An epidemiologist on Thursday compared the highly contagious British variant of the coronavirus to a “Category 5 hurricane” that sank off the coast – as the strain spread to more than half of the U.S., infecting more than 500 Americans and led to two known deaths.
“It’s going to take a lot more than vaccine to weaken this variant and not just have a big boom in the coming weeks,” said epidemiologist Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Diseases Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. , on CNN’s “New Day.” said
‘I think among my colleagues they would agree that this variant of the United Kingdom, which is now beginning to spread much wider in the United States, is a great challenge for us. And that within a few weeks we can see that the numbers increase very dramatically, ‘Osterholm added.
According to the latest data from the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the COVID-19 variant, known as B.1.1.7, has been detected in 33 states across the US.
There are 541 cases of the British variant reported across the country, including 186 cases in Florida, 127 cases in California, 42 cases in New York and 22 cases in Michigan, the data show.
The variant was first detected in the USA in Colorado at the end of December.
Two Americans have since died from contracting the mutated virus – a father from Alabama and a person in New Jersey who, according to health officials, have ‘significant underlying health conditions’.
The CD said that the UK only identified the variant in the autumn of last year. It has been found to spread easier and faster than other varieties.
Last month, UK health experts reported that the variant may be associated with an increased risk of death compared to other viral viruses, but the CDC says more studies are needed to confirm the finding.
A total of 73 countries around the world have detected the British variant so far, including the Netherlands, Spain, France, Ireland, Belgium, Switzerland and Italy, according to the tracking website, cov-lineages.org.
In addition, two other variants of the coronavirus, one known as B.1.351, which first originated in South Africa, and another known as P.1, first identified in Brazil is, worldwide, also in the USA.
According to the CDC, three cases of the South African tribe and two of the Brazilian variant have been reported so far in the USA.
The CDC says that the antibodies generated by vaccination with the authorized COVID-19 vaccines recognize the variants.
Anthony Fauci, the country’s top expert on infectious diseases, said he believed the current coronavirus vaccines would protect against the British variant.
“What is more formidable and worrying is the South African variant,” Fauci said last week in a panel of public health experts.
“The bottom line is that we take these mutations very seriously,” Fauci said. ‘The British variant is much less worrying. We must be prepared to upgrade vaccines. ”