Gottlieb: New coronavirus strain ‘probably here in the United States’

Gottlieb: New coronavirus strain ‘probably here in the United States’

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Former Food and Drug Administration commissioner Scott Gottlieb said on Sunday that a new strain of COVID-19 believed to have originated in the UK is “probably here” in the U.S.

Face the Nation presenter Margaret Brennan asked Gottlieb if he thought the steps the federal government took to combat the new strain by requiring negative COVID-19 tests on all air passengers arriving from the UK would have a impact.

“Well, I think it’s probably here in the United States, and it could be here in a reasonable number right now,” replied Gottlieb.

Gottlieb said the United States needs a better way to sequence and track the strains of coronavirus that are currently circulating.

“We do not sequence many samples in this country, and much of that sequencing that is done is done in private laboratories and is not aggregated in public databases. This needs to be fixed,” said Gottlieb. “In the UK, they are sequencing about 10% of all samples. Here, we are doing a fraction of 1%.”

In response to the recently detected strain, many countries have limited or banned roundtrip travel to the United Kingdom’s Washington government. Jay InsleeJay Robert InsleeUS leads 18 million coronavirus cases Governor of Washington requiring 14-day quarantine for travelers arriving from the United Kingdom, South Africa The Hill’s Morning Report – Presented by Mastercard – relief COVID-19, collective talks go straight to the point MORE (D), last week, set a 14-day quarantine requirement for travelers arriving in your state from the UK, while many other lawmakers, including the New York governor Andrew CuomoAndrew CuomoCuomo grants clemency to 21 people who showed ‘remorse, rehabilitation’ Republican club whose maskless conga line went viral replies: Adults have the right to make their own decisions The mayor of New York says MPs will check Kingdom arrivals United to ensure they are quarantined MORE (D), asked for stricter restrictions.

Brennan also asked Gottlieb what he thinks about the rate of distribution and administration of the vaccines. She noted that 9 million doses of the two approved vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna were distributed and just over one million people received the vaccine.

“The pace is slower than what has been declared. I think it is probably realistic to think that the pace will be a little slower, especially as we try to get through populations that are difficult to vaccinate next month,” said Gottlieb.

“I suspect that there are more than a million people vaccinated. There is a delay in reporting. But the idea that we will reach 20 million vaccines, vaccinations, by the end of the year, is probably not realistic at the moment. “

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