Although the B.1.1.7 variant first identified in the United Kingdom is currently relatively low in the United States, the paper says it doubles every week and a half, similar to that observed in other countries. . According to the report, this variant is 35-45% more transmissible than strains that have previously appeared in the United States, and it doubles approximately every ten days in the country.
Last month, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicted that the B.1.1.7 variant would become the predominant strain in the United States in March. It is estimated that the virus is about 50% more transmissible.
“Our study shows that the US is on a similar trajectory 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 to a minimum, “researchers write in the preview of the study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed or published.
In addition to group cases in California, Florida, and Georgia, many B.1.1.7 cases in the United States have not reported recent international travel, the report said, suggesting a significant transfer of the B.1.1.7 variant already done by the community. throughout the USA “
U.S. laboratories still track only a small subset of coronavirus samples, according to the newspaper, so it is not clear what variants are spreading in the country. Without decisive and immediate action for public health, ‘new, more transmissible variants’ are likely to have devastating consequences for COVID-19 deaths and diseases in the US in a few months,’ the researchers warn.
Helix President, dr. James Lu, told CNN last week that the company has found evidence that cases of B.1.1.7 are on the rise, and not just a product of increased genetic sequences across the country.
“The growth rate here in Florida and Southern California looks a lot like the kind of growth we’ve seen before in the UK and Denmark … where B.1.1.7 has become the predominant variant pretty quickly,” Lu said.
It is unclear whether the rate of vaccination in the United States will prevent the strain from gaining a foothold in places where it is not yet in circulation, he added.
“We’re in a race between the vaccine and the new strains,” Lu said.
Dr Anthony Fauci suggested last week that the US not vaccinate people fast enough to come up with new variants. That could blunt the vaccine’s attempt to slow things down, he told CNN. “If the variants and the mutations come and become dominant, it will alleviate the effects of the vaccine,” he said.
According to CDC, more than 610 cases of the B.1.1.7 variant were found in 33 states. Most are in Florida and California. The first US case was announced on December 29, but the earliest known cases extend earlier. Analysis in the new study indicates that the B.1.1.7 variant arrived in the United States as late as November 2020.
The strain has also been found in at least 80 countries and areas around the world, the World Health Organization said last week.
The United States also discussed five cases in two states of the B.1.351 variant first identified in South Africa, and two cases in one part of the P.1 variant first identified in Brazil .
CNN’s Michael Nedelman and Andrea Diaz contributed to this report.