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Sunday, October 1, 2023 | 
U.S. & World

CDC says new UK COVID-19 variant ‘could already be in the United States’

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the new COVID-19 variant may already be in the U.S.

By Herb Scribner Herb Scribnerhscribner@deseretnews.com
SHARE CDC says new UK COVID-19 variant ‘could already be in the United States’
In this Dec. 22, 2020, file photo, relatives touch each other’s hand through a plastic film screen and a glass to avoid contracting COVID-19 at the San Raffaele center in Rome ahead of Christmas.

In this Dec. 22, 2020, file photo, relatives touch each other’s hand through a plastic film screen and a glass to avoid contracting COVID-19 at the San Raffaele center in Rome ahead of Christmas.

Cecilia Fabiano, La Presse via Associated Press

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the new COVID-19 variant may already be circulating throughout the United States.

What’s going on?

Scientists in the United Kingdom noticed a new COVID-19 variant in several cases. The United Kingdom went into a lockdown soon after, banning travel to help stop the spread, as I wrote about for the Deseret News. Concerns have been raised about whether the variant is in the United States.

Related

The CDC said scientists haven’t sequenced enough genetic coding to find the virus in the U.S., saying “viruses have only been sequenced from about 51,000 of the 17 million U.S. cases.” The new virus, then, could be circulating.

  • “Ongoing travel between the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as the high prevalence of this variant among current UK infections, increase the likelihood of importation,” the CDC said in a statement, according to CNBC. “Given the small fraction of U.S. infections that have been sequenced, the variant could already be in the United States without having been detected.”

The bigger picture

Experts in the United States are still trying to figure out if the new COVID-19 vaccine will stop the new mutation, which I wrote about for the Deseret News. Most experts seem to agree the new vaccine will do enough to stop the mutated virus. Still, more research needs to be done.