New variant in US could fuel surge, CDC warns

WASHINGTON • United States federal health officials have warned that a far more contagious variant of the coronavirus first identified in Britain could become the dominant source of infection in the US by March, and would likely lead to a wrenching surge in cases and deaths that would further burden overwhelmed hospitals.

This dire forecast from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) made plain what has been suspected for weeks now: The nation is in an urgent race to vaccinate as many Americans as possible before the variant spreads across the country.

Public health officials emphasised that protective measures already in place should work against the new variant, and urged Americans to redouble their vigilance in wearing face masks, maintaining physical distance outside their households, washing hands frequently and limiting social interactions and indoor gatherings.

"I want to stress that we are deeply concerned that this strain is more transmissible and can accelerate outbreaks in the US in the coming weeks," said Dr Jay Butler, deputy director for infectious diseases at the CDC on Friday. "We're sounding the alarm and urging people to realise the pandemic is not over and in no way is it time to throw in the towel."

"We know what works and we know what to do," he said.

The new variant, called B.1.1.7, was first identified in Britain, where it rapidly became the primary source of infections in the country. It has since been detected in at least 50 countries, including the US. Other variants circulating in South Africa and Brazil are also considered more contagious, but have not yet been identified in the US.

The B.1.1.7 variant is not known to be more deadly or to cause more severe disease. But the worrisome warning - hedged by limited data about just how prevalent the variant has become - landed at the end of a week when the nation's nascent vaccination campaign appeared to be scattershot and still disappointingly elusive for most Americans.

It was hampered by confusion over eligibility for people beyond front-line health workers, miscommunication over increasingly limited supplies as demand grew, and bungled roll-outs from state to state.

The governors of several states have accused the Trump administration of deception in pledging to immediately distribute millions of Covid-19 vaccine doses from a stockpile that US Health Secretary Alex Azar has since acknowledged does not exist.

"Last night, I received disturbing news, confirmed to me directly by General (Gustave) Perna of Operation Warp Speed: States will not be receiving increased shipments of vaccines from the national stockpile next week because there is no federal reserve of doses," Oregon Governor Kate Brown said on Twitter. "This is a deception on a national scale," Ms Brown added, demanding an explanation from the outgoing administration.

California Governor Gavin Newsom said Mr Azar and Vice-President Mike Pence had committed during a conference call last week with governors to releasing a vaccine reserve that Mr Newsom said had included some 50 million doses stored in Michigan.

"And then we read, as everybody else, that they have reneged on that, or for whatever reason are unable to deliver on that," he said.

Ms Brown and Mr Newsom's comments were echoed by at least eight other governors, most of them fellow Democrats, including Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers, who called the situation a "slap in the face".

NYTIMES, REUTERS