Warnings of Major COVID-19 Variant Outbreak Risks Continue in the United States

[Image source= AFP News Agency]

[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] Warnings are emerging in the United States that new variants of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) could spark a new pandemic wave.

The New York Times (NYT) reported on the 23rd (local time) that "although COVID infection cases are decreasing, highly transmissible variants are outpacing the vaccination rate, which could cause a surge in new patients." The Washington Post (WP) also reported, "While the worst-case COVID spread scenario from last year's Christmas and New Year gatherings seems to have been avoided, experts warn that the emergence of new variants could intensify the COVID threat."

Recently, new COVID-19 infections in the U.S. have been declining. According to Johns Hopkins University, as of the 23rd, new infections in the U.S. numbered about 186,000, down from weeks of exceeding 200,000. NYT's own tally also showed that new confirmed cases decreased by 21% over the past two weeks. However, experts point out that the spread of the highly transmissible UK variant is concerning.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the UK variant has spread to 22 states, with a total of 195 infected individuals. In California, which has surpassed 3 million cumulative COVID cases, 72 people have been infected with the UK variant. Florida reported 50 cases, and New York confirmed 22 variant infections.

The Los Angeles Times (LAT) reported that the L452R variant, first identified in Denmark, is spreading in Northern California. According to an analysis by the University of California, San Francisco, patients infected with the L452R variant accounted for 3% of cases statewide between November 22 and December 13 last year, but this rose to 25% in the survey conducted from December 14 to January 3.

Dr. Caitlin Rivers of Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health warned, "COVID infections are on a downward curve, but variants could reverse this trend in February to March," and Christopher Murray of the University of Washington Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation pointed out, "Variants could completely change the situation."

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, also noted at a White House briefing on the 21st that while COVID infection numbers appear to be plateauing, this could be a temporary slowdown, highlighting the possibility of variant spread.

Some experts have raised concerns that the U.S. could become a breeding ground for COVID variants. Robert Blinger, professor of infectious diseases at Johns Hopkins University, told USA Today, "The U.S. is currently the largest breeding ground for new variants," urging for more measures to track virus transmission routes and suppress spread.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.