PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. – The new and apparently more contagious variant of the coronavirus, which first appeared in the United Kingdom, is spreading in the United States. Colorado and California each have a confirmed case. Although it has not been reported in Florida, a USF scientist says it is likely that the new strain is already here.
“So if you’re already in Colorado and California, you’re probably already here in Florida,” said Dr. Michael Teng, a virologist and associate professor of medicine at the University of South Florida.
Although the variant appears to be more transmissible, it is no longer deadly.
“It’s here, but it’s not something to freak out about,” said Dr. Teng.
Health experts say that our vaccines should be as effective in treating the variant as our current strain of the virus, once the general public is inoculated. But there is great concern.
“In fact, we are not doing much active surveillance for this right now,” said Dr. Teng.
Colorado and California officials used genetic sequencing to discover the new strain, but this type of screening is not so widespread in the U.S.
“The UK has put in a lot of effort and has done a good job of sequencing 7% of all its cases. The US, on the other hand, has sequenced about 0.3%. That’s 20 times less than the UK,” he said.
Dr. Teng cites the latest data from the GISAID Initiative, which provides open access to worldwide genomic data on the coronavirus.
Sequencing is a powerful tool in the fight against coronavirus. It allows scientists to track and control the virus. They could identify how a type of virus led to an outbreak and discover a plan to contain it by the community. It also allows them to see how the virus has changed and whether a mutation negatively affects the effectiveness of our current vaccines.
“We are world leaders in advanced genomic research [but] given the number of cases we have, the US is something like the 43rd place in the world in genome sequencing, “said Dr. Teng.
Isabel Rosales
It’s like flying without radar.
“The next variant may be one of those variants that we don’t really want in our community, those that can cause the vaccine to lose some of its effectiveness. That would be very bad. We are fully capable of detecting it. But if we’re not looking for it. We will never find, “he said.
He says the United States already has brilliant minds and technology to keep up with UK production.
“It is not the lack of capacity in the United States. It is the lack of a really well-defined program, with strong leadership and an impetus to do that, “he said.
Dr. Teng believes that it is up to the American public to pressure leaders for more sequencing.
“What we want to do is try to tell the leaders to move on and actually do some tracking, because we really need to be able to track,” he said.
On Thursday, December 31, the FDOH confirmed a case of the new variant in Florida.
Florida has evidence of the first identified case of the United Kingdom’s COVID-19 variant in Martin County. The individual is a man in his 20s with no travel history. The Department is working with the CDC on this investigation. We encourage everyone to continue practicing COVID-19 mitigation.
– Florida Department of Health (@HealthyFla) January 1, 2021