Anthony Fauci, the leading expert on infectious diseases in the US government, warned this week that the more contagious Chinese coronavirus variant first identified in the UK and now found in more than half of the US, may be more deadly than previously thought, reflecting the recent version of findings by British scientists.
Last weekend, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that they had revised data compiled by British scientists suggesting that the British variant could be more deadly than initially believed.
While Fauci informed reporters on Wednesday, Fauci cites ‘the increased portability and the likelihood of an increase in some mortality in the B117’, the official name of the British tribe.
Other more contagious variants spread in the US, including those first discovered in Brazil, South Africa and even California.
However, the British tribe is currently the most common in America.
“The outlook for the UK is that it will probably become more dominant in this country by the end of March, at the beginning of April,” Fauci told reporters on Friday.
“I believe that we should currently treat each case as if it were a variant during this pandemic,” said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the CDC director, added.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the CDC have acknowledged that even if the British tribe is no longer as deadly as originally thought, an increase in infections will harm health care resources, leading to more hospitalizations and possible deaths.
According to the CDC, there is currently no evidence to suggest that the variants affect the efficacy of the vaccines.
However, Dr Fauci noted on Friday that as the virus continues to mutate, the U.S. must be ‘ready to just easily adapt to make versions of the vaccine that are actually specifically targeted at the mutation that occurs in a given way. . time. ”
Until January 22, CDC and WHO officials maintained there was no evidence that the British variant caused a more serious illness or increased risk of death, only that it spread faster than other versions.
Referring to the scientists advising his government, Prime Minister Johnson admitted on January 22 that the British variant discovered could be more deadly.
The prime minister apparently stated in a television address:
We have been informed today that, in addition to faster distribution, it also appears that there is evidence that the new variant – the variant first identified in London and the South East – may be associated with higher mortality. All current evidence still shows that both the vaccines we are currently using are effective against the old variant and this new variant.
Patrick Vallance, the UK Government’s chief scientific adviser, warned during the televised speech that the mortality data related to the variant remained “highly uncertain”, Wall Street Journal noticed and added:
Admitted to hospital [coronavirus] cases, there appears to be no increase in mortality. But among the general population, deaths were higher among those who had the new variant, he said.
Of the 1,000 60-year-olds with the new variant, 13 to 14 would be expected to die, compared to about 10 deaths per 1,000 with the old variant, according to Mr. Vallance.
Based on these figures, British tensions could increase the lethal risk by 30-40 per cent.
British government scientists have also reportedly predicted that the new strain would spread 30 to 70 percent faster than previous versions.
Michael Osterholm, an epidemiologist and member of President Joe Biden’s coronavirus transition team, said he was ‘convinced’ that the new variant was more lethal, CNN reported after quoting data from the UK and other information not made public, reviewed.
Osterholm is the director of the Center for Infectious Diseases Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.
The British variant has led to an increase in infections in the UK, and seems to be spreading rapidly in the US
On January 7, CDC officials tracked down 52 cases of the British variant in just five U.S. states, Breitbart News noted.
The CDC identified 434 cases in 30 states approximately three weeks (as of Friday), indicating an almost eight-fold increase in infections and a six-fold increase in states, respectively.
Florida (125) and California (113) and is home to the largest concentration of British infections, drawn by New York (22). In the vast majority of the remaining states, the number of new variant cases remains in the single digits.
The Brazilian tribe has so far only been detected in Minnesota. South Carolina has reported two cases of the South African variant, the only one in the country.
CDC officials believe many more cases of new strains in the US are not detected
As the variant takes hold, several states, including California and New York, are easing restrictions.