The United States reached a grim milestone on Tuesday, (January 19): The COVID-19 death toll in the country topped 400,000 – the number of people who have died from the virus rose by 100,000 in just 36 days.
There is some good news though: testing is up, and the number of new cases have recently gone down. But health experts warn against becoming complacent, especially with new, more infectious strains of the virus present in the country.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned on Friday (January 15) that the so-called “U.K. strain” – a mutation of the COVID-19 virus, which was first detected in the U.K. – could become the dominant strain in the U.S. by March.
But while more studies are still being conducted to learn about the so-called “U.K. strain,” CNBC reports that researchers in Ohio State’s Wexner Medical Center have also identified two new COVID strains, one of which is now the dominant strain in cases in Columbus, Ohio.
According to the researchers, via their press release, this new “Columbus strain” likely originated in the U.S. and contains a mutation identical to the “U.K. strain.” However, it also includes “three other gene mutations not previously seen together in SARS-CoV2.”
“This new Columbus strain has the same genetic backbone as earlier cases we’ve studied, but these three mutations represent a significant evolution,” Dr. Dan Jones, lead author of the study, said.
Virus mutations aren’t a new phenomenon nor is it specific to COVID-19.
“Viruses constantly change through mutation, and new variants of a virus are expected to occur over time. Sometimes new variants emerge and disappear. Other times, new variants emerge and start infecting people,” the CDC explains on their website. “Multiple variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 have been documented in the United States and globally during this pandemic.”
So far, two vaccines are being rolled out – one developed by Pfizer, the other by Moderna. Both vaccines have proven to be highly effective, based on data from their late-stage trials – but will they be effective against the new strains?
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the incoming director for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, remains “optimistic” that current coronavirus vaccines will still work against the new variants that have been discovered – although they may not be as effective.
“I’m really optimistic about how these variants are going to go,” Dr. Walensky told the JAMA Network. “I could be wrong. It could be that we’ll find variants and variants may emerge … where the vaccine is less potent, but I’m still currently optimistic.”
In the meantime, experts continue to urge everyone to practice more immediate measure to curb the spread of COVID-19, such as avoiding large indoor gatherings, wearing masks, practicing physical distancing and using other public health measures.
Take care and stay safe, everyone!
