(CNN) – Less than 20% of Americans are fully vaccinated, and some parts of the United States are seeing a disturbing increase in COVID-19 cases.
Experts talk about a virus variant that appears to infect school-age children and younger adults.
The highly contagious B117 variant is emerging in Europe, and experts fear the US could be next if safety precautions are not taken.
“What we know from last year of the pandemic is that we tend to be three to four weeks behind Europe,” said Dr. Celine Gounder, an epidemiologist.
In Minnesota, more than 740 schools have cases of the variant first identified in the UK.
In Michigan, more and more young people are being hospitalized as the number of cases increases.
Last month, officials from Orange County, Florida reported an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in the 18 to 25-year-old age group.
“What we see are outbreaks across the country, especially in younger people who have not been vaccinated, as well as in school-aged children,” said Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration.
While that age group is relatively well protected, experts say younger groups are still vulnerable as the variant circulates.
Experts say the variant is more contagious and can cause more serious illness. Research suggests it may also be more deadly.
“It behaves differently from anything we’ve seen before in terms of transferability, in terms of affecting young people, so we have to take this very seriously,” Dr. Peter Hotez, the dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine said.
Experts say current vaccines seem to work well against the variant.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say the US reported a record this weekend with more than four million COVID-19 vaccine doses delivered in 24 hours, but despite the vaccination figures, experts say not enough people are protected and the country may have the beginning of a new wave.
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