Variants of covid-19, the challenge for vaccines 2:12
(CNN) -
A more contagious variant of the coronavirus is growing in the United States and could become dominant in hotspots like Florida and Southern California "in a few weeks," according to a testing company that has helped identify the disease. higher proportion of cases of the variant in the country.
The Helix company has been tracking evidence to suggest that cases of B.1,1.7 - a strain that was first found in the UK - are on the rise, and are not just a product of increased genetic sequencing across the country. Helix president Dr. James Lu told CNN Wednesday night.
"The growth rate here in Florida and Southern California looks a lot like the kind of growth we've seen previously in the UK and Denmark (…) where B.1,1.7 became the predominant variant strain quite quickly." Lu said.
Last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said models showed that this variant could become the predominant strain in the United States in March.
They also claimed that it could make the spread of the disease worse.
The rates of new cases of coronavirus at the country level have decreased.
The United States has averaged about 136,900 new cases per day over the past week, the lowest average since Nov. 12, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
This graph shows the spread of chorionavirus in the United States.
The gray bars represent the number of new coronavirus cases reported each day.
The dashed red line shows the seven-day moving average.
Last Updated: February 4, 2021 at 3:56 am ET.
Source: Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
Graphic: Curt Merrill, CNN.
Fauci's warning
However, Dr. Anthony Fauci has suggested that the United States is not vaccinating populations quickly enough to stay ahead of new variants.
And that this could put a brake on efforts to further reduce case levels.
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"If the variants and mutations come in and start to become dominant, that is going to obviate some of the effects of the vaccine," Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN this week.
How is the UK coronavirus variant tracked?
Regarding how Helix tracked down the B.1,1.7 variant, Lu referred to a small but growing number of samples showing an error in the test, indicating the presence of a mutation in B.1,1.7.
Not all of these samples are B.1,1.7, as the mutation may exist on its own.
The rate of this failure - known as a derivation of the S gene - has increased in places like Florida and Southern California.
And an increasing proportion of these samples are confirmed as B.1,1.7 once they are genetically sequenced, Lu said.
"We are in a race between the vaccine and the new strains," Lu said.
It is not clear whether the timing of the vaccination will prevent the strain from establishing itself in places where it is not yet circulating, Lu added.
Helix is one of several commercial, academic, and public health laboratories that share information with the CDC.
More than 540 cases of this variant have been found in 33 states, according to the CDC.
Most are in Florida and California.
The first case in the United States was announced on December 29, but the first known cases date back to at least the middle of that month.
Researchers have said that although variant B.1,1.7 appears to be more transmissible than previous strains, it is not known to be more deadly or cause more serious disease.
The strain has also been found in at least 80 countries and territories around the world, the World Health Organization said this week.
Two other coronavirus variants are harder to detect, says testing company
Two other more transmissible variants - first identified in South Africa (B.1,351) and Brazil (P.1) - have been much more difficult to locate, Lu told CNN Wednesday night.
That's because the mutation that causes the "S gene shunt" failure that helps Helix find B.1,1.7 cases is not present in the other two strains.
Beyond appearing more transmissible, the B.1,351 and P.1 strains also contain a different mutation that scientists worry could help the virus escape some of the antibody protection from vaccines or previous infections.
Still, experts say they hope vaccines will continue to work against the variants, especially when it comes to preventing serious illness and death.
Increase in infections in Brazil, by a new variant?
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"They are not detectable at our current sampling level," Lu said of the variants first identified in South Africa and Brazil.
“So, most of the time, if we find them right now, it's a serendipitous find.
But that will change if they become more prevalent, ”he explained.
Last week, the first American cases of the B.1,351 strain were found in South Carolina.
According to a state health official, these two cases were found during routine sequencing.
However, "the predominant strain that we are still seeing in our surveillance sequencing is the standard or normal (version)" of the virus, he reported.
Maryland has also reported some cases.
At least two cases of the P.1 strain linked to Brazil have been found in the United States.
Both patients live in the same home in Minnesota and one had recently traveled to Brazil, according to the state health department.
Deaths from coronavirus in the United States continue to hover around the record level
Although daily case levels and the number of hospitalized coronavirus patients are declining in the United States, daily reports of deaths from COVID-19 have been relatively high for weeks.
The country has averaged more than 3,080 COVID-19 deaths a day in the past week.
This figure is not far behind the average high of 3,357 on Jan. 13, according to Johns Hopkins data.
Health experts have said death figures may be high weeks after a surge in cases because patients can be sick for weeks.
The United States, meanwhile, could add about 83,000 deaths to the current tally of more than 450,800 by Feb. 27, according to a joint CDC forecast.
The gray bars represent the number of deaths reported each day.
The dashed orange line shows the seven-day moving average.
Last Updated: February 4, 2021 at 3:56 am ET.
Source: Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
Graphic: Curt Merrill, CNN.
Closer to a third vaccine
As health experts urge accelerating the pace of vaccination to stay ahead of more transmissible variants, the United States may be closer to obtaining a third licensed vaccine.
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Johnson & Johnson is expected to apply to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week for emergency use authorization for its single-dose vaccine.
If authorized, it would be the third vaccine allowed in the US market, where the two-dose Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna are already applied.
"I don't want to get ahead of the FDA, but I wouldn't be surprised ... if this (the emergency use authorization for Johnson & Johnson) happens within the next week or two," Fauci told NBC on Wednesday.
School districts and teachers disagree on reopening
Back to face-to-face classes faces governments and teachers 3:11
The intention to return students to the classroom amid the pandemic has led to lawsuits and threats of strikes.
However, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said this week that the data increasingly supports the safety of returning to schools in the right conditions.
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With weekly testing of students, faculty and staff through rapid antigen testing, high schools can reduce their infections by 50% and elementary schools by 35%, according to a new study from the Rockefeller Foundation.
However, many cities are frustrated because schools or teachers express doubts about the return.
Chicago schools were supposed to have students back on campus Monday, but negotiations between the district and teachers continue to prevent a strike.
'Let's follow science and open the doors of schools'
In Minneapolis, after a ruling over the weekend stating that teachers cannot be forced to return to face-to-face classes if they had previously requested accommodations to work remotely, the public education district is moving forward with plans to begin resuming. Preschool through fifth grade classes on Monday.
More than half of the families opted for their students to continue learning remotely.
The city of San Francisco sued its own school district on Wednesday for failing to open schools.
“The indisputable scientific consensus is that schools can safely reopen for teachers, staff and students with the proper precautions, and that in-person instruction is not causing spikes in covid-19 infections.
Let's follow the science and open the doors to schools, "said city attorney Dennis Herrera at a virtual press conference.
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