First US case of Covid-19 variant found in Colorado

Man in his 20s did not recently travel, and an initial positive coronavirus test result did not identify presence of contagious variant

The first reported US appearance of a highly contagious coronavirus variant discovered in the UK has been confirmed in Colorado. 

Governor Jared Polis said state health officials and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed on Tuesday that a man in his 20s had been infected. He is in isolation in Elbert County and has no recent travel history, according to a statement from the governor’s office. Public health officials are performing contact tracing interviews determining whether he has any close contacts who have been exposed.

Discovery of the B117 variant in the US in a patient who has not recently travelled could suggest the likelihood of undetected transmission, underscoring the urgency for vaccine distribution.

The variant – a common development as a virus replicates through transmission – has attracted international attention and caution as officials warn that the Covid-19-carrying variant is more contagious than other viruses.

Researchers have discovered the more-transmissable variant in more than a dozen countries. Within the last several days, officials in Canada reported at least two cases, the first such cases of the variant in North America.

There is no evidence that the variant causes a greater risk of severe disease compared to others, and health officials do not believe the new variant will impede vaccination efforts.

Nevertheless, US officials have debated whether to implement travel restrictions from the UK into the US, and dozens of countries have limited entry to UK passengers or frozen them altogether.

The White House has not issued any guidance about the variant, though Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary Brett Giroir said on Monday that it is likely within the US.

 On Tuesday, President-elect Joe Biden condemned Donald Trump’s response to the public health crisis as the nation’s death toll exceeds 330,000 lives lost to Covid-19-related illness, with nearly 20 million confirmed infections, and record-breaking daily hospitalisations.

He said the administration’s plan to distribute vaccines “is falling behind, far behind,” with less than 3 million people receiving their first doses of a two-part vaccine within the final days of 2020.

“At the pace the vaccination programme is moving now, it would take years, not months, to vaccinate the American people,” he said in remarks from Delaware.

Colorado health officials did not initially identify the presence of Covid-19 through a routine diagnostic PCR test. The sample was flagged for investigation, and researchers determined the viral genome contained eight mutations “specific to the spike protein gene associated with this variant,” according to the governor’s office.

“We are currently using all the tools available to protect public health and mitigate the spread of this variant," said Jill Hunsaker Ryan, executive director of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.