(Reuters) – A more contagious variant of COVID-19 swept by the UK has been reported in at least five states in the US, National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins said in an interview with Washington on Wednesday Post said.
“We have now seen the same virus in the UK in at least five states in the US, and I would be surprised if it does not grow fairly quickly,” Collins said, adding that it does not look more serious.
Last week, Reuters reported that Florida had become the third known U.S. state to identify such a case, with two other cases identified in Colorado and California.
Scientists have said that newly developed vaccines should be equally effective against both variants.
The NIH director said he expects vaccinations by pharmacies to take place as soon as the country struggles with an increase in cases, and that the number of vaccinations is less than early targets.
He said in the interview that at least 80% -85% of Americans should receive the vaccine to achieve ‘herd immunity’. (bit.ly/3opexFt)
The leading American specialist in infectious diseases, Dr Anthony Fauci, said in a separate interview that it is not clear what percentage of the population should be vaccinated for herd immunity.
“I originally said 70%, now based on my board statement, it’s probably between 70% and 85%,” Fauci said in an interview with the Washington, DC Economic Club on Wednesday.
“We need to get enough people vaccinated so that the dynamics of the outbreak are dramatically reduced,” he added. “I do not think it will happen until the end of summer or the beginning of autumn if we do it right.”
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it had administered more than 4.8 million first-dose COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Tuesday morning and had distributed more than 17 million doses.
Reporting by Vishwadha Chander in Bengaluru; Edited by Arun Koyyur and Shounak Dasgupta