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The variant is a mutation of the coronavirus. It first appeared in the UK and has since been detected in many countries around the world, including the US and Canada. Scientists say that there is nothing new about mutating a virus. Viruses naturally mutate continuously as they replicate and circulate in their hosts. In the case of the British variant, the result appears to have been a virus which is more transmissible but does not cause more serious illness.
How many cases have there been in Massachusetts?
So far, there has officially been a case. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health announced on Sunday that the first case had been detected in the state. The department said the person who contracted the variant was a Boston woman in her 20s who had traveled to the UK and fell ill the day after she returned. The Boston Public Health Commission released a statement saying the woman “returned to Boston on January 3, 2021 and made a brief stopover (approximately 2 hours) at Logan International Airport before heading to another State”.
“Given the increased transmissibility of this variant and the number of states and other countries that have found infected cases, the Department expects the variant to eventually arrive in Massachusetts,” the DPH said. Governor Charlie Baker said two weeks ago that there was no reason not to believe the variant was already in the state.
Why should I be concerned about a case?
Experts and officials believe this may well be the start of a tsunami of cases. “The key problem is that the variant appears to be more transmissible, and in Britain it quickly became the dominant strain – they saw it increase rapidly over time”, Dr Paul Sax, clinical director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, said in an email.
The new variant is “significantly more contagious, spreading more easily from person to person than the previous version of the virus.” This means that the new variant spreads faster in the population than the old variant, it will soon become the predominant form of the virus in the population. He’s going to beat the other, ”said Dr. Philip Landrigan, who heads Boston College’s program for global public health and the common good, on Tuesday.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned on Friday of the possibility of a new wave of cases and deaths from the variant. The agency said its modeling suggested it was possible that the variant would become the predominant source of all infections in the United States by March.
“I want to stress that we are deeply concerned that this strain is more transmissible and may accelerate epidemics in the United States in the weeks to come,” said Dr. Jay Butler, deputy director of infectious diseases at the CDC. “We are sounding the alarm bells and urging people to realize that the pandemic is not over and that it is by no means time to throw in the towel.”
What’s wrong with increased transmissibility?
Experts say the new variant doesn’t cause more serious illness, which is good news. But the problem is, if the disease spreads to more people, more people will be hospitalized and die.
“We shouldn’t be lulled into complacency and say, ‘Well, maybe it’s more communicable, but it’s not a more serious disease. Well, the more people who are infected, quantitatively, the more people will be hospitalized. And quantitatively, more people are hospitalized, more people will be seriously ill and die, ”said Tuesday Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases.
“The more infected you become, the more serious the situation you will find yourself in,” said Fauci, who has been called upon to serve as the chief medical adviser to the Biden administration, in an interview with Harvard Business Review which has was broadcast live as part of the HBR Now series.
What can we do about it?
Experts and officials say the variant can be stopped by the same precautionary measures people are already taking. “The same things we do to prevent covid19 now should apply to this variant – outrun, avoid crowds, hide in public spaces,” Sax said.
“Once there, it’s going to spread,” Landrigan said. “Everyone must keep their guard. Everyone has to double what they are doing. … People are going to have to be even more conscientious to do these things.
Landrigan said state officials should also monitor carefully whether bars, restaurants and public gatherings add to the spread of the virus.
“Fears that the new variant could further worsen the pandemic in the coming weeks should prompt everyone to double up on prevention. This includes pursuing social distancing, wearing masks, avoiding crowds and preparing for the vaccine when it’s your turn, ”said Dr. Howard Koh, professor at Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and former member of Obama’s public administration. health official said in an email.
Will the vaccines stop the virus?
Vaccines are another key way to stop the spread of the virus, but rollout so far has been slow in Massachusetts.
The vaccines appear to protect against the variant now, so it is “important that we increase the supply and distribution as quickly as possible,” said Sax.
Dr Ashish Jha, Dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, told The Globe last week: “There is every reason to believe [the variant] will cause a huge spike in cases. “
“If we can start vaccinating people in a serious way,” Jha said, “it will blunt things a lot.”
No one in public health looks at the data and says, “Oh, thank you my God,” Jha told The Globe. “We’re looking at the next four to six weeks and we’re like, ‘Please, please send the vaccine to people.’ We are going to live six to eight difficult weeks. “
Could there be more problems coming from other mutations?
Scientists say the British variant may not be the only problematic variant to emerge. Other mutations are now appearing rapidly, including two notable variants already detected in South Africa and Brazil. The longer it takes to vaccinate people, the more likely it is that a variant could emerge that may escape current tests, treatments and vaccines, the Associated Press reported.
“We need to do all we can now … to reduce transmission as low as possible,” said Dr Michael Mina, professor of epidemiology at Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health. “The best way to prevent the emergence of mutant strains is to slow down transmission.”
“We are in a race against time” because the virus “can run into a mutation” that makes it more dangerous, said Dr. Pardis Sabeti, an evolutionary biologist at the Broad Institute at MIT and Harvard.
Information from Globe Wire services and previous Globe stories has been used in this report.
Martin Finucane can be reached at [email protected].
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