Number of British coronavirus variant cases reported in Mass. more than triples, rising to 371 – The Boston Globe

The CDC said the numbers are based on just a sampling of specimens and do not represent the total number of cases that may be circulating. The agency said on its website it is ramping up its ability to test for different strains of the virus.

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, said Monday at a news conference that the agency believes the British variant accounts for a quarter of cases in Florida and California. CDC models project the variant will become the dominant strain in the United States by the end of this month or early April, she said.

The British variant has sparked worries because it spreads more easily and quickly. Some studies have suggested it is also more deadly, but more research is needed, the CDC has said.

Scientists are concerned the variants might fuel a new coronavirus wave in the United States even as the country recovers from a deadly winter and is in the midst of a massive vaccination campaign.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Bidens lead medical adviser on the pandemic, said Sunday on NBC-TVs Meet the Press he was concerned that well have whats called variant increases, where you may have another surge.

In Massachusetts, the number of coronavirus cases has declined precipitously from a peak reached around the beginning of the year. The decline has slowed in the past three weeks, but there has been no major upward movement.

Experts have said the next few weeks could be key in determining if the variants will drive up cases.

We expected this variant to increase as a proportion of overall case numbers, which has happened, Dr. Paul Sax, clinical director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Mass General Brigham, said Monday in an e-mail.

But, Sax said, case numbers at the same time are dropping due to factors such as seasonality of the virus, some degree of population-level immunity (from natural infection and increasingly vaccines), and behavior change.

He said the arrival of the variants underscores the need to get people vaccinated. The strongest message we should give is how important the vaccines are for preventing this variant from exploding here, which is what happened in Britain, Portugal, Ireland, etc., he said.

Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former director of the Food and Drug Administration, said Sunday on CBS-TVs Face the Nation. I think the combination of a lot of prior infection and the fact that were vaccinating aggressively now is enough to keep up with [the British variant] and hopefully get ahead of it. Gottlieb noted, however, that there could still be pockets of outbreaks.

Other variants that are causing concern include a variant that emerged in Brazil and one that emerged in New York.

Noting increased air travel and reports of spring break partying without masks in the United States, as well as surges that are happening in European countries, Walensky urged people to continue to take precautions recommended by the CDC such as wearing masks and socially distancing, while the vaccination campaign continues.

Im pleading with you for the sake of our nations health, she said. Cases climbed last spring, they climbed again in the summer, they will climb now if we stop taking precautions.

We are just starting to turn the corner. The data are moving in the right direction, but where this goes is dependent on whether we all do what must be done to protect ourselves and others, she said.

Martin Finucane can be reached at martin.finucane@globe.com.

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Number of British coronavirus variant cases reported in Mass. more than triples, rising to 371 - The Boston Globe