The COVID-19 strain first discovered in the UK doubles in the US every 10 days, posing a potential risk for increased cases and deaths in the country, according to a study released Sunday.
A group of researchers estimates that the British variant, called B.1.1.7, is spreading at an increased transmission rate of 35 to 45 percent and is expected to become the predominant strain in the US by March. The study, which was released on the server medRxiv, has not yet been peer-reviewed or published in a medical journal.
“Our study shows that the US is on a similar path as in other countries where B.1.1.7 has quickly become the dominant SARS-CoV-2 variant, requiring immediate and decisive action to combat COVID-19 diseases and mortality. to a minimum, “the study reads. .
Scientists have determined from the half-million COVID-19 tests and 212 genomes that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) predicts that the British strain would become the most common coronavirus variant in the US by March.
Kristian Andersen, co-author of the study and virologist at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, told The New York Times that “nothing in this article is surprising, but that people should see it.”
Researchers estimate that the British tribe, first announced by the British government on December 20, originated in the US in November. The first case was confirmed in the U.S. on December 29 in Colorado and has since spread to at least 33 states, according to the CDC..
According to the study, the tension first found in the UK was brought to the US at least eight times, possibly due to an increased travel during Thanksgiving and Christmas between the two countries.
Using their genome sequence with the test results of the laboratory test company Helix, the analysts determined that their prediction for how fast the coronavirus variant had spread in the US was contracted by the CDC to examine samples for the British strain.
The scientists expect the strain to account for a higher percentage of COVID-19 cases in certain states such as Florida, where an estimated 4.5 percent of the variant originates.
As a whole, the British variant is estimated to account for 2 percent of all U.S. cases, meaning more than 1,000 people experience the stress every day, the Times noted.
The CDC has reported 611 B.1.1.7 cases in the US, but the number is expected to be much higher due to the complicated method of confirming that a case came from a British tribe.
In total, the U.S. counts nearly 27 million cases and more than 463,000 deaths due to COVID-19, with January the most deaths. and the highest average hospitalizations for coronavirus of any month of the pandemic.