Florida continues to outshine the rest of the country with new mutant COVID-19 cases

ORLANDO, Fla. Florida continues to lead the nation in the number of documented cases of COVID-19 variants linked to the UK, with nearly 380 cases of the B.1.1.7 variant, according to the latest information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention .

Now with 379 cases documented, the Sunshine State has twice as many UK variant cases as California, which has 189 since Sunday night, according to the CDC database. Texas has 49 cases, both Illinois and North Carolina have 23 cases each, and Maryland has 22 documented.

The number of mutant cases is expected to increase as more laboratories are deployed to sequence virus samples and monitor variants.

Florida has tripled the number of UK variants in less than a month. Three weeks ago, Florida had reported 125 British variant cases.

The CDC updates its database of variants at 7 p.m. three days a week, but the agency says it probably doesn’t contain all the data.

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The cases identified above are based on a sample of SARS-CoV-2 positive specimens and do not represent the total number of B.1.1.7, B.1.351, and P.1 lineage cases that may be circulating in the United States. States and may not match the numbers reported by states, territories, tribes and local officials, ”a disclaimer reads below the map.

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The virus variants first discovered in Brazil, P.1, and South Africa, B.1.351, have also been reported in the US, but in far fewer numbers. Only 16 cases of the Brazilian variant have been documented and only three cases of the South African variant have been reported in the US so far.

The British variant is more contagious and believed to be more deadly than the original, while the South African variant may make the vaccines slightly less effective. The ultimate fear is that a variant may eventually emerge that is resistant to existing vaccines and treatments.

However, the true dimensions of the problem in the US are not clear due to the relatively low sequence level.

The mutant cases have likely been here all along and multiplied, but the CDC began identifying and tracing the variants late last year. The CDC has made an effort to catch up with the variants after falling behind.

Viruses are constantly mutating. To stay ahead of the threat, scientists are analyzing samples and watching closely for mutations that could make the coronavirus more contagious or deadly.

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Less than 1% of positive specimens in the US are sequenced to determine if they have mutations of concern. Other countries are doing better – Britain strikes about 10% – meaning they can see threats coming their way faster. That gives them more options to slow down or stop the problem, whether through more targeted contact tracking, possible vaccine modifications, or public alerts.

After the slow start, public health laboratories in at least 33 states are now conducting genetic analyzes to identify emerging coronavirus variants. Other states have partnerships with university or private laboratories to do the work. North Dakota, which began sequencing in early February, was the most recent to begin that work, according to the Association of Public Health Laboratories.

The CDC believes that in the US, a minimum of 5,000 to 10,000 samples should be analyzed weekly to monitor variants adequately, said Gregory Armstrong, who oversees the agency’s advanced molecular detection work. And it is only now that the nation is reaching that level, he acknowledged.

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President Joe Biden, who inherited the Trump administration’s setup, proposes a $ 1.9 trillion COVID-19 aid package calling for an increase in federal spending on virus sequencing, though the amount has not elaborated and there are other details to be worked out. from.

“We are 43rd in the world in genomic sequencing. Absolutely unacceptable, ”said Jeff Zients, White House coronavirus coordinator.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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