Massachusetts now accounts for about a quarter of U.S. cases of P.1 coronavirus variants detected, surpassing Florida’s 55 by 58. According to data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), is the total of the Bay State currently the highest in the US
A review of the data conducted by the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard detected the sudden increase in variant cases to clusters in Cape Cod. The state announced the first case of the P.1 variant, which was originally detected in Brazil and is more transmissible than the original strain, on March 16, saying it had been identified in a Barnstable County woman in her 30s. She tested positive for the virus for the first time in late February, and at the time, officials said no information was available regarding her history or illness.
As elsewhere in the US, new cases are being driven by younger populations than previously recorded. In the past two weeks, the 0-19 age group in Massachusetts accounted for 6,401 new cases, and the 20-29 age group had 5,378 cases, while the 70-79 age group had 657 new cases.
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Officials had earlier attributed the trend to high vaccination rates among the elderly, while the younger population is on the verge of being eligible or not yet getting their first chance. Those younger than 16 have not yet seen a COVID-19 vaccine approved for them, although several trials are underway.
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In Massachusetts, Bruce Murphy, health director for the city of Yarmouth, said the spread was due at least in part to “coronavirus fatigue.”
“They’re letting go of their vigilance,” Murphy told the Cape Cod Times, adding that contract trackers have found distribution due to ride-sharing, dinner and oversleeping. As a result of the boom, he told the news office that there should be more vaccines to Cape Cod hotspots.
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Massachusetts has also seen at least 712 cases of the B.1.1.7 variant, initially detected in the United Kingdom