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Although it has become the dominant variant in many parts of the UK, the new, more contagious strain of the coronavirus has only been confirmed in the US for less than a week. The first confirmed case was a man in his 20s in Colorado on December 28, the second was a 30-year-old man in California on December 30, and the last was a man in his 20s in Florida on December 31. December. While it is clear that these cases share some surface similarities – they are all among men in their 20s or 30s – there is another more subtle factor they share that indicates how widespread the new variant is. : None of them have a travel history.
When the San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher revealed that his county of California had a confirmed case of the new strain, known as B.1.1.7., he said: “Because there is no travel history, we believe that this is not an isolated case in San Diego County. ” And frankly, it’s probably not isolated from the three states that have confirmed cases either. The fact that none of these patients traveled directly to the UK – or any of the more than 30 countries where the variant has been found – means the new strain is likely already spreading across the country. It seems that the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Anthony Fauci, MD, was right when he said on Hello america December 22, “You really have to assume it’s already there … I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it’s already there.”
Read on to learn more about the new strain and how it could affect you, and to find out more about what the country’s leading health agency is saying, check out The CDC just released this warning about the new COVID strain.
Read the original article on Better life.
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It is confirmed to be more contagious than the current dominant strain.
On December 31, researchers at Imperial College London published a study, which has not yet been peer reviewed, on variant B.1.1.7 and found that it is indeed more transmissible than the previous dominant strain of the virus. According to Forbes, this means that a person with COVID-19 caused by the B.1.1.7 strain is likely to transmit it to more people than if they had another variant. “These scans, which have informed UK government planning in recent weeks, show that the new variant of concern, B.1.1.7, has significantly higher transmissibility than previous SARS-CoV-2 viruses circulating in the UK, ” Neil ferguson, PhD, one of the scientists from Imperial College London involved in the study, said in a statement.
“This will make monitoring more difficult and further heighten the urgency of rolling out vaccination as quickly as possible,” added Ferguson, who is also a member of the UK’s Advisory Group on New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats (NERVTAG). And for signs you might be sick, check out These are the most common early signs you have COVID, study finds.
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It is more likely to infect children and adolescents than the earlier strains.
While children have been significantly less affected by COVID than adults so far, the new variant could change that. “There is a clue that he has a greater propensity to infect children,” Ferguson told reporters at a press conference on Dec. 21. “We will need to collect more data to see how it performs in the future. … But what we saw over a period of five or six weeks … [is that] the variant in those under 15 was statistically significantly higher than the virus without a variant. And for more updates on COVID, sign up for our daily newsletter.
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But if you’ve ever had COVID, you’re unlikely to be infected with the new strain.
During a December 30 livestream with the Governor of California. Gavin Newsom, Fauci explained that people who have already been infected with COVID appear to be immune to catching the new strain. “What they noted in the UK is that people infected [by the previously dominant strain] does not seem to be re-infected with this [mutation], which means that the immunity given to you when you are infected protects against that particular strain, ”Fauci explained. And for a symptom that indicates you might already have COVID, see If you have this subtle symptom, you might have already had COVID.
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The new vaccines will also protect you against this strain.
Many people were concerned that the recently deployed Moderna and Pfizer COVID vaccines might no longer be able to protect them from the new variant, but health experts quickly reassured the public that the vaccines already given are still effective. “[The B.1.1.7 variant] does not appear to escape the protection offered by the antibodies introduced by vaccines, “Fauci told Newsom. And for more information on vaccines, check out these 2 states go against the CDC’s vaccine recommendations.
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It is neither more dangerous nor more deadly than the current dominant strain.
Yes, the new strain of the coronavirus spreads more easily, but the good news is that it doesn’t appear to be more damaging or deadly. “It seems pretty clear from the UK group that in fact the transmissibility of the virus is more efficient than the transmission of the standard virus that we have faced so far. Namely, it is just able to bind to receptors on cells better and therefore better transmitted, ”Fauci said during his discussion with Newsom. But, he added, “There’s nothing to indicate that it increases virulence, and by virulence I mean the ability to make you sick or kill you. It doesn’t seem to make him stronger in that regard.” ” And for a sign that you have a severe case of the virus, check out This rare symptom could mean you have a severe case of COVID.
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You are already protecting yourself against the new variant by following common health practices.
Just because there is a slightly different version of the spread of the virus, doesn’t mean you need to change the precautionary measures you’ve been taking since March. “The things we’ve been talking about from the start, we just have to make sure we do it,” Fauci said. Newsweek on December 29 of the new strain. “Wearing masks, keeping distances, avoiding meeting places, doing things outside more than inside, washing your hands frequently – these are the things that stop any virus, whether it mutates or no.” And for the one health measure you can expect, check out The thing you can stop doing to avoid COVID, doctors say.
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