White House warned governors about ‘US variant’ of COVID-19, but no such discovery has been made

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shot down reports from the White House coronavirus task force warning states of a more transmissible, homegrown “ American variant ” of the coronavirus – a misconception that began during a phone call with governors, a government official told to CNN. .

Officials at the governors’ call were debating whether the steep slope in coronavirus cases could be due to a possible US variant that resembles one first identified by genetics experts in the UK.

But the official made it very clear that US health officials have not determined that a US variant of the virus exists. There has been debate as to whether U.S. health officials should investigate whether a U.S. variant exists and make that identification. But so far, the official warned, no such identification has taken place.

Warnings about the variant ended up in written Jan. 3 reports sent to states and obtained by CNN. The reports warned of the possibility of a “US variant” of COVID-19.

“This fall / winter rise is nearly twice the number of cases as the spring and summer rises. This acceleration suggests that there may be an American variant that has evolved here, in addition to the British variant that is already spreading in our communities. and may be 50% more transmissible, “said reports obtained by CNN, calling for” aggressive mitigation … to match a much more aggressive virus. “

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 into the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, despite low test rates over the holidays, suggests aggressive community dispersal, “the task force said.

The task force reports also called for infusion sites for outpatient treatment of monoclonal antibodies “readily available to save lives.”

And as the nation struggles to rapidly immunize Americans, reports said vaccines “must now be brought into arms.”

“Do not delay the rapid immunization of people over 65 and vulnerable to serious disease; recommend the establishment of high throughput vaccination sites using EMT personnel to monitor possible anaphylaxis and make full use of nursing students. Vaccines should not be in freezers but would instead now be brought into arms; active and aggressive immunization in the face of this wave would save lives, “the reports said.

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.

This story has been updated to reflect that the CDC shot down the White House task force’s coronavirus warnings about a “US variant.”