“I also know that there are concerns about the mutation of several viruses, and we have always expected variants to arise, and we are looking for them,” said Walensky.
“The variants that were recently identified seem to spread more easily. They are more transmissible, which can lead to more cases and more stress on our already overloaded system,” added Walensky.
When Covid-19 chief Jeff Zients initiated the call, his audio was heard intermittently.
Walensky also had problems with his mute line.
“Rochelle? Rochelle?” Someone off-camera asked.
Dr. Anthony Fauci spoke for almost a full minute without sound, at which point the audio was activated and he was informed about the problem.
The briefing included an updated U.S. coronavirus death forecast from Walensky, who said the CDC pool forecast now projects that there will be 479,000 to 514,000 deaths by February 20.
Unlike some individual models, the CDC’s overall forecast offers projections only a few weeks into the future. The previous set forecast, published on January 20, projected up to 508,000 deaths from coronavirus on February 13.
At least 425,406 people have died of Covid-19 in the United States, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
CNN’s Ben Tinker contributed to this report.