Florida has reported its first case of a CCP virus strain that was first discovered in the United Kingdom, which marks the third case of its kind in the country.
“At this time, experts anticipate little to no impact on the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine,” it added.
Both cases were found in people who also had not recently traveled. The pattern suggests that there has been community spread of the variant in the United States.
Scientists believe the variant is more contagious than others previously identified but is no more severe in the symptoms it causes. They also believe that the vaccines now being distributed will be effective against it.
A second possible case in Colorado was being investigated, a state health official said on Tuesday.
Colorado’s chief medical officer, Dr. Eric France, said that researchers estimate the B.1.1.7 variant is 50–70 percent more contagious.
“Instead of only making two or three other people sick, you might actually spread it to four or five people,” France said, reported AP. “That means we’ll have more cases in our communities. Those number of cases will rise quickly and, of course, with more cases come more hospitalizations.”
In southern California, health officials said that a second person may have also been infected with the new variant.
It is not unexpected for viruses to mutate to new variants but the fear is that the mutations will become significant enough to resist the vaccines at some point.
According to the CDC, more than 12.4 million doses have been distributed and 2.7 million have been administered as of Dec. 30.
