The first case of a variant of COVID-19 initially found in the UK was confirmed in Massachusetts, health officials said on Sunday.
The individual, a Boston woman in her 20s, returned to Boston on January 3, where she stayed at Logan International Airport for a two-hour layover before flying to another state, according to the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC ).
According to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the woman fell ill one day after returning from a trip to the United Kingdom. Although she tested negative for the virus before leaving the UK, the woman tested positive for COVID-19 in early January.
She is currently symptomatic and remains in the state she flew from Boston to, according to the BPHC.
A sample taken from the woman was tested in an out-of-state laboratory as part of a process established by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to monitor the possible spread of the variant, officially called B.1.1.7, health officials said. .
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The variant is believed to spread faster than the form of the virus that is in the US, and surveillance tests for it in Massachusetts are ongoing at the State Public Health Laboratory, in collaboration with clinical diagnostic laboratories and partners academics, according to the Department of Health.
Contact trackers interviewed the woman with the COVID-19 variant and are continuing the interviews now that the variant has been confirmed to cause the disease, officials said.
Efforts to prepare the health system for new case peaks are needed.
– CDC report on the COVID-19 strain discovered in the United Kingdom
This variant, which was first detected in September and has since become incredibly prevalent in the UK, appears to be more transmissible, but not more deadly, according to the CDC. But the health agency’s page on variants warns that “an increase in the number of cases will put more pressure on health care resources, lead to more hospitalizations and potentially more deaths”.
President-elect Joe Biden announced plans on Friday to revise the vaccine distribution program to combat the coronavirus, which includes administering 100 million doses in the first 100 days of the government.
There have been 88 total cases of variant B.1.1.7 identified in 14 states so far, according to the Department of Health. Massachusetts is the second state in New England where it was detected, after two detected in Connecticut more than a week ago.
But the CDC released a report this week that, as COVID-19 variant B.1.1.7 could spread faster, it could become the dominant form of the virus in the United States in March.
“Efforts to prepare the health system for new peaks of cases are needed. Increased transmissibility also means that greater-than-expected vaccination coverage must be achieved to achieve the same level of disease control to protect the public in comparison. with less transmissible variants, “says the CDC report said.
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker said in early January, after the virus was found in the United States, that he hoped it had already reached Massachusetts.
Governor Charlie Baker says the new COVID-19 mutation is probably already in Massachusetts and explains the vaccine’s distribution schedule in the state.
“I think most of us are working on the assumption that he’s here,” said Baker. “There would be no reason not to do so.”
State officials say public health risk reduction measures remain the same in Massachusetts.
Existing COVID-19 vaccines are considered as effective against the new variant as against the initial form of the virus, according to health authorities and vaccine manufacturers.
There are other variants besides the discovery in the United Kingdom, including some discoveries in South Africa and Brazil.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis said on Tuesday that the variant COVID-19 first detected in the United Kingdom was detected in Colorado. British scientists believe the variant is more contagious than previous strains of the virus.
The first American case of the variant was detected in Colorado in December. The new variant arrives in Massachusetts almost a year after the first coronavirus patient was identified in the state.
Asher Klein contributed to this report.