Researchers say a more contagious virus of covid-19 has mutated, which may change the pandemic globally, especially in the United States.
In Britain, a more infectious variant of the covid-19 virus is spreading and has left the nation with new grappling lockdowns, air travel curtailed, and infections surge. It has now appeared in Colorado and California, bullying to complicate what had seemed a hopeful path to recovery from the pandemic.
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In the United States, scientists are not sure how widely the new mutant may have spread. But the answer will clarify every aspect of handling the pandemic like hospital treatment, lockdowns, school closures, and so on.
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health epidemiologist Bill Hanage said, "The overall picture is pretty grim."
Scientists also said the virus's new pathogen spreads easily that it is more difficult to contain, makes it imperative that Americans should receive vaccinations more quickly and in great numbers, or a more significant percentage of the population must be inoculated to turn back the pandemic.
Even as the variant surfaced on Wednesday, officials said that the vaccine rollout was going too slowly. As of Monday morning, only 2.1 million people had received their first dose, far short of the 20 million-goal.
In the federals effort to hasten vaccine development and distribution project known as Operation Warp Speed, scientific adviser Moncef Slaoui said, "We agree that the number is lower than what we hoped for."
Mr. Slaoui and other officials said, "The federal government has enrolled 40,000 pharmacy locations in that program designed to accelerate vaccine distribution."
Further, the variant named B.1.1.7 is not more deadly than earlier versions of the virus, nor does it cause more severe illness. Still, the best ways to contain its spread are wearing masks, physical distancing, and hand hygiene. Current vaccines are expected to be effective against it and others that may arise in the short run.
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Nevertheless, experts dread that its foothold in the United States foretells another hard-pandemic chapter given the virus's apparent contagiousness. On Wednesday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that a case of the new virus variant had been discovered in the state.
In San Diego County, officials also identified a 30-year-old patient who had not traveled outside the United States, signifying the virus was transmitted within the community - a sign that the new virus is now spreading. The officials also said the patient's household contact has developed symptoms and is being tested.
While in Colorado, officials also confirmed one patient with no travel history and identified a second suspected case; both men are National Guards assigned to a nursing home in Simla, Colo, around 80 miles southeast of Denver.
Dr. Hanage said, "There's no reason to think that that community is particularly special in any way. It's completely reasonable to think it's in a lot of other places, but we just haven't looked for it yet."
On Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials said they worked with California, Delaware, and Maryland state laboratories to analyze patient samples for infection. Agency scientists also plan to analyze up to 3,500 viral genomes every week to detect the new virus mutant and others as they emerge.
