:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/d1vhqlrjc8h82r.cloudfront.net/02-12-2021/t_a5ffd34bc844473f8a6b06cb4ceaf718_name_image.jpg "First case of UK coronavirus variant found in Jacksonville")
JACKSONVILLE, Florida. – The Duval County Department of Health confirmed on Friday that a case of the COVID variant first identified in the UK was found in Jacksonville. But health experts warn that the number could be much higher.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated on Thursday night, 347 cases of this variant B.1.1.7 were found in Florida. That more than a third of the 981 cases identified in the United States so far.
Last week, 825,000 cases of COVID-19 were identified in the United States, according to the CDC, while only an average of 6,000 samples per week receive the genomic sequencing necessary to detect the variant.
In addition, although the standard tests for COVID-19 return in hours or a few days, additional tests to identify the variant take much longer, according to UF Health’s director of infectious diseases, Chad Neilsen.
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“Here in our hospital, if I decided to send it to a referral center – if I sent it today, it probably wouldn’t have results for a few weeks,” said Neilsen.
This is because only specially equipped laboratories can test the variants.
“The vast majority of these (347 cases) were sequenced outside of Florida – at a research center in California,” said Neilsen. “We just don’t have the robust capacity in Florida or the United States to do this on a large scale.”
Neilsen believes that we have seen most cases in Florida because many people travel here.
“You also have a variety of laws and mandates in each county and, I think, it inhibits us as a state to control COVID,” said Neilsen.
If there is good news, it is that both vaccines currently administered to the elderly and healthcare professionals are considered effective against the variant, according to a spokesman for the health department.
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Research published Thursday in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that a variant first identified in the Los Angeles area last year accounted for about 44% of Southern California cases in late January, almost double the month. previous. Study co-author Jasmine Plummer, a Cedars-Sinai researcher, said more research is needed to determine whether the variant spreads more easily than other variants of COVID-19 or causes more disease.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s leading infectious disease specialist, wrote in an editorial that the new variants are likely to continue to emerge until the spread of the virus is reduced.
This announcement of a variant in Jacksonville comes a day after a student at the University of Central Florida was diagnosed with the British variant of the coronavirus, which is believed to be more easily transmitted. The unidentified student tested positive this week, Michael Deichen, associate vice president of UCF Student Health Services, said Thursday in a statement on the university’s website.
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The Orlando-based university is one of the largest in the country, with more than 66,000 students. University officials said the student was isolated and contact tracking measures were taken.
“The tools we use to combat this variant are no different than the steps we’ve taken for almost a year,” said Deichen. “COVID-19 and these new variants are not easily transmitted when facial covers are used correctly, physical distance is maintained, and hands are regularly cleaned. “
The Florida Department of Health announced the state’s first case of the UK variant late last year, and the state now leads the country in cases of the variant, with almost 350 diagnoses confirmed, according to the Centers for Control and Prevention of Diseases.
Tens of thousands of college students across the country tested positive for the virus, and some campuses have seen spikes in cases with students returning to campus.
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