The first case in the US of the British species was discovered in Colorado last month.
“It is a variant with specific mutations that was described in the UK in mid-December,” says Dr. Ramon Lorenzo Redondo, a virologist at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “It has only taken over the epidemic in the UK.”
Gov. JB Pritzker provides the latest on COVID-19 in Illinois
Redondo is part of a team of Northwestern University scientists who have been monitoring COVID-19 samples. Of the 200 recent patients, he said they found one with the UK variant.
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That finding has prompted state officials to warn again about the need to take precautions, as the UK variant is believed to be more contagious. However, doctors don’t believe it can cause more serious illness or be more deadly.
“Early studies show that this variant spreads more easily and more quickly,” said Ngozi Ezike, Illinois top doctor. “So if we don’t keep wearing our masks, keep a close eye on our distance and avoid gatherings, this new variant could take the state as it swept across the UK.”
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“We must remain vigilant if we are to maintain our progress,” added Governor JB Pritzker. Frankly, it’s up to each of us to keep our schools open and see an economic recovery that restores jobs and businesses. We need to wear a mask that limits interactions with people outside of our household and get vaccinated when it’s our time. turn. “
Redondo said current vaccines are expected to be effective against the UK variant, but he cautions now is the time to reduce the spread.
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“That’s why it’s so important to lower the numbers,” he said. “Not because this virus is more serious, but we don’t want to give the virus more opportunities to adapt and become better at infecting.”
The discovery of the variant in Chicago comes because the global death toll from COVID-19 is more than 2 million, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University.
The milestone was reached just over a year after COVID-19 was first discovered in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
It took eight months to hit 1 million dead and less than four months after that to hit the next million.
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