Florida COVID-19 variant cases have doubled, CDC says

Florida has twice as many confirmed cases of a variant of COVID-19 as last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in new figures released Monday, raising concerns that a more contagious strain is spreading.

The latest CDC data shows 293 confirmed cases of COVID-19 caused by variants in the United States. Of that number, 92 are in Florida, twice as many as the 46 cases confirmed in the state last week.

The CDC does not specify the locations of these cases in the states.

The number of confirmed variant cases in Florida is the highest in the county, with California just behind at 90.

Health experts have warned that the most contagious and possibly the deadliest variant crossing Britain will likely become the main source of infection in the United States by March.

Other mutant versions are circulating in South Africa and Brazil. The Brazilian variant was first detected in the United States in a resident of Minnesota who recently visited the South American country, public health officials said Monday.

The more the virus spreads, the more likely it is to mutate. The fear is that this will eventually make vaccines ineffective.

To guard against the new variants, President Joe Biden on Monday added South Africa to the list of more than two dozen countries whose residents are subject to coronavirus-related limits on entry into the United States.

Most non-US citizens who have traveled to Brazil, Ireland, Britain and other European countries will be barred from entering the United States under rules reimposed by Biden after President Donald Trump decided to relax them.

Fauci said scientists were already preparing to adjust COVID-19 vaccines to fight the mutated versions.

He said there was “a very slight and modest decrease” in the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines against these variants, but “there is enough cushion with the vaccines that we have that we still consider them as effective ”against both.

Moderna, the maker of one of two vaccines used in the United States, said Monday it was starting to test a possible booster dose against the South African variant. Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said the move was due to “great caution” after preliminary lab tests suggested his injection produced a weaker immune response to this variant.

Florida on Monday confirmed 1,658,169 cases of COVID-19 since the start of the epidemic and 25,446 resident deaths, according to the state Department of Health.