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Alabama health officials said they have confirmed three cases of the British coronavirus variant in the state, including two in residents under the age of 19. The variant, identified as B.1.1.7, is considered to be more transmissible than others, and British researchers had already done so. warned it might have a “higher propensity” to infect children.
Alabama cases involve two people from Montgomery County and one from Jefferson County, the age breakdown is unclear. The health service did not specify where the transmission may have taken place, or the conditions of the patients.
The strain, which was first detected in the UK late last year, is being studied by researchers around the world as they try to assess the impact it could have on vaccines, treatment and potential outbreaks. Pfizer and Moderna have vouched for the ability of their vaccines to remain effective against the new strain.
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However, none of the vaccines are currently approved for use in children, with Pfizer, which is approved for use in people 16 years of age and older in the United States, recently being recruited for a clinical trial involving patients. children from 12 years of age, and Moderna only approved for use in the United States in persons 18 years of age and older.
In December, Wendy Barclay, a professor involved in the British Advisory Group on New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats (NERVTAG) and a virology specialist at the Imperial, told Reuters that B.1.1.7. The variant enters the human cell differently from other strains, which could indicate “that children may be as susceptible to this virus as adults.”
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“Therefore, given their mixing patterns, you would expect to see more children infected,” Barclay told Reuters.
However, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), children between the ages of 0 and 17 make up just over 10% of the 19 million cases in the U.S. Of note, there is a difference of ‘roughly 6 million cases between CDC and Johns Hopkins University reports, which put the total number of illnesses in the United States at just over 25.6 million.
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Health experts in the United States have also admitted that the number of variant cases – which have been reported to the CDC in dozens of states – is likely underestimated due to monitoring of test samples.
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