Vivek Murthy, who was appointed by President-elect Joe Biden to serve as U.S. Surgeon General, speaks while Biden announces his team in charge of handling the Covid-19 pandemic at The Queen in Wilmington, Delaware, on December 8, 2020.
Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images
WASHINGTON – The surgeon general chosen by President Joe Biden said on Sunday that the United States is in a race to adapt against the mutant coronavirus, which has produced a series of potentially more infectious variants of Covid-19.
“The virus is basically telling us that it will continue to change and we have to be ready for that,” said Dr. Vivek Murthy during an interview with ABC News “This Week”.
“We have to number one, do a much better genomic surveillance, so that we can identify variants when they come up and that means we have to double public health measures like masking and avoiding internal meetings,” Murthy, Biden’s nominee, will be next general surgeon in the country, he added.
He also called for an emphasis on treatment strategies, as well as more investment in testing methods and contract tracking.
“So the bottom line is that we are in a race against these variants, the virus is going to change and it’s up to us to adapt and make sure we’re ahead,” said Murthy.
On Friday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the new variant, known as B.1.1.7, was associated with a higher level of mortality. When asked, Murthy said the United States still needed more data on the UK variant before making the same determination.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical advisor for Covid-19 in Biden, told CBS New “Face the Nation” on Sunday that the United States has “every reason to believe” in the British government’s claim that the variant is more deadly .
“We need to assume now that what has been circulating predominantly in the UK has a certain degree of increase in what we call virulence, especially the virus’s power to do more damage, including death,” said Fauci, adding that the US will still want to access the UK health data.
Preliminary analysis of the mutated strain, which was first identified in the UK, suggests that it may be the culprit behind the increase in cases in Britain. Johnson said earlier that the new variant could also be 70% more transferable. The British government has also confirmed that another infectious variant of coronavirus identified in South Africa has emerged in the United Kingdom.
Read More: 5 things to know about the new Covid strain spreading in the UK
Last month, Colorado announced the nation’s first case of the new and potentially more infectious strain of Covid-19. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned last week that the UK variant, which is already circulating in at least 10 states, could become the dominant variant in the United States by March.
Fauci warned on Sunday that Covid-19 vaccines currently on the market may not be as effective against new strains of coronavirus identified in the UK, South Africa and Brazil.
“We will look and follow this very, very carefully because these things are evolving,” said Fauci, adding that the Biden government was already planning to modify vaccines.
“We don’t have to do that now, but the best way to prevent the further evolution of these mutants is to vaccinate as many people as possible with the vaccines we currently have available,” he said.