Carl Zimmer and Apoorva Mandavilli, The New York Times Published: 16 May 2021 05:12 PM BdST Updated: 16 May 2021 05:12 PM BdST Coronavirus test samples are loaded into a workstation in a lab at Duke University in Durham, NC, Feb 3, 2021. The country has managed to avoid a variant-fuelled spike in coronavirus cases. The New York Times
On Dec 29, a National Guardsman in Colorado became the first known case in the United States of a contagious new variant of the coronavirus. ); }
The news was unsettling. The variant, called B.1.1.7, had roiled Britain, was beginning to surge in Europe and threatened to do the same in the United States. And although scientists did not know it yet, other mutants were also cropping up around the country. They included variants that had devastated South Africa and Brazil and that seemed to be able to sidestep the immune system, as well as others homegrown in California, Oregon and New York.
Scientists warn US lawmakers on coronavirus variants The plan calls for large-scale sequencing of virus genomes, as well as research to understand how mutations alter the biology of viruses
Coronavirus variants will pose a continuing threat to the US, with the potential to spread quickly and blunt the effectiveness of vaccines, scientists told a House panel on Wednesday.
“We must ensure that the tools we use to detect, treat, and forecast the virus are keeping up with emerging variants,” said Representative Bill Foster, Democrat of Illinois and the chairman of the House subcommittee that heard the scientists’ testimony.
Last month, the White House announced almost $2 billion in funding for tracking coronavirus variants.
In fact, B.1.1.7 seems to have the edge over nearly every variant identified so far. At a congressional hearing on Tuesday, Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said B.1.1.7 made up 72 percent of cases in the country.
“We’re really seeing B.1.1.7 pushing out other variants decisively,” said Emma Hodcroft, an epidemiologist at the University of Bern.
The variants identified in California and New York turned out to be only moderately more contagious than older versions of the virus, and much of their initial success may have been luck. The overall boom in cases last fall amplified what might otherwise have gone undetected.
How the United States Beat the Variants, for Now nytimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nytimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The U.S. new cases 7-day rolling average are 20.7 % LOWER than the 7-day rolling average one week ago and U.S. deaths due to coronavirus are now 14.0 %
LOWER than the rolling average one week ago. Today s posts include:
U.S. Coronavirus New Cases are 36,451
U.S. Coronavirus deaths are at 693
U.S. Coronavirus immunizations have been administered to 78.7 doses per 100 people.
The 7-day rolling average rate of growth of the pandemic shows new cases little changed and deaths improved
Increased transmissibility of B.1.617 variant may be impacting Covid-19 spread in India
Scientists race to study variants in India as cases explode