Dr Fauci just made this chilling prediction on the UK COVID strain

The discovery of a new strain of the novel coronavirus in the UK at the end of December quickly created panic when scientists realized it was far more contagious than the dominant strain. Even as countries around the world have taken steps to prevent it from entering their borders, some health officials, such as Anthony Fauci, MD, advised against precautions such as travel bans, assuming it was likely the variant was already in the United States. the outlook is not that good. Read on to find out what Fauci thinks will happen next with the UK variant, and for an update on where the new strain has been reported so far, check out The new COVID strain is now in these 5. States.

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In an interview with Newsweek released Jan. 6, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) said the new strain – officially known as variant B.1.1.7 – is likely present in more than the five known states: Colorado, California , Florida, New York and Georgia. “I think it’s pretty clear that if it’s in places like California, New York, and Colorado … that very soon it will be in several other states,” he said. And for his prediction on the South African strain, check out Dr Fauci just posted this warning on another new COVID strain.

Not only is the variant likely in more than five states, but Fauci also said Newsweek that he thinks the UK strain is more prevalent in COVID patients than we think. He said he believes it is “more prevalent in the United States than we are currently detecting.” The reason we don’t know how widespread the strain is is that COVID testing determines whether or not a patient is a carrier of the virus, but additional genetic sequencing needs to be done to determine which strain of the virus the person has contracted.

“In the United States, it’s a really uneven picture,” says molecular epidemiologist Emma Hodcroft, PhD, explained the country’s sequencing strategy to Vox. “Some states have really invested in sequencing; some states haven’t. So for some states we probably have a good idea of ​​what’s going on. In other states we really don’t have much. of sequences. ” And for more regular coronavirus updates, sign up for our daily newsletter.

Fauci said he does not believe the current outbreaks extending to many parts of the United States are due to the highly transmissible British variant. “We have our own problems with the increase in cases,” he explained. “I don’t think the British mutation [variant] was responsible for the fairly large outbreak of cases in the United States, because the British variant is here, but it is not the dominant strain in the United States. But even though this is not the dominant strain, we still have a very steep curve of cases in our country. “And to find out where the situation is most serious right now, check out This state now has the worst COVID outbreak in the United States.

Just because the British variant is not yet the dominant strain in the United States does not mean that the more contagious version of the virus will not create serious problems as the pandemic progresses. “We take this very seriously,” Fauci warned of the contagiousness of the variant. “If you have more transmissibility, you will get more cases. When you have more cases, you will have more hospitalizations. And when you have more hospitalizations, you will end up having more deaths.” And for more information on the cases on the rise, see This is how severe the COVID outbreak is in your state.