Joe Biden pays tribute as US covid death toll passes 500,000
They also fear it could combine with the strain already identified in the UK to create an even deadlier virus. In a study which helps explain a dramatic surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths in the US state of California, scientists at UC San Francisco said a cluster of mutations marks it out as a “variant of concern”.
As such, the strain, officially named B.1.427/B.1.429, is on a par with the one first spotted in Kent, as well as those which have since emerged in South Africa and Brazil.
Dr Charles Chiu, an infectious diseases researcher and physician at UCSF, said: “The devil is already here.
“I wish it were different. But the science is the science.
Dr Anthony Fauci has said new strains make getting vaccinated even more vital (Image: GETTY)
US President Joe Biden (Image: GETTY)
“This variant is concerning because our data shows that it is more contagious, more likely to be associated with severe illness, and at least…
— to www.express.co.uk