CDC Director Rochelle Walensky revealed that a new COVID variant is taking over two of the states in the U.S. The uptick in the cases of the new variant happened amid the vaccine efforts of the current administration.

BGR noted that COVID variants are the reason why health experts and health organizations like CDC are getting more apprehensive about COVID-19. They caution follows the federal government's continuous support on the vaccine roll and even the stimulus checks among Americans.

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CDC on COVID Variants

Viruses can change through mutation and more variants of COVID-19 are expected to descend in the future, according to a report from CDC. The variant occasion of the virus also differs from time to time. Some of the variants emerge then disappear, but sometimes new variants emerge and persist wreaking havoc.

During a White House COVID-19 Response Team briefing, Dr. Walensky disclosed that the coronavirus variant B.1.1.7 from the U.K. is more transmissible than other variants. Walensky added that that variant B.1.1.7 is nearly dominant in the states of California and Florida.

Multiple variants have been recorded in the United States and the rest of the world in the middle of the pandemic. The U.K. variant of SARS-CoV-2 or B.1.1.7 has a significant number of mutations in the fall of 2020.

As of March 16, 2021, 4,686 cases were reported to be infected with the said novel variant. About 50 jurisdictions are reporting the cases to the authorities. B.1.1.7 variant is among the three variants of SARS-CoV-2 to act differently in ways that have an impact on public health.

More than 29.5 million coronavirus cases are reported in the United States since the announcement of the Pandemic. On the other hand, 537,000 deaths in the country are related to the notorious disease.

Despite the alarming uptick of B.1.1.7 cases in California and Florida, the available COVID vaccines in the United States vaccine roll are effective against the three said variants. Meaning, Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson and Johnson offer robust protection against the U.K. variant B.1.1.7.

"Please follow our recommended public health prevention precaution," said Dr. Walensky adding that Americans should be ready once they become eligible for the vaccine.

U.K. COVID Variant

The University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) mentioned a study led by the University of Exeter suggested that people older than 30 years old are susceptible to the variant.

The 28-day risk of death for the B.1.1.7 variant is 64% higher for the said demographic, more than the other variants of the virus. First identified in the United Kingdom, the said COVID variant rapidly became dominant causing a national lockdown in the country. Since then, the said variant was detected in many countries around the world and the U.S. B.1.1.7 was detected by the end of December in 2020. "We are just starting to turn the corner," said CDC Director Walensky adding that it will still depend on how the people will act on protecting themselves and others.

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