Utah Provides New Data Showing Different Variants Of Coronavirus In State

SALT LAKE CITY – The strain of SARS-CoV-2 that appeared in the UK late last year traveled to Utah but has not been a major factor in recent cases, according to new data provided by the state health department.

The Utah Department of Health has added breakdowns of three different coronavirus variants to its COVID-19 data dashboard. SARS-CoV-2 is the coronavirus that leads to COVID-19 in humans.

Data show that as of Thursday there had been 33 confirmed cases of B.1.1.7, which is more commonly referred to as the ‘UK variant’. This is only 0.4% of all SARS-CoV-2 cases tested for variants.

Twenty-eight of the variant cases were discovered in Salt Lake County, while two were discovered in Utah County and two more were discovered in Summit County. The other variant found was from a patient in Davis County.

The majority of cases were collected in early February.

Utah has yet to receive a confirmed case of the B.1.351 (South Africa) or P.1 (Brazil) variants, which are two of the other major variants that have emerged since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

That’s not to say it hasn’t happened in Utah or that they’re close. Wyoming health officials reported earlier this week that they found their first case of the South African variant from a positive case in Teton County in January, according to the Casper Star-Tribune.

It was previously revealed that the British variant had reached Utah. The state health department announced the first confirmed case on Jan.15.

The different variants of the coronavirus have worried public health officials since their discovery. For example, researchers found that the UK variant spreads faster than the original virus first discovered in 2019. Dr. Angela Dunn, state epidemiologist for the Utah Department of Health, said that ‘it led to’ more serious illness’ in younger populations.

Recent studies show mixed but above all encouraging results on COVID-19 vaccination efforts.

A study published in Nature earlier this week found that the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines were 10.3 to 12.4 times less effective at containing the South African variant. The good news is that both vaccines have shown strong protection against the UK variant.

Another report published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine found that the Pfizer vaccine offered strong protection against the Brazilian and British variants. He also found that the vaccine offered “robust but inferior” protection over the South African variant.

That said, experts have pointed to the vaccine’s success in “real” settings. The Pfizer vaccine was 92% effective against serious illness after two injections and 62% after one, according to the Associated Press.

Moderna also began testing an adjusted version of its vaccine in humans earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal reported. The company previously announced that it would change its vaccine due to concerns of the South African variant.

As she warned that COVID-19 has proven to be “definitely unpredictable” over the past year, Dunn said on Thursday that there was still enough evidence that the vaccines work well against the different variants. .

Dunn added that she was pleased with the speed of Utah’s vaccination efforts in recent weeks. Between vaccines and methods of preventing new cases of COVID-19, there are ways to slow or stop the spread of different variants of the coronavirus.

“It’s so important that when the vaccine is available to you, you get it,” she said. “Plus, we know how to protect ourselves from variants, don’t we? Masks work. Physical distancing works. Staying home when you’re sick – everything works. So let’s keep using these tools until that we are all vaccinated.

“We also have one of the best public health surveillance teams in the country,” Dunn added. “This allows us to be able to monitor the number of variant cases in our state and understand the spread, and then provide you with that information in real time. This allows you to make the best and most informed decisions for protect you and your loved one from COVID. “

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