpatient monoclonal antibody infusion sites that are “readily available to save lives.”
And as the nation struggles to rapidly immunize Americans, reports said vaccines “must now be brought into arms.”
“Don’t delay the rapid immunization of people over 65 and vulnerable to serious illness; recommends creating high-throughput vaccination sites with the help of EMT personnel to monitor potential anaphylaxis and make full use of nursing students. Vaccines should not be in freezers, but must now be put into arms; active and aggressive immunization in the face of this wave would save lives, ”the reports say.
This week, California is the state with the most new cases per 100,000 residents, followed by Arizona, Kansas, Tennessee, Rhode Island, Utah, Arkansas, West Virginia, Georgia, and Massachusetts in the top 10.
Test positivity, an indication that more cases are to come, is highest in Oklahoma, followed by Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, and Alabama.
Arkansas has the most hospital admissions per 100 hospital beds, followed by Arizona, Maryland, Oklahoma, Georgia, Kentucky, California, District of Columbia, South Carolina, and New Mexico.
And Kansas has the most new deaths per 100,000 residents, followed by Wyoming, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Arkansas, Indiana, Mississippi, Arizona, Tennessee, and Rhode Island.