A new study finds that cases of a more contagious coronavirus variant are rapidly increasing in the United States, and significant community transmission may already be occurring.
Although the B.1.1.7 variant first identified in the UK is currently at a relatively low frequency in the United States, the paper says it's doubling every week and a half, similar to what was observed in other countries. The report estimates this variant is 35-45% more transmissible than strains that appeared earlier in the United States, and it's doubling about every ten days in the country.
"Our study shows that the US is on a similar trajectory as other countries where B.1.1.7 rapidly became the dominant SARS-CoV-2 variant, requiring immediate and decisive action to minimize COVID-19 morbidity and mortality," researchers wrote in the study's preprint, which has not yet been peer-reviewed or published.
The US still has time to take steps to slow down the new virus strain, the researchers wrote. Even they warned that without 'decisive and immediate public health action,' the variant 'will likely have devastating consequences to COVID-19 mortality and morbidity in the U.S. in a few months.'
Health officials have said that existing vaccines are likely to work against new strains, though their efficacy may be somewhat reduced.