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Experts suggest UK coronavirus variant likely to fuel another surge in US come spring: Report
The UN health agency, in its latest situation report, has said that the variant of concern has been reported from 101 countries across all six WHO regions.
Some US experts have predicted that the coronavirus variant, B.1.1.7, first detected in the United Kingdom is likely to drive a new wave of transmission in the spring, according to a CNN report. The variant was suspected behind the renewed surge in coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases in the UK and, as per the World Health Organisation (WHO), was later identified in several countries around the world. The UN health agency, in its latest situation report, said that the variant of concern has been reported from 101 countries across all six WHO regions.
In a series of tweets, Trevor Bedford, a scientist who works with the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, had earlier said that he expects the trend of increase in immunity due to natural infection and vaccination to "largely continue". However, he added that the rapid take-off of B.1.1.7 will push against these gains. Citing multiple studies, Bedford said that B.1.1.7 will reach 50 per cent frequency in the US by late March.
“Increased transmissibility of B.1.1.7 will certainly stretch out circulation of Covid-19 and make it harder to bring under control relative to the non-B.1.1.7 scenario, but I'm not sure at this point how much of a spring B.1.1.7 wave to expect,” he tweeted, adding that it will become clear shortly as they observe the trajectory of countries like Denmark and Switzerland.
On Tuesday, Bedford told CNN that the UK variant could result in “more of a wave” around April or May, adding that vaccination and other social distancing measures will help prevent further transmission. Dr Josh Schiffer, an infectious diseases expert at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, echoed Bedford’s opinion, saying prevention of a “fourth wave altogether” is “going to be difficult” due to the highly infectious nature of variants.
The United States has reported more than 28 million Covid-19 cases and over 502,000 related deaths so far. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the United States has reported 1881 cases of UK variant across 45 states, the highest number of cases among the variants of concern followed by 46 cases of South African variant B.1.351 in 14 states.
