White House Covid task force warns of possible new direction spread of ‘US variant’

The White House coronavirus task force said there may be a new variant of the virus that has evolved in the United States and is driving the spread, according to a document obtained by NBC News.

The new variant, in addition to the United Kingdom, is already spreading in communities and may be 50% more transmissible, according to a report released to states on January 3.

The task force said the recent increase in cases was almost double the rate seen in the spring and summer seasons, according to the report. The US is reporting at least 228,400 new cases of Covid-19 and at least 2,760 virus-related deaths each day, based on a seven-day average calculated by CNBC using data from Johns Hopkins University. The United States reported its deadliest day, Thursday, with more than 4,000 deaths.

“This acceleration suggests that there may be a US variant that has evolved here, in addition to the UK variant that is already spreading in our communities and may be 50% more communicable,” said the report. “Aggressive mitigation should be used to match a more aggressive virus; without uniform implementation of an effective face mask (two or three layers and well-adjusted) and strict social distance, epidemics can quickly worsen as these variants spread and spread. become prevalent. “

Representatives from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately return requests for comment from CNBC.

Few details were provided about the new US strain in the report, including how long it has been circulating. In the past few weeks, the US has increased its genomic sequences to try to detect other strains.

Public health officials were already concerned about the arrival of a new strain of the virus found in the UK, known as B.1.1.7.

The CDC identified at least 52 Covid-19 cases with the B.1.1.7 mutation in the United States, according to data published on the agency’s website last updated on Thursday. However, the CDC warns that its numbers “do not represent the total number of cases of strain B.1.1.7 that may be circulating in the United States” and may not correspond to the numbers reported by local authorities.

So far, the CDC shows only California, Florida, New York, Colorado and Georgia with cases of variant B.1.1.7, but other states like Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Texas announced the arrival of the strain in their states on Thursday.

Michael Osterholm, a member of President-elect Joe Biden’s Covid-19 advisory board, said on Tuesday that the United States is likely to see more new variants of the virus emerging.

Osterholm, an epidemiologist and director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said in an interview with CNBC that the strain that was discovered in the UK is “a major concern”.

“And it is the first of what is likely to be a series of these strains that are emerging at this point in the pandemic,” he added.

This is a developing story. Please check again for updates.