Coronavirus strain fueling India crisis is the newest ‘variant of concern’ and is spreading globally

According to new CDC data, the highly transmissible B.1.1.7 variant first seen in Britain now accounts for an estimated 72 percent of new infections in the United States. A variant first seen in Brazil, named P.1, accounts for 6 percent of new U.S. cases, a rapid increase in recent weeks, the CDC data shows. Other variants, including ones first seen in South Africa and California, have decreased in prevalence, CDC epidemiologist Heather Scobie said Wednesday at a meeting of the agency’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.