(CNN) – Less than 20% of Americans are fully vaccinated and some parts of the United States are seeing an increase in COVID-19 cases.
Experts are sounding the alarm about a virus variant that appears to infect children of younger and younger adults.
The highly contagious B117 variant is on the rise in Europe and experts fear the US could be next if security measures are not implemented.
“What we know about the past year of the pandemic is that we tend to move about three weeks to four weeks behind Europe,” said Dr Celine Gounder, an epidemiologist.
In Minnesota, more than 740 schools in the UK were first identified.
In Michigan, more and more young people are being admitted to the hospital as the number of cases increases.
Last month in Florida, Orange County officials reported an increase in COVID-19 cases in the 18 to 25 age group.
“What we are seeing are bags of infection across the country, especially in younger people who have not yet been vaccinated, and also in children of school-going age,” said Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, said.
Although that age group is relatively well protected, experts believe that younger groups are still vulnerable if the variant spreads.
Experts believe the variant is more contagious and can cause serious diseases. Research suggests that it can also be more deadly.
“It behaves differently from what we have seen before in terms of transferability, in terms of the impact on young people, so we have to take it very seriously,” said Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine said.
Experts believe that the current vaccines work well against the variant.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the U.S. administered a record 24 million COVID-19 vaccine doses in 24 hours over the weekend, but despite vaccination numbers, experts say not enough people are being protected and that the land possibly at the beginning of another boom.
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