The United States has the most coronavirus cases in the world but in sequencing cases to check for genetic changes, it lags at an astoundingly low rate. Of the more than 18 million cases officially reported in the U.S., just 51,212 or 0.3% have been genetically analyzed for variants. Worldwide, the United States ranks 43rd in percentage of cases sequenced among countries with more than 100 reported infections.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has not documented any cases of the British variant in the U.S. but experts, even at the CDC says it is probably already here. “Given the small fraction of U.S. infections that have been sequenced, the variant could already be in the U.S. without having been detected” the CDC wrote on its website.
We are working diligently at fighting the invisible pandemic and although we have suffered many setbacks, we have also enjoyed much success! Who would have imagined that our scientific community could develop an effective vaccine in less than a year? AND the good news is, the experts believe that the vaccine is effective against other strains as well. Stay the course, stay well, get vaccinated, and stay tuned!