Category Archives: Corona Virus

Updated at 4:20 p.m.: Revised to include statewide data.

Dallas County reported a single-day record of 3,549 new coronavirus cases Tuesday, along with 14 additional deaths. Meanwhile, the number of Texans killed by the virus surpassed 30,000, according to state data.

Hospitalizations both in Dallas County and across the state also set new highs, with the latter number topping 14,000 for the first time.

Nine of the latest Dallas County people to die lived in Dallas: a woman in her 40s, three men and two women in their 60s, two men in their 70s and a man in his 80s. The other victims were two Highland Park residents, a man in his 60s and a woman in her 70s; two Mesquite men, in their 50s and 60s; and a DeSoto man in his 50s.

All 14 had underlying health conditions that put them at higher risk for complications from the virus, officials said.

County Judge Clay Jenkins said in a written statement that North Texans are now in the toughest time for COVID spread. He said residents need to help limit the spread to ensure that health care workers are able to administer vaccinations as swiftly as possible.

Activities that seemed safe to you weeks ago are much less safe now, he said. The job of keeping safe and keeping the spread of COVID down falls on all of you.

Dallas Countys previous daily high of new cases, 3,194, was reported Saturday.

Of the new cases reported Tuesday, 2,979 were confirmed and 570 probable. The newly reported cases bring the countys total confirmed cases to 197,359 and probable cases to 25,276. The county has recorded 1,791 total COVID-19 deaths.

The county has said it is counting only positive antigen tests (sometimes called rapid tests) as probable cases; a few antibody and household results were included previously.

While other North Texas counties provide estimates for how many people have recovered from infections, Dallas County officials do not, noting that the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not use that metric.

Health officials use hospitalizations, intensive-care admissions and emergency room visits as key metrics to track the real-time impact of COVID-19 in the county. In the 24-hour period that ended Monday, a record 1,226 COVID-19 patients were in acute care in hospitals in the county. During the same period, 462 ER visits were for symptoms of the disease.

Across the state, 26,052 more cases and 286 COVID-19 deaths were reported Tuesday. Of the added cases, 25,301 were new and 751 were older ones recently reported by labs.

Texas has now reported 1,995,292 total cases and 30,219 fatalities.

Of the new cases, 22,110 were confirmed and 3,191 were probable. The state has reported 1,753,059 confirmed cases and 242,233 probable cases.

There were a record 14,218 COVID-19 patients in Texas hospitals, including 4,158 in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. On Monday, 25.7% of patients in the hospital region covering the Dallas-Fort Worth area were COVID-19 patients, according to the state dashboard.

The seven-day average positivity rate statewide for molecular tests, based on the date of test specimen collection, was 18.4% as of Monday. State health officials said using data based on when people were tested provides the most accurate positivity rate.

For antigen tests, the positivity rate for the same period was 12.3%.

Tarrant County reported 1,817 coronavirus cases and 30 new deaths Tuesday.

Nine of the latest victims lived in Fort Worth: two men and a woman in their 60s, two men in their 70s, three men in their 80s and a woman in her 90s. Eight more were from Arlington: a woman in her 60s, a man and two women in their 70s, a man in his 80s and a man and two women in their 90s.

The other victims were four Mansfield women, two in their 60s, one in her 70s and one in her 90s; two North Richland Hills residents, a man in his 60s and a woman in her 90s; an Azle man in his 90s; a Bedford woman in her 90s; a Burleson man in his 70s; a Euless man in his 70s; a Haltom City man in his 70s; a Richland Hills man in his 70s; and a White Settlement man in his 80s.

All but one had underlying high-risk health conditions, health officials said.

The newly reported cases bring the countys total to 180,794: 156,876 confirmed cases and 23,918 probable ones. There had been128,406 recoveries. The death toll stood at 1,762.

According to Tuesdays numbers on the county dashboard, 1,469 people were hospitalized with the virus.

The state added 1,098 coronavirus cases and six new COVID-19 fatalities to Collin Countys totals Tuesday. The county has now posted 58,968 cases and 428 deaths.

No details about the latest victims were available.

Of the new cases, 692 were confirmed and 406 were probable. Collin County has recorded 51,840 confirmed cases and 7,128 probable cases. According to state data, the county has recorded 45,846 recoveries.

The countys coronavirus dashboard provides only total hospitalizations, now at 561.

Denton County reported 579 coronavirus cases of which 542 were active on Tuesday.

No new deaths were reported, leaving the countys toll at 237.

The newly reported cases brought the countys total to 44,158, including 13,495 that are active and 30,426 that are recoveries. They also raised total molecular cases to 35,964 and antigen cases to 8,194.

There were 222 COVID-19 patients in hospitals, the county reported.

The Texas Department of State Health Services has taken over reporting for these other North Texas counties. In some counties, new data may not be reported every day.

The latest numbers are:

Original post:

More than 30,000 Texans have died from coronavirus; Dallas County posts record 3,549 cases - The Dallas Morning News

PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) Nineteen more COVID-19 deaths were reported, as active cases in the state remain below 5,000. The last time South Dakota had fewer than 5,000 active cases was on October 8.

On Wednesday, 452 new total coronavirus cases were announced bringing the states total case count to 104,195, up from Tuesday (103,743). Total recovered cases are now at 97,829, up from Tuesday (97,407).

The death toll is now at 1,604. The new deaths were 13 men and 6 women in the following age ranges: 40-49 (1), 50-59 (1), 60-69 (3), 70-79 (5) and 80+ (9).

Active cases are now at 4,762, up from Tuesday (4,751).

Current hospitalizations are at 253, up from Tuesday (240). Total hospitalizations are at 5,978, up from Tuesday (5,943).

Total persons negative is now at 283,104, up from Tuesday (281,639).

There were 1,917 new persons tested reported on Wednesday. Wednesdays new person tested positivity rate is 23.57%.

The latest 7-day all test positivity rate reported by the DOH, is 11.7%. The DOH calculates that based on the results of the PCR test results but doesnt release total numbers for how many PCR tests are done daily. The latest 1-day PCR test positivity rate is 10.6%.

40 South Dakota counties are listed as having substantial community spread, while 17 South Dakota counties are listed as moderate community spread and 9 South Dakota counties are listed as minimal community spread.

Vaccine tracking is now being reported by the state, as of Wednesday 25,022 doses of the Pfizer vaccine and 22,930 doses of the Moderna vaccine have been administered to 39,954 total persons. Theres been 7,998 persons completed two doses of the Pfizer vaccine and no one has completed two doses of the Moderna vaccine. Vaccine data does not include vaccine given to South Dakota Indian Reservations because that is federally allocated.

Link:

COVID-19 in South Dakota: 452 total new cases; Death toll rises to 1,604; Active cases at 4,762 - KELOLAND.com

Ms. Neckelmann said she told her husbands story to make people aware of the vaccines possible side effects, and that it is not good for everyone, and in this case destroyed a beautiful life, a perfect family, and has affected so many people in the community.

Dr. Jerry L. Spivak, an expert on blood disorders at Johns Hopkins University, who was not involved in Dr. Michaels care, said that based on Ms. Neckelmanns description, I think it is a medical certainty that the vaccine was related.

This is going to be very rare, said Dr. Spivak, an emeritus professor of medicine. But he added, It happened and it could happen again.

Even so, he said, it should not stop people from being vaccinated.

The condition Dr. Michael developed, acute immune thrombocytopenia, occurs when the immune system attacks a patients own platelets, or attacks the cells in the bone marrow that makes platelets. Covid itself can cause the condition in some patients.

A long list of medicines, including quinine and certain antibiotics, can also cause the disorder in some people. Dr. Spivak described the reactions as idiosyncratic, meaning they strike certain individuals without rhyme or reason, possibly based on unknown genetic traits, and there is no way to predict if someone is susceptible.

If you vaccinate enough people, things will happen, he said.

Vaccines stimulate the immune system, and in theory could, in rare cases, cause it to mistakenly identify some of a patients own cells as enemy invaders that should be destroyed.

Dr. Spivak said several things made the vaccine the mostly likely suspect in Dr. Michaels case. The disorder came on quickly after the shot, and was so severe that it made his platelet count rocket down a pattern like that in some cases brought on by drugs such as quinine. In addition, Dr. Michael was healthy and young, compared with most people who develop chronic forms of the ailment from other causes. Finally, most patients 70 percent are women. A sudden case in a man, especially a relatively young, healthy one, suggests a recent trigger.

Continue reading here:

Doctor's Death After Getting the Covid-19 Vaccine Is Investigated - The New York Times

Publix will soon offer COVID-19 vaccinations in 105 stores across 12 counties, more than tripling the size of the program since it launched last week.

The Lakeland chain had announced the number of stores would grow to 49 on Tuesday. On Wednesday, it said that number would soon be 105 with new sites in Collier, Flagler, St. Johns and Volusia counties. The other counties with stores offering vaccination appointments for those 65 and older are: Bay, Escambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Walton, Marion, Citrus and Hernando counties.

Publix says it will start accepting appointments at the new stores on Wednesday with inoculations beginning the following day. Appointments must be made online at publix.com/covidvaccine. No stores are offering the vaccine in Pasco, Pinellas or Hillsborough counties so far.

In a press conference Wednesday morning, Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state is targeting specific counties and stores while growing the Publix vaccination program.

There are some counties that have really big health care infrastructures a lot of hospitals, DeSantis said. We looked at counties that may be more medium sized that have a lot of elderly people as a percentage.

On Jan. 5, Publix and the Florida Department of Health announced 15,000 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine would begin getting distributed at 22 stores in Hernando, Citrus and Marion counties.

For 90 years, Publix has served its customers and communities in times of need, Publix CEO Todd Jones said in a statement. Our ability to provide these vaccinations to Floridas 65-and-older population is a privilege. We are grateful to Governor DeSantis for his willingness to work with us to serve our communities.

DeSantis said the program will continue to grow and included more counties.

Were not stopping here, he said.

Those who are 65 and older can receive the vaccines by appointment only and at no cost. Those with health insurance need to bring their insurance card to their appointment. Those without health insurance should come prepared with their drivers license or Social Security number.

Publix said last week each participating store would get about 120 vaccinations a day while supplies last. The retailers pharmacists began administering vaccinations to customers on Jan. 7.

HOW CORONAVIRUS IS SPREADING IN FLORIDA: Find the latest numbers for your county, city or zip code.

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Publix soon to have COVID-19 vaccinations at 105 stores - Tampa Bay Times

Acadiana coronavirus infections spread as fast as ever in the first week of 2021, with the percentages of tests resulting in new cases at all-time highs. But the states daily reports over the subsequent week were more encouraging, with new cases increasing at similar rates as new tests.

Hospitalizations appear to have stabilized for now, with the first week-over-week declines reported this week since Dec. 28.

More than 13% of Region 4 tests resulted in new cases over seven-day periods ending on Jan. 4, Jan. 5 and Jan. 6, exceeding the previous high mark by a full percentage point. That is according to the weekly date of test report, which allocates test results to the dates that tests were taken. The weekly reports are published on a seven-day lag, so it will not be known until Jan. 20 if the case-to-test ratio continued to rise.

But the daily reports which publish test results as the state receives them from labs point to a possible plateau in the second week of January, albeit a very high one. Newly reported cases declined 10% over the week ending Jan. 13, while newly reported tests increased by 10%.

That is the widest gap between new test growth and new case growth in nearly a month. It follows several days of comparable changes in rolling weekly case and test counts. In the previous week, new cases were growing at triple and quadruple the rates of new tests.

Still, the weekly Acadiana caseload in the seven-parish region remains above 2,000, a watermark that is comparable with other critical outbreak points in the summer and late fall. While COVID-19 hospitalizations have stalled in the low 200s for several days, that too is a historically high mark.

By way of comparison, on Oct. 13 three months ago, during a slower period of the pandemic in Acadiana there were 286 new cases reported over seven days, and local hospitals counted 50 COVID-19 inpatients.

See original here:

Acadiana coronavirus spread slows a bit after record-breaking start to year - The Advocate

GOODLETTSVILLE, Tenn. (NEXSTAR) Dollar General employees will receive four hours of pay if they choose to get the COVID-19 vaccine, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.

The retailer is one of the first large employers to offer employees pay to receive the vaccine. The company has 16,720 retail locations in 47 states and more than 157,000 employees.

Coronavirus deaths in the U.S. hit another one-day high at over 4,300 with the countrys attention focused largely on the fallout from the deadly uprising at the Capitol.

The nations overall death toll from COVID-19 has eclipsed 380,000, according to Johns Hopkins University, and is closing in fast on the number of Americans killed in World War II about 407,000. Confirmed infections have topped 22.8 million.

Can employers make COVID-19 vaccination mandatory? Yes, with some exceptions.

Experts say employers can require employees to take safety measures, including vaccination. That doesnt necessarily mean you would get fired if you refuse, but you might need to sign a waiver or agree to work under specific conditions to limit any risk you might pose to yourself or others.

Employers generally have wide scope to make rules for the workplace, said Dorit Reiss, a law professor who specializes in vaccine policies at the University of California Hastings College of the Law. Its their business.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has allowed companies to mandate the flu and other vaccines and has alsoindicatedthey can require COVID-19 vaccines.

There are exceptions. For example, people can request exemptions for medical or religious reasons.

And even though employers can require vaccinations, there are reasons they might not want to.

Tracking compliance with mandatory vaccination would be an administrative burden, said Michelle S. Strowhiro, an employment adviser and lawyer at McDermott Will & Emery. Employers would also have to manage exemption requests, not to mention legal claims that might arise.

As a result, many employers will likely strongly encourage vaccination without requiring it, Strowhiro said.

With the country simultaneously facing a political crisis and on edge over threats of more violence from far-right extremists, the U.S. recorded 4,327 deaths on Tuesday by Johns Hopkins count. Arizona and California have been among the hardest-hit states.

The daily figure is subject to revision, but deaths have been rising sharply over the past 2 1/2 months, and the country is now in the most lethal phase of the outbreak yet, even as the vaccine is being rolled out. New cases are running at nearly a quarter-million per day on average.

More than 9.3 million Americans have received their first shot of the vaccine, or less than 3% of the population, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That is well short of the hundreds of millions who experts say will need to be inoculated to vanquish the outbreak.

The effort is ramping up around the country. Large-scale drive-thru vaccination sites have opened at stadiums and other places, enabling people to get their shots through their car windows.

Also, an increasing number of states have begun offering vaccinations to the next group in line senior citizens with the minimum age varying from place to place at 65, 70 or 75. Up to now, health care workers and nursing home residents have been given priority in most places.

And the Trump administration announced plans Tuesday to speed up the vaccination drive by releasing the whole supply of doses instead of holding large quantities in reserve to make sure people get their second shot on time.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Read more from the original source:

Dollar General will pay its workers to get COVID-19 vaccine - WAVY.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- It will be up to Ohioans to call one of 800 providers and hope they can get a coronavirus vaccine.

The state and counties wont have central registries, which means the onus will be on eligible people to find the providers with vaccine and make arrangements to get it. Were talking about the mayhem this will likely create on This Week in the CLE.

Listen online here.

Editor Chris Quinn hosts our daily half-hour news podcast, with editors Jane Kahoun, Kris Wernowsky and me.

Youve been sending Chris lots of thoughts and suggestions on our from-the-newsroom account, in which he shares what were thinking about at cleveland.com. You can sign up for free by sending a text to 216-868-4802.

Here are the questions were answering today:

Is Ohio Gov. Mike DeWines coronavirus vaccination plan coming off like the race to find Playstation 5s before Christmas last year? It sounds like a free-for-all.

Did U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, a longtime ally of Donald Trump, actually say Tuesday that Trump will be to blame for any violence between now and inauguration Day unless he publicly calls on his followers to stand down?

Did an elected Ohio school board member really organize a busload of people to go to the capitol to support overthrowing our election system? What does this say to school kids?

Are Ohio Republicans like diehard Donald Trump loyalist Jane Timken distancing themselves from Donald Trump after he sparked last weeks violent riots inside the U.S. Capitol?

Who officially kicked off the race for Cleveland mayor Tuesday, and what is his background?

Want more? You can find all our past episodes here.

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Whats harder to find in Ohio, a Playstation 5 or a coronavirus vaccine? The process for getting both is the - cleveland.com

With the highest incidence rate of COVID-19 in Colorado, Pitkin County will close indoor dining at restaurants Sunday and move fully into red-level restrictions.

The latest from the coronavirus outbreak in Colorado:

>> FULL COVERAGE

Mondays unanimous decision by the seven members of the Pitkin County Board of Health also includes a 50% capacity limit on lodging in Aspen and Snowmass Village and assurances by Aspen Skiing Co. to improve COVID-19 protocols.

Ski mountains will remain open without a reservation system for the time being, though indoor dining at on-mountain restaurants will cease.

Weve communicated until our eyes are falling out, said Pitkin County Commissioner Greg Poschman, also a member of the board of health. Yet we still have a lot of people not agreeing with us.

Its time. We have to do this. Its painful. Its not forever.

Pitkin County is the first to enter level-red restrictions since Gov. Jared Polis last month allowed counties at level red, including Denver, to move to the less restrictive level orange on the states coronavirus dial.

Read the whole story at aspentimes.com.

Support local journalism around the state.Become a member of The Colorado Sun today!

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Pitkin County, with Colorado's highest coronavirus incidence rate, is moving to red-level restrictions - The Colorado Sun

Linh was the most loving and caring wife and mother to her family. A bright light and loved by all..."

HOUSTON Family, friends, colleagues and students are remembering a Cypress-Fairbanks ISD teacher's aid who recently passed away, a reported victim of the coronavirus pandemic, according to her online obituary.

She was the pillar of our family, Christine Truong said of her mother, 69-year-old Linh Phuong Le. Truong said her mother was also her best friend.

"She was just everything to us, Truong said.

The school district did not comment specifically on the death of Linh, who also went by the name Marie, but they sent a letter to the community regarding the loss of the beloved Kirk Elementary School staff member. She worked at the school for five years, according to the district.

According to her obituary, Linh was born in Hi Phng, Vietnam. She was a young child when she and her family escaped communism and fled into South Vietnam. Her family survived the Vietnam War and Fall of Saigon they made multiple attempts to escape, finally getting out of the country in the early 80s.

I mean, shes a tough lady," Truong said. "She survived, you know, traveling here to escape communism. I cant believe COVID ended up getting her.

She and her family came to the United States. Linh met and married her husband, Nguyn Dang Linh, and moved with him to Houston in 1982. They had two children.

Truong said she dies after a brief, but rapidly worsening, case of COVID-19.

"They gave us the opportunity to do like a Zoom feed for our family and friends to see her before she flatlined, Truong said.

She passed away on Sunday, Jan. 3 at Methodist West Hospital.

A victim of the coronavirus pandemic, she was not allowed to have her family members in attendance, however, an online group viewing was provided for the family before her death, the funeral home noted.

Linh was the most loving and caring wife and mother to her family. A bright light and loved by all, most knew Linh for her sweet smile, kind words, and thoughtful gifts.

Linh spent the last few years working as a paraprofessional at Cy-Fair ISDs Kirk Elementary School which called her beloved and dedicated in a letter to families.

"A far as I know, this was the first campus-based death in Cy-Fair ISD, said CFISD American Federation of Teachers president Nikki Cowart.

The union protested in-person learning plans at the beginning of the year and even filed a lawsuit. Cowart said illness and death due to COVID-19 are constant reminders of the importance of staying safe.

"Weve started some safety committees in different feeder patterns to share best practices best ideas, Cowart said.

Linh's family didn't know where she may have gotten COVID. They only wished, like many school employees, that a vaccine was readily available.

I dont think she contracted from the school, but who knows?" Truong said. "I mean, its just so hard to trace it.

This is the letter released by the school district:

It is with deep regret that we inform you that one of the beloved members of the Kirk family, Ms. Linh Le, died Sunday, January 3rd. Ms. Le has been a dedicated paraprofessional at Kirk elementary for five years. She worked to support many students across all grade levels; your child may been directly helped by her throughout the year or may have known her as the smiling face in class. Our entire school community is suffering the loss of our friend and colleague. Her love of students and enthusiasm for learning will be deeply missed.

As adults, we are well aware of the substantial emotional impact that follows the death of a loved one or friend. Due to the age of your child, this may be the first time he or she has experienced the death of someone close. Because of this, we wanted to provide you with the opportunity to talk with him or her about it this evening. Children experiencing this type of event for the first time might be frightened or overwhelmed. They will most likely be looking to you for emotional strength and guidance. We encourage you to listen to your child and to be prepared to answer his or her questions simply and honestly. We are working together with our Crisis Response Team to offer support to the students and staff at school. Included with this email is some information that may be helpful for you to use at home. Please feel free to contact us if you need additional assistance.

Counselors and other support staff will be available at the campus tomorrow (Jan. 06) and will continue to be available to students, teachers, and parents as needed. If you should have further questions or concerns, please dont hesitate to contact us at the Kirk Elementary School main number (713-849-8250). I know you will join us in keeping this family in your thoughts.

We appreciate your support during this difficult time.

See the article here:

Rest in peace: Cy-Fair teacher's aid, Vietnam War survivor was victim of the coronavirus pandemic - KHOU.com

A few weeks ago, news broke that a more transmissible strain of the coronavirus, the B.1.1.7 lineage, has been circling around the United Kingdom.

The strain, thought to be up to 70 percent more transmissible than the original strain, thrust the United Kingdom into a lockdown. And the B.1.1.7 lineage has already been detected in several locations in the United States.

On Jan. 4, South African health officials announced they, too, have detected a new, seemingly more contagious strain.

Its no surprise that the coronavirus has mutated thats what viruses do. Most mutations are useless, but every so often, a mutation will improve a viruss ability to infect people.

Given the swift spread of the new variants, experts suspect the new strains contain mutations that make it easier for the virus to bind to our cells.

Theres currently no evidence the variants will affect the efficacy of the vaccines or cause a more severe illness.

Still, more studies are needed to understand the mutations and the impact they could have on the pandemic.

All viruses mutate often. Typically, the mutations arent functional and have no significant impact on the behavior of the virus.

As viruses mutate, their chance of survival increases. That is, the more diverse a species is, the more chances it has to survive, said Dr. Benjamin Neuman, a virologist at Texas A&M University Texarkana.

Mostly the changes are bad for each individual virus, but together, a population of weaker but more diverse viruses has a better chance of survival than the same sized population of identical viruses, Neuman said.

Sometimes, those mutations can improve the performance of the virus, as we may be seeing with the new variants detected in the United Kingdom and South Africa.

Just like a good engineer can usually find a way to optimize a machine, mutations can change the speed with which parts of a virus work, Neuman said.

Called the B.1.351 lineage, the new strain identified in South Africa is thought to be more transmissible.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the variant replaced other leading strains circulating around the Eastern Cape, Western Cape, and KwaZulu-Natal provinces in November.

The strain has also been associated with a higher viral load, further suggesting its more transmissible than previous strains.

Some medical experts have sounded the alarm that the variant could potentially be resistant to vaccines or medications.

Theres no evidence that suggests the new variant in South Africa wont respond to the vaccines, experts say. Researchers will need to follow the variant to determine if it may reduce vaccine performance.

One of the mutations involves the spike protein, the piece of the virus that binds to receptors in our cells.

The vaccine immunizes people against the spike protein, which is why some infectious disease experts have expressed concern.

But the vaccine induces a broad immune response that will likely be able to recognize and respond to most variants.

I think its highly unlikely that theres going to be a variant that the vaccine completely doesnt touch, said Dr. Ellen F. Foxman, PhD, an immunologist and Yale Medicine Laboratory Medicine physician.

However, antibody treatment may not work as well if the virus has mutated, according to former FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb. Antibody treatment consists of using antibodies taken from people who had COVID-19 to treat new patients.

The new strain identified in the United Kingdom, thats now also swarming around the United States, is thought to be up to 70 percent more infectious than the original variant dominating outbreaks in the United Kingdom.

Known as the B.1.1.7 lineage, the strain has caused the majority of cases in southern England and has been linked to an uptick in hospitalizations.

Its also caused a spike in infections among people under 20.

According to the WHO, like the variant detected in South Africa, the strain in the United Kingdom has mutations in the spike protein.

A more transmissible variant will inevitably make the pandemic harder to control. Though the strain isnt thought to cause a more severe disease, it could lead to more cases overall, along with more illness, hospitalizations, and deaths.

At this point, scientists believe the vaccines will be effective against the strain originally detected in the United Kingdom.

Neuman said the variants seem to be spreading more rapidly, and thats the one thing we can be certain of.

When you read about scientists suggesting things the new strain might do, you are really just seeing how an early step in the scientific process works we think, worry, spitball, imagine, hypothesize, and just wander through a series of what ifs until we hit on a question that might be answered with an experiment, Neuman said.

More research is needed to conclude if the spike protein mutations are whats causing the strains to be more transmissible and if the mutations could impact vaccine efficacy.

Foxman suspects there may be other mechanisms at play.

Other contributing factors, such as the populations habits and behavior, will need to be looked at, Foxman said.

Additionally, the virus is already transmitting faster because its more widespread than it was in March. When a greater percentage of the population is infected, viruses have an easier time spreading.

The evidence is all based on epidemiology, Foxman said. Its based on looking at the fact that this strain has spread more and been a higher proportion of cases than other genetic strains of the virus.

We dont yet have proof that the virus is biologically better at infecting our cells, Foxman added.

If the messenger RNA vaccines end up being less effective against variants, they can be quickly reworked to target new sequences.

Thats a big advantage of that type of vaccine, Foxman said, noting this scenario could introduce delays in the vaccine manufacturing and distribution processes.

SARS-CoV-2 remains about as preventable as a speeding ticket, no matter which variant we are talking about, Neuman said.

Wearing a mask thats tightly sealed around your face, washing your hands, and keeping a physical distance from others, especially in a crowded setting, can decrease your risk of developing COVID-19.

Those same things work no matter what the virus is, Foxman said.

Theres a lot to learn about the new variants. In the meantime, its best to stay vigilant as new strains arise.

Two new variants of the coronavirus have recently been detected in the United Kingdom and South Africa.

Due to mutations on the spike protein, the part of the virus that binds to our cells, both strains are thought to be more transmissible than previous strains.

More research is needed to determine if and how the mutations impact the viruss behavior.

Experts continue to stress the importance of wearing a mask, practicing physical distancing, and washing our hands. These measures will likely protect against all variants.

More here:

The Coronavirus Is Mutating: What We Know About the New Variants - Healthline