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WHO classifies triple-mutant Covid variant from India as world well being danger

WHO classifies triple-mutant Covid variant from India as global health risk

World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will attend a press conference at WHO headquarters on July 3, 2020, organized by the United Nations’ Association of Geneva Correspondents (ACANU) in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak caused by the novel coronavirus was organized in Geneva.

Fabrice Coffrini | AFP | Getty Images

A World Health Organization official said Monday that the highly contagious triple mutant variant of Covid widespread in India is being classified as a “worrying variant,” suggesting it has become a global health threat.

Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO technical lead for Covid-19, said the agency would provide more details in its weekly status report on pandemic Tuesday, but added that the variant known as B.1.617 was found in preliminary studies to do more Spread more easily than the original virus and there is some evidence that it can evade vaccines.

“And as such, we classify this as a variant of the concern on a global scale,” she said during a press conference. “Although some preliminary studies show increased transferability, we need a lot more information about this virus variant in that line in all sublines. Therefore, we need to do more sequencing and targeted sequencing.”

A Covon-19 coronavirus patient rests in a banquet room temporarily converted into a Covid care center in New Delhi on May 10, 2021.

Arun Sankar | AFP | Getty Images

The WHO announced last week that it is closely tracking at least 10 coronavirus variants worldwide, including the B.1.617. The variant was previously called the “variant of interest” because more study was needed to fully understand its meaning, Van Kerkhove said.

“For everyone in the home, this means that any circulating SARS-CoV-2 virus can infect and spread you, and anything to do with that is worrying,” she said on Monday. “So, all of us at home, no matter where we live, no matter what virus is circulating, we need to make sure we take all necessary measures to keep us from getting sick.”

A variant can be classified as “worrying” according to the WHO if it is found to be more contagious, more deadly and more resistant to current vaccines and treatments.

The international organization has already identified three other variants with the classification: B.1.1.7, which was first discovered in Great Britain and is currently the most widespread variant in the USA; B. 1.351, detected for the first time in South Africa, and the P.1 variant, detected for the first time in Brazil.

B.1.617 has three sub-lines, said Van Kerkhove, which are described in Tuesday’s management report.

Some believe the variant is behind the recent wave of infections in India.

The country averages 3,879 Covid deaths per day, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, although media reports suggest the official number is underestimated. Over the past seven days, an average of 391,000 new cases per day have been reported – an increase of about 4% from a week, data from Johns Hopkins University shows.

The variant has since expanded to other countries, including the United States.

– CNBC’s Rich Mendez contributed to this report.

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Vaccines Are Efficient In opposition to the New York Variant, Research Discover

Vaccines Are Effective Against the New York Variant, Studies Find

For weeks, New Yorkers have been witnessing the alarming rise of a native variant of the coronavirus that has stubbornly kept the number of cases in the city high. City officials have repeatedly warned that the variant could be more contagious and evade the immune response.

At least on this second point, they can now breathe easier: Both the Pfizer BioNTech and Moderna vaccines will be effective in preventing serious illness and death of the variant, according to two independent studies.

Antibodies stimulated by these vaccines are only slightly less effective in controlling the variant than the original form of the virus, both studies found.

“We don’t see any big differences,” said Michel Nussenzweig, an immunologist at Rockefeller University in New York and a member of the team that published one of the studies on Thursday.

The final result? “Get vaccinated,” he said.

The results are based on laboratory experiments with blood samples from a few vaccinated people and have not yet been assessed by experts. Still, they are consistent with what is known about similar variants, several experts said, and they complement a growing body of research suggesting that the two main vaccines in the United States protect against all of the variants identified so far.

“The takeaway message is that the vaccines against the New York variant and the South African variant as well as the British variant will work,” said Nathan Landau, a virologist at NYU’s Grossman School of Medicine who led the study.

The vaccines spur the body to build an expansive immune response using thousands of types of antibodies and different types of immune cells. A subset of these immune fighters, called neutralizing antibodies, is essential to preventing infection. But even when neutralizing antibodies are in short supply or even absent, the rest of the immune system can deploy enough defenses to fight off serious illness and death.

In both new studies, neutralizing antibodies from people who were vaccinated were able to thwart the virus better than those from people who developed antibodies because they had Covid-19. A head-to-head comparison of the two sets of antibodies offered a possible explanation: Antibodies from vaccinated individuals are spread over a wider range of parts of the virus, so no single mutation has a major impact on their effectiveness – vaccines are therefore a better choice against variants than immunity from natural ones Infections.

The variant first identified in New York, known to scientists as the B.1.526, sped through the city after its first discovery in November. By April 13, it was one in four diagnosed cases, and as of April 13, almost half of the cases. Variant B.1.1.7, which brought Great Britain to a standstill, is also widespread in New York. Together, the two account for more than 70 percent of coronavirus cases in the city.

Concern for the variant identified in New York has centered on a form that contains a mutation that scientists call Eek. The Eek mutation subtly changes the shape of the virus, making it difficult for antibodies to target the virus and, as a result, underperforms vaccines.

Updated

April 23, 2021 at 12:36 AM ET

In the second study, Dr. Landau states that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are only marginally less protective against the variant that devastated the UK and against forms of the variant discovered in New York that do not contain the Eek mutation.

Several laboratory studies have shown that antibodies induced by the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are slightly less effective against a third variant identified in South Africa that also contains Eek. Other vaccines fared worse. South Africa suspended use of the AstraZeneca vaccine after clinical studies showed that the vaccine did not prevent mild or moderate disease of the variant circulating there.

“It already started at a lower level in terms of the immunity it produced,” said Dr. Nut branch about the AstraZeneca vaccine. Regarding the Pfizer and Moderna recordings, he said, “We are so lucky in this country to have these vaccines compared to the rest of the world.”

Florian Krammer, an immunologist at the Icahn School of Medicine on Mount Sinai who was not involved in any of the new studies, said he was more concerned about other countries’ vaccination programs than the variants themselves.

“I’m less worried about variants than I was two months ago,” he said, but added, “I’m worried about countries that don’t have enough vaccines and that don’t have this vaccine launch.” In all honesty, I don’t worry about the US anymore. “

Dr. Landau also tested monoclonal antibodies used to treat Covid-19 against the variants. They found that the cocktail of monoclonal antibodies made by Regeneron was effective against both the variant discovered in New York and the original virus.

The studies are reassuring, but they show that the Eek mutation is being observed, said Jesse Bloom, an evolutionary biologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.

“This could certainly be a step towards making the virus a little more resistant to infection- and vaccine-mediated immunity,” said Dr. Bloom. “I don’t think it’s something people need to be alerted about right away, but it definitely impresses us as important.”

Dr. Bloom led the analysis comparing vaccine-induced antibodies with those produced by natural infections. He found that the strongest antibodies bind to multiple sites in a key part of the virus. Even if a mutation affected binding at one site in that region, antibodies targeting the remaining sites would still be protective.

Antibodies induced by the vaccine cover many more sites in this region than those due to natural infection – and are therefore less likely to be affected by a mutation in any one site.

The study only looked at antibodies stimulated by the Moderna vaccine, but the results for the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine are likely to be the same, he added.

“This could potentially be a good thing as the virus creates mutations,” said Dr. Bloom.

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Covid variant from South Africa was capable of ‘break by means of’ Pfizer vaccine in Israeli research

Israeli data suggest mass vaccinations led to drop in severe Covid cases, CDC study finds

An Israeli health worker from Maccabi Healthcare Services prepares to deliver a dose of the Pfizer BioNtech vaccine in Tel Aviv on February 24, 2021.

Jack Guez | AFP | Getty Images

The coronavirus variant, first discovered in South Africa, may evade some of the protection provided by the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine, according to a new Israeli study that has not yet been peer-reviewed.

Researchers from Tel Aviv University and Clalit, the largest health organization in Israel, examined nearly 400 people who had tested positive for Covid-19 after receiving at least one dose of the vaccine. They compared it to the same number of people who were infected and not vaccinated.

The researchers found that the prevalence of the South African variant known as B.1.351 was about eight times higher in patients who received two doses of the vaccine than in those who were not vaccinated. The data, released online over the weekend, suggest that B.1.351 may “break through” the vaccine’s protection better than the original strain, the researchers in the study wrote.

“Based on patterns in the general population, we would have expected only one case of the South African variant, but we saw eight,” Professor Adi Stern, who led the research, told The Times of Israel. “We can say it’s less effective, but more research is needed to see exactly how much.”

CNBC asked Pfizer to comment on the study.

The new data comes as public health officials are increasingly concerned that highly contagious variants, studies have shown can reduce the effectiveness of vaccines, could slow global advances in the pandemic.

Last month, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky issued a terrible warning, telling reporters that she feared the United States was facing “impending doom” as variants spread and daily Covid-19 cases rise again, threatening to move more people to the US send hospital.

“I’m going to stop here, I’m going to lose the script, and I’m going to think about the recurring feeling I have before the impending doom,” she said on March 29, so much promise and potential where we are and so much reason to Hope, but right now I’m scared. “

Israel launched its national vaccination campaign in December, prioritizing people aged 60 and over, healthcare workers, and people with comorbid illnesses. By February, it was the world leader in vaccinations, vaccinating millions of its citizens against the virus.

In January, Pfizer and the Israeli Ministry of Health signed a collaboration agreement to monitor the real effects of its vaccine.

The researchers found that the study’s main limitation was sample size. B.1,351 only made up about 1% of all Covid-19 cases, they said. B.1.1.7, the variant first identified in Great Britain, is more common.

As the variants spread, drug manufacturers tested whether a third dose would offer more protection.

In February, Pfizer and BioNTech announced that they were testing a third dose of their Covid-19 vaccine to better understand the immune response against new variants of the virus.

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Researchers establish 5 new instances of variant in California

Researchers identify five new cases of variant in California

A healthcare worker wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) inserts a Covid-19 test tube into a box at a drive-through test location at the Alemany Farmers Market in San Francisco, California on November 19, 2020.

David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Stanford University researchers have identified five new cases of a “double mutant” strain of Covid-19 recently discovered in the San Francisco Bay Area. Doctors suggest it may be more contagious than previous strains and may be resistant to existing vaccines.

The new variant is originally from India, where after months of declining cases in Maharashtra state, home of Mumbai, cases have increased by 55%.

It contains two key mutations that scientists call E484Q and L452R that have been found in other variants separately but not together in a single strain, according to Dr. Benjamin Pinsky, Medical Director of the Stanford Clinical Virology Laboratory, who discovered the new variant in the United States

“There’s a decent amount of information on how these mutations behave in viruses themselves, but not in combination,” Pinsky said in an interview.

In other variants, the L452R mutation has been shown to make the virus more transmissible. There is also evidence that antibodies fail to recognize this mutation, which has been found in other strains to reduce vaccine effectiveness.

The E484Q mutation has also been shown to be less susceptible to neutralizing antibodies that help fight the coronavirus. It’s too early to tell if the mutation makes the virus more contagious.

“But you would expect that when combined with L452R, it would increase transmission and decrease neutralization of antibodies,” Pinsky said.

If the mutation makes the virus more resistant to antibodies, Pinsky said it could reduce the effectiveness of both vaccines and antibody treatments, which have become a crucial tool for doctors in fighting Covid-19.

“I suspect that existing vaccines are a little less effective at preventing infection with this new variant,” he said, “but all vaccines are extremely effective at preventing hospitalizations and death.”

Treatment with Eli Lilly’s Bamlanivimab antibodies has been shown to be less effective in the treatment of strains containing the E484Q or L452R mutations. US health officials stopped distributing this antibody treatment last month, saying it was not as effective against the new variants.

The double mutant variant “has known mutations in the scariest spot where a mutation is – the receptor binding domain where the virus attaches to cells in our bodies to enter,” said Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease expert at the University of California San Francisco. “The mutations are either identical or eerily similar to mutations in variants that we already know are scientifically proven to be more transmissible and / or evade vaccines. So many believe this Indian variant will have these superpowers too.”

Dr. Tom Kenyon, chief health officer at Project HOPE and former director of global health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said scientists are finding more mutations, at least in part, because the new CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky has instructed the agency to increase surveillance. “The more we look for these, the more we will find them,” he said.

“There’s something about the world that scares people and makes it sound like it’s doubly bad,” Kenyon said in an interview. “Any mutation that affects transmissibility or virus replication would be dangerous.”

There is a chance the new variant will stay in the Bay Area, unlike variant B.1.1.7 from the UK, which has become the predominant variety almost everywhere, Chin-Hong said.

“If the British variant goes into a boxing ring with the Indian variant, the British variant will likely emerge victorious. But only time will tell,” said Chin-Hong.

The longer it takes to vaccinate the world, the more chance the virus has of mutating into even worse strains, scientists say. Walensky has warned of “impending doom” in the US as states lift Covid-19 restrictions. She has urged people to get vaccinated and continue to follow public health precautions, including wearing masks and practicing social distancing.

“The variants that scare me the most are the ones that haven’t been invented yet. The more the virus replicates, the more we will see these escape mutants,” said Chin-Hong. “We need global vaccination justice and continued battles against pandemic fatigue.”

California will lift most of its Covid restrictions by June 15, but still plans to maintain a mask mandate.

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Extra Contagious Covid Variant Is Now Dominant in U.S., C.D.C. Says

More Contagious Covid Variant Is Now Dominant in U.S., C.D.C. Says

Scientists hope the vaccination will mitigate a possible fourth surge.

On Tuesday, President Biden postponed his vaccination schedule for two weeks and urged states to question every American adult by April 19. All states have already achieved or expect to achieve this goal after he originally asked them to do so by May 1st.

The variant B.1.1.7 first arrived in the USA last year. In February, a study that analyzed half a million coronavirus tests and hundreds of genomes predicted that this variant could prevail in the country in a month. At the time, the CDC was struggling to sequence the new variants, making them difficult to track.

However, those efforts have improved significantly over the past few weeks and will continue to grow, in large part due to a $ 1.75 billion funding for genome sequencing as part of the stimulus package that Mr Biden put into the Law. In contrast, the UK, which has a more centralized health system, launched a heavily promoted sequencing program last year that allowed it to track the spread of variant B.1.1.7.

“We knew this was going to happen: this variant is much more communicable, much more contagious than the parent strain, and that obviously has an impact,” said Dr. Carlos del Rio, Professor of Medicine and Infectious Disease Expert at Emory University. The B.1.1.7 strain not only spreads more efficiently, but also appears to cause more severe disease “so you get a double blow”.

Perhaps even more worrying is the emergence of the virulent P.1 variant in North America. First identified in Brazil, it has become the dominant variant in that country, helping to bring its hospitals to the breaking point. In Canada, the P.1 variant emerged as a cluster in Ontario and then closed the Whistler ski area in British Columbia. On Wednesday, the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League said at least 21 players and four employees had been infected with the coronavirus.

“This is a vivid reminder of how quickly the virus can spread and the serious effects it can have on even healthy, young athletes,” the team’s doctor Jim Bovard said in a statement.

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U.S. begins testing Moderna’s Covid vaccine booster photographs for variant from South Africa

U.S. begins testing Moderna's Covid vaccine booster shots for variant from South Africa

A nurse draws a vaccine for Moderna Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) on March 5, 2021 at the East Valley Community Health Center in La Puente, California.

Lucy Nicholson | Reuters

The National Institutes of Health have started testing a new coronavirus vaccine from Moderna, which is designed to protect against a problematic variant first found in South Africa, the agency said on Wednesday.

According to the agency, the phase 1 study, which is led and funded by the National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases of the NIH, will test how safe and effective the new shot is against the variant known as B.1.351 in around 210 healthy adults .

The study, which has already had some of the first vaccinations, will include approximately 60 adults who participated in Moderna’s original Covid-19 vaccine studies last year, as well as approximately 150 people who have not yet received a Covid-19 vaccine at one Statement.

Returning participants, who were given two syringes of the original vaccine 28 days apart at different doses early last year, will split up.

Some of them get a single booster shot with the new vaccine at a higher dose while others get the new vaccine at a lower dose, the statement said. Remaining participants will be offered a booster shot with the original vaccine “as part of a separate clinical trial protocol”.

Researchers will take blood samples from participants throughout the study, which can be tested against other circulating strains of the virus to see if the vaccine elicits an immune response.

The study will recruit volunteers in the Atlanta, Cincinnati, Seattle and Nashville, Tennessee areas and should be fully enrolled by the end of April, the agency said.

Variant B.1.351, first discovered in South Africa at the end of last year, has given scientists more cause for concern compared to other variants. The variant appears to spread more easily than the original “wild-type” strains, and research shows that it may evade some of the safeguards created by therapeutics and vaccines.

So far, 312 Covid-19 cases with variant B.1.351 have been identified in the United States, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Preliminary data shows that the COVID-19 vaccines currently available in the US should provide adequate protection against SARS-CoV-2 variants,” said NIAID Director and Chief Medical Officer of the White House, Dr. Anthony Fauci, in a statement.

“However, out of caution, NIAID has continued its partnership with Moderna to evaluate this variant vaccine candidate should an updated vaccine be required,” said Fauci.

The US Food and Drug Administration has already announced that it will accelerate the approval process for the updated vaccines, which target the problematic variants, so that no lengthy clinical trials are required.

However, an independent safety monitoring committee will continue to monitor the trials to ensure the shots are safe, the NIH statement said.

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Double mutation Covid variant in India might unfold to different nations, physician says

Double mutation Covid variant in India may spread to other countries, doctor says

The double mutation of a Covid-19 variant discovered in India is extremely worrying – and, according to Dr. Kavita Patel, a non-resident Brookings Institution scholar, spread to other countries.

“It’s something that should be watched very closely and that won’t be limited to India. It’s something that we will likely see around the world, as we have with other variants,” she told CNBCs on Monday “Street Signs Asia”.

The Indian Ministry of Health said last week that a variant with two mutations – known as E484Q and L452R – was found in the country. The mutations aren’t new, but the variant in India carries both – something that has not been seen in other variants.

The mutations could make the virus more contagious and better bypass the body’s defenses.

A health worker delivers a dose of COVID-19 vaccine at a clinic in Bhopal, India on March 25, 2021.

STR | Xinhua News Agency | Getty Images

“This double mutation, number one, is incredibly serious. Number two, it’s probably just the tip of the iceberg in what we’d be concerned about in Asia,” said Patel, who is also a former Obama administration official.

She said the mutations could lead to re-infections because the body’s immune system doesn’t recognize them and therefore can’t fight them effectively.

Patel also said she would be concerned about the effects of the mutation if she were an Asian health agency and think about ways to get vaccines as many people as possible.

Indian authorities said that Covid variants, including the double mutation strain, have not been detected in large enough numbers to explain the increase in new infections.

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Brazil Covid variant detected in New York resident for the primary time, Cuomo says

Brazil Covid variant detected in New York resident for the first time, Cuomo says

On January 14, 2021, nurses chatting outside 28 de Agosto Hospital in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil amid the novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.

MICHAEL DANTAS | AFP | Getty Images

Governor Andrew Cuomo said Saturday that a more contagious variant of Covid-19, originally identified in Brazilian travelers, has now reached New York.

The strain was discovered by scientists at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City and verified by the Department of Health’s Wadsworth Center Laboratories. The center collects approximately 90 random samples for genome sequencing every day and has sequenced more than 8,200 samples nationwide.

The patient with the Brazil variant is a Brooklyn resident in their nineties with no travel history, according to a press release.

“The discovery of the Brazilian variant here in New York further underscores the importance of taking all appropriate measures to continue protecting your health,” said Cuomo. The governor urged New Yorkers to continue wearing masks, avoid the crowds and get vaccinated if necessary.

The Brazilian strain, designated P.1, was first identified in four travelers from Brazil who were tested during a screening in Tokyo, Japan, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The P.1 variant was discovered in the USA at the end of January. The CDC has since reported 48 cases nationwide. The strain has a number of additional mutations that could affect its ability to be recognized by antibodies.

There is evidence that the variant is more contagious and may make the vaccine less effective. Oxford University researchers recently released data that was not peer-reviewed, suggesting they may be less resistant to vaccines. However, additional research is needed.

Cuomo’s announcement comes when daily cases increase in New York and 20 other states. In New York, mortality and hospitalization rates are falling as vaccine distribution accelerates.

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Fauci says variant from U.Okay. doubtless accounts for as much as 30% of U.S. infections

Fauci says variant from U.K. likely accounts for up to 30% of U.S. infections

The highly contagious variant, first identified in the UK, is likely to account for up to 30% of Covid-19 infections in the US, said White House chief medical officer Dr. Anthony Fauci, on Friday.

The variant, named B.1.1.7, has been reported in at least 94 countries and discovered in 50 US jurisdictions, Fauci said during a White House press conference about the pandemic, adding that the numbers are likely to rise.

The UK first identified strain B.1.1.7 last fall, which appears to be spreading more easily and faster than other variants. It has since spread around the world, including the United States, Fauci said. US researchers had identified 5,567 cases through genetic sequencing by Thursday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. US health officials say the variant could become the dominant strain in the US by the end of this month or early April.

New variants are particularly a problem for public health officials as they could become more resistant to antibody treatments and vaccines. High-level health officials, including Fauci, have urged Americans to get vaccinated as soon as possible. They say that if the virus cannot infect hosts and cannot replicate, the virus cannot mutate.

Public health officials and Americans can counter the variant by doing two things, Fauci said. “Get as many people to be vaccinated as quickly and as quickly as possible with a vaccine that we know will work against this variant and, ultimately, to implement the public health measures we have been talking about all this time have … masking, physical distancing and avoidance of congregational attitudes, especially indoors. “

A study recently published in the British Medical Journal found the variant was associated with a 64% higher risk of dying from Covid-19 than previous strains. Researchers from the University of Exeter and the University of Bristol analyzed data from more than 100,000 patients in the UK between October 1 and January 28.

“We’re in a position right now where we have a plateau of around 53,000 cases a day,” said Fauci. “The concern is that there are a number of states, cities, and regions across the country that are withdrawing some of the mitigation methods we talked about: withdrawing mask mandates, withdrawing from essentially non-public health interventions.”

Fauci’s comments on B.1.1.7 come a day after he argued over masks at a hearing with Republican Senator Rand Paul.

Paul claimed people shouldn’t wear masks after vaccination as the chance of getting Covid-19 is “practically 0%”. “Isn’t it just theater?” The Kentucky junior senator, an ophthalmologist, asked during a hearing on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

In response, Fauci said the emergence of new, highly contagious variants poses a threat to people with antibodies. “I can only say that masks are no theater,” said Fauci. “I totally disagree with you.”

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Covid variant present in U.Ok. 64% extra lethal than earlier strains: Examine

Covid variant found in U.K. 64% more deadly than earlier strains: Study

A patient is placed in an ambulance outside the Royal London Hospital in London during England’s third national lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Picture date: Wednesday February 17, 2021.

Ian West | PA Pictures | Getty Images

The highly contagious variant of the coronavirus, first identified in the UK, is linked to a 64% higher risk of dying from Covid-19 than previous strains, according to a new study published in the British Medical Journal.

Researchers from the University of Exeter and the University of Bristol analyzed data from more than 100,000 patients in the UK between October 1 and January 28. They compared the death rates of people infected with B.1.1.7, the variant first found in the UK, and those infected with other previously circulating strains.

The researchers, who released their results on Wednesday, said people infected with B.1.1.7 were between 32% and 104% more likely to die. This corresponds to a central estimate of 64%. The “absolute risk of death in this largely unvaccinated population remains low”.

“Death from COVID-19 is still a rare occurrence in the community, but variant B.1.1.7 increases the risk. Coupled with its ability to spread quickly, B.1.1.7 is a threat that should be taken seriously. “Robert Challen, the lead author of the study in Exeter, said in a press release.

The researchers said B.1.1.7 resulted in 227 deaths in a sample of 54,906 patients. This compares to 141 deaths in roughly the same number of patients infected with other strains.

They said with the variant, which has already been discovered in more than 50 countries around the world, “the analysis provides vital information for governments and health agencies to help prevent its spread.”

The UK identified B.1.1.7 in autumn 2020, which appears to be spreading more easily and faster than other strains. Since then, it has spread to other parts of the world, including the US, which identified 3,283 cases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to Tuesday. U.S. health officials say they are working to identify more cases.

The new study comes roughly two months after a CDC study warned that B.1.1.7 could become the dominant strain in the United States. CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told JAMA on Feb. 17 that variant B.1.1.7 is considered to be about 50% more transmissible and early data suggests it could be up to 50% more virulent or deadly.

New variants are particularly a problem for public health officials as they could become more resistant to antibody treatments and vaccines. Senior health officials, including the White House Chief Medical Officer Dr. Anthony Fauci, urge Americans to get vaccinated as soon as possible. The virus cannot mutate if it cannot infect hosts and cannot multiply.