At least three major coronavirus variants have been discovered abroad and made their way to the U.S[1]. The strains are:
- The UK strain
- The South African strain
- The Brazilean strain
All three have been detected in the US.
Scientists have learned that the virus has changed in ways that increase its ability to spread and may cause more severe disease.
"The U.K. strain, called B.1.1.7, was first reported in the U.S. in late December, and it spreads more quickly and easily than other variants, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's leading infectious disease physician said on TODAY Thursday that it could become the dominant strain in the U.S. by the end of March. As of Feb. 23, there were 1,881 reported cases of this variant in 45 U.S. states. It's also spreading at high levels in Denmark and Scandinavia".[1]
"The modeled trajectory of this variant in the U.S. exhibits rapid growth in early 2021, becoming the predominant variant in March,” according to the CDC study released Friday Jan 15 [2]
Are the new strains more deadly.
Worldwide view
There is some evidence of an increase in the ratio of deaths/confirmed cases for Denmark, South Africa, the UK and the US.starting December and January
| Ratio of deaths to confirmed cases since May 2020 | Detail ratio of deaths to confirmed cases November 1st 2020 forward |
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| Confirmed cases and deaths since Jan 2020 | Confirmed cases and deaths since November 1st 2020 |
|  |
US states
As of Jan 29, 2021 there were 315 cases of the UK strain detected in the US. The leading states with 14 or more cases were CA (92 cases), FL (92), NY (22), Michigan (17) and GE (14) [3]. As seen below there is a slight increase in. the ratio deaths/confirmed. However, it is unclear whether this is related to the virus change, since there are similar large chabges earlier in 2020 which would have nothing to do with the UK variant.
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References:
- https://www.today.com/health/how-many-strains-covid-19-t207173, updated Feb 28, viewed March 9, 2021
- https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/15/new-covid-variant-first-found-in-uk-could-become-dominant-strain-in-us-by-march-cdc-says-.html viewed March 9, 2021
- https://bestlifeonline.com/new-covid-strain-states/