A faster-spreading variant of the coronavirus first detected in the United Kingdom is rapidly proliferating in the United States, according to research published on Sunday, February 7, 2021.
While the research has yet to be peer-reviewed or published in a medical journal, according to The Washington Post, it lines up with the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention’s warning last month that the variant, named B.1.1.7, could become the dominant source of infection by March.
According to the study, the variant has a “doubling rate of a little over a week and an increased transmission rate of 35-45%.”
“It is here, it’s got its hooks deep into this country, and it’s on its way to very quickly becoming the dominant lineage,” Michael Worobey, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Arizona and a co-author of the research, told the Post. According to the CDC, the variant has been reported in 33 states.
