TOPLINE
More than 300 cases of the U.K. coronavirus mutation, believed to be more infectious and perhaps more deadly than previous strains, have been found in 28 U.S. states according to the Centers for Disease Control, an ominous milestone for a country already pushed to the brink by the coronavirus pandemic.
KEY FACTS
According to a CDC tracker, the B.1.1.7 coronavirus strain has been detected in 315 people in 28 U.S. states, but experts maintain the mutation is probably far more prevalent than CDC sampling indicates.
California and Florida make up the largest portions of known cases, with 92 infections each.
Late Wednesday night, a patient in New Jersey became the known patient in the U.S. to die from the U.K. coronavirus strain.
The first confirmed case of the U.K. strain in the U.S. was detected in late December in Colorado in a patient with no travel history, a concerning detail as it indicated the mutation was already circulating within the community.
CDC modeling indicates the U.K. mutation will be the dominant coronavirus strain circulating in the U.S. by March.
BIG NUMBER
28. That’s how many states the U.K. strain has been found in. The following states have reported detecting the mutation, according to the CDC: Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
KEY BACKGROUND
The B.1.1.7 strain was first identified in England in late 2020, which lent itself to mutation’s nickname, “the U.K. variant,” though it’s still unconfirmed where the strain developed. Last week, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said early evidence indicates patients who test positive for the mutation appear to have a higher death rate than people infected with other strains of the virus, though more research is needed. British scientists previously estimated the mutation was 56% more infectious but not more deadly, and blamed a December record-breaking surge of new U.K. cases on the strain.
