Highly infectious coronavirus mutation from UK now tearing across US
The highly infectious COVID-19 mutation from Britain has landed in America and is predicted to tear through the already virus-ravaged nation.
A terrifying coronavirus mutation that originated in the UK has made its way to the US, sparking fears of an even deadlier crisis to come.
The new super-contagious B117 coronavirus variant has just been detected in America, with the first patient in Colorado and just a day later, a second in southern California.
Neither the Colorado nor the San Diego County patient has any known travel history, which would suggest that the variant emerged within the community.
A UK study found the mutant strain was so contagious it managed to triple its numbers while Britain was in lockdown, while the more common strain reduced its prevalence by a third.
White House infectious diseases adviser Dr Anthony Fauci said more cases in more states would have already landed, and that the mutant strain’s efficiency meant it was “inevitable” that it will spread across the US.
“We predicted it would be, when you have so much of it in the UK, which then spread to other countries in Europe and Canada, it was inevitable that it would be here,” he said.
“The transmissibility of this mutant is more efficient than the transmissibility of the standard virus that we’ve been dealing with up to now.
“Namely, it’s able to bind to the receptors on cells better, and therefore it’s transmitted better.
“It appears … this particular mutation does in fact, make the virus better at transmitting from one person to another.
“You’ll be hearing reports from other states and more cases in the state that is already reported. Unfortunately, that’s just the reality of the way these viruses spread.”
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A study of the highly contagious variant has shown it is 56 per cent more transmissible than other strains.
London School of Hygiene and Tropical medicine researchers have found the mutated coronavirus strain that’s been spreading in the UK will likely lead to higher levels of hospitalisations and deaths this year.
The new strain first emerged in the UK in September and by December, two-thirds of cases in Greater London were genomically identified as the new variant.
Britain’s chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance said before Christmas that the mutated variant has almost two dozen mutations that may affect proteins made by the coronavirus.
That has raised concern that tests, treatments and vaccines that have started rolling out might be less effective,
However, Europe’s health regulator said the variant probably isn’t different enough from earlier ones to elude Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE’s shot.
The strain has now entered up to 20 countries including Australia, India, Denmark, Singapore and in Europe.
In the US, the number of coronavirus cases surpassed 18 million just before Christmas as the virus surged nationwide, figures from Johns Hopkins University showed.
Dr Fauci said that despite its higher infectiousness, the B117 strain “does not appear to be more virulent, namely, making people more sick and leading to more death.”
Dr Fauci, who recently received his first dose of the Moderna vaccine, said that if the US “diligently vaccinates” people next year, the country could resume some sense of normality by autumn.
He said herd immunity may be achieved if about 70 to 85 per cent of the population gets the touted vaccine by then.
“By the time we get to the early fall, we will have enough good herd immunity to be able to really get back to some strong semblance of normality – schools, theatres, sports events, restaurants,” he said.
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