New Jersey has confirmed almost 500 cases of coronavirus of seven different variants, with the vast majority of the most contagious strain first identified in the UK, officials said on Wednesday.
In positive test samples, the state found 401 cases of the United Kingdom variant, 7 cases of two strains from California, 6 cases of two Brazilian strains and 1 case of the South African strain, according to the state Department of Health.
These are considered “variants of concern” by the Federal Centers for Disease Control, showing evidence of greater transmissibility and more serious illnesses.
There are also 80 cases of the New York variant, considered “of interest” by the CDC.
Dr. Eddy Bresnitz, medical advisor to the COVID-19 response team in New Jersey and chairman of the state’s COVID Professional Advisory Committee, said on Wednesday that four strains are of particular concern: the United Kingdom, South Africa and two Brazilian. And the UK strain, he said, is the most worrying in all of America.
“Yes, it is true that it is an increase in transmissibility, but it does not appear that the vaccines are not effective against the hat variant, either,” said Bresnitz during the state’s last coronavirus meeting in Trenton.
But Bresnitz also pointed out that although there is greater transmissibility between the variants, they do not appear to reduce the effectiveness of the vaccines.
Asked on Monday how the state is tracking the variants, state health commissioner Judith Persichilli said: “We cannot trust this virus to act in any predictable way, so we do not let our guard down in any way.”
“We are acting as if a sudden increase is taking place tomorrow and we will be ready,” added Persichilli.
Officials have suggested that the spread of variants is contributing to a recent increase in cases in New Jersey. The state reported an additional 3,227 confirmed cases and 28 additional confirmed deaths on Wednesday, while the number of hospitalizations for COVID-19 across the state was over 2,000 for the second consecutive day.
The state’s seven-day average for new confirmed cases is now 3,339, an increase of 6% over the previous week and 35% over the previous month.
Governor Phil Murphy said the increase in variant cases is one reason he avoided additional reopening measures, although New Jersey increased domestic capacity for restaurants and other businesses to 50% last week.
“We need to slow down the spread and ensure that our hospitals do not get close to the danger zone before we can take further steps to reopen it,” said Murphy on Wednesday.
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Meanwhile, New Jersey’s health and vaccine centers have administered nearly 3.6 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine – including about 1.29 million people considered fully vaccinated, according to state data.
The state’s goal is to vaccinate 70% of eligible adults – about 4.7 million people – by the end of May. More than 18% of the adult population is fully vaccinated and more than half of adults have received at least one injection.
Murphy said on Wednesday that the state’s vaccine supply is expected to increase by about 19% next week, to nearly half a million doses.
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Brent Johnson can be contacted at [email protected].