There is no new highly contagious coronavirus variant in the United States, despite reports that a new strain of the deadly virus was circulating here.
Officials said reports suggesting a new mutation were based on speculative statements made by Dr. Deborah Birx of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, but are not accurate, the New York Times reported on Saturday.
The rumor came from a meeting during which Birx discussed graphics that showed the sharp increase in the spread of the virus across the country. She theorized that a new, more communicable variant originating in this country could explain the growing number of cases, just as a new highly contagious variant found in the UK did in Britain.
His hypothesis appeared in a weekly report sent to state governors, CNBC said. “This acceleration suggests that there may be a US variant that has evolved here, in addition to the UK variant that is already spreading in our communities and may be 50% more communicable,” said the report.
CDC officials did not agree with his assessment and asked to remove it from the report, but were unsuccessful, the Times said. After news of the potential variant, the agency issued a formal statement refuting the theory. “So far, neither CDC researchers nor analysts have seen the emergence of a specific variant in the United States,” said spokesman Jason McDonald.
He noted that all viruses evolve and there are probably many variants around the world evolving simultaneously. “However, it can take weeks or months to identify whether there is a single variant of the virus that causes COVID-19, fueling the increase in the United States similar to the increase in the United Kingdom.”
Dr. Birx could not be reached for comment.
The UK variant, which generated a significant increase in hospitals, was found in several states, including New York. The CDC estimates that it has been responsible for less than 0.5 percent of cases in the country so far.
A second variant has been in the United States for three months and also accounts for less than 0.5% of cases, so it is unlikely to be more contagious than other variants, a CDC official told the Times.