SALT LAKE CITY – The SARS-CoV-2 strain that emerged in the UK late last year arrived in Utah, but has not been a major factor in recent cases, according to new data provided by the state’s health department.
The Utah Department of Health added analyzes of three different variants of the coronavirus to its COVID-19 data panel. SARS-CoV-2 is the coronavirus that leads to COVID-19 in humans.
The data shows that, as of Thursday, there have been 33 confirmed cases of B.1.1.7, which is more commonly referred to as the “UK variant”. This is only 0.4% of all cases of SARS-CoV-2 tested for variants.
Twenty-eight of the variant cases were discovered in Salt Lake County, while two were discovered in Utah County and two others were discovered in Summit County. The other variant found came from a patient in Davis County.
Most cases were collected in early February.
Utah has not yet received a confirmed case of variants B.1.351 (South Africa) or P.1 (Brazil), which are two of the other major variants that have emerged since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This does not mean that you have not arrived in Utah or that you are close. Wyoming health officials reported earlier this week that they found their first case of the South African variant from a positive case in Teton County in January, according to the Casper Star-Tribune.
It was previously reported that the United Kingdom variant had arrived in Utah. The state health department announced its first confirmed case on January 15.
The different variants of the coronavirus have been of concern to public health officials since they were discovered. For example, the researchers found that the UK variant spreads faster than the original virus first discovered in 2019. Dr. Angela Dunn, Utah State Department of Health epidemiologist, said this leads to “diseases more severe “in younger populations.
Recent studies show mixed, but mostly encouraging, results in COVID-19 vaccination efforts.
A study published in Nature earlier this week found that the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines were 10.3 to 12.4 times less effective in containing the South African variant. The good news is that both vaccines showed strong protection against the United Kingdom variant.
Another report published in the New England Journal of Medicine this week found that the Pfizer vaccine offers strong protection against variants in Brazil and the United Kingdom. He also found that the vaccine offered “robust, but inferior” protection in the South African variant.
That said, experts point to the vaccine’s success in “real world” environments. The Pfizer vaccine was determined to be 92% effective against serious illnesses after two injections and 62% effective after one, according to the Associated Press.
Moderna also started human trials of an adjusted version of its vaccine earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal reported. The company previously announced that it would modify its vaccine due to concerns about the South African variant.
Although she warned that COVID-19 proved to be “definitely unpredictable” last year, Dunn said on Thursday that there is still sufficient evidence to indicate that vaccines work well against different variants.
Dunn added that she was satisfied with the speed of Utah’s vaccination efforts in recent weeks. Among vaccines and methods to prevent new cases of COVID-19, there are ways to slow or stop the spread of different variants of the coronavirus.
“It is so important that when the vaccine is available to you, you get it,” she said. “Besides, we know how to protect ourselves against variants, right? Masks work. Physical detachment works. Staying at home when you’re sick – everything works. So, let’s keep using these tools until we are all vaccinated.
“We also have one of the best public health surveillance teams in the country,” added Dunn. “This allows us to monitor the number of variant cases in our state and understand the spread and then send that information to you in real time. This allows you to make the best and most informed decisions to protect you and your loved ones. against COVID. “