The new, more contagious variant of the coronavirus that originated in the United Kingdom may already be here in Massachusetts.
California announced the second confirmed case of the mutated COVID-19 strain on Wednesday. That came 24 hours after the report of the first reported US variant of infection, which showed up in Colorado.
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The cases raised a myriad of questions about how the version circulating in England got to the US and whether it is too late to stop it, with top experts saying it is likely already spreading elsewhere in the country.
Massachusetts and Delaware are also analyzing suspicious virus samples for the variant, said Dr. Greg Armstrong, who leads genetic sequencing at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He said the CDC is working with a national lab that is pulling samples from around the country to broaden that search, with results expected within days.
The discovery of the new species in the US has added to the urgency of the national COVID-19 vaccination campaign, which has killed more than 340,000 Americans.
Britain sees infections on the rise and hospital admissions rise to their highest ever level The variant has also been found in several other countries.
Several countries are closing their borders to the UK after a new strain of coronavirus was discovered that is believed to be much more contagious. Dr. Noc, a scientist who taught TikTok users about the virus, stopped by LX News to answer our questions about what exactly this means.
Scientists have found no evidence that it is more deadly or causes more serious disease, and they believe that the vaccines now being provided will be effective against it. But a faster-spreading virus can flood hospitals with critically ill patients.
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker was asked about the new species on Wednesday and didn’t sound too concerned.
“Both Pfizer and Moderna said they do not believe this variant would have a lesser impact on their products’ ability to work,” he said. “The main problem is not the potency of the new species, it is its contagion. Obviously, the rules of the game we are talking about generally apply, new contamination or not.”
Marylou Sudders, Secretary of Health and Human Services, added that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are closely monitoring the situation and counseling states.
“It’s very, very contagious, so we’re just assuming that since we know we have community transfer in Massachusetts, we need everyone to take those good public health measures that we know are effective,” she said.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis on Wednesday provided more details about the first person in the US to test positive for the highly contagious coronavirus variant first identified in the UK. confirmed, there were likely previous cases in the US that had not been identified.
Even before it was discovered in Colorado and California, experts told NBC10 Boston last week that the new COVID strain was likely already in the US.
“I can’t imagine it wouldn’t be like this,” said Dr. Shira Doron, a hospital epidemiologist at Tufts Medical Center. Would I expect those differences in the US? Of course. People travel all the time. I would expect that. ‘
As for the potential impact now that it’s here? Medical experts said it’s too early to know.
“The implications for how fast it’s spreading versus what’s going to happen here in the US – it’s really too early to tell,” says Dr. Paul Sax, Clinical Director of the Infectious Diseases Department at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “It is something that we must continue to monitor closely and let virologists do their appropriate research.”