New COVID-19 Variant Spreads To Dozens Of Countries

New COVID-19 Variant Spreads To Dozens Of Countries The new strain, which likely originated in the U.K. in September, has spread to more than 30 countries across several continents. Meanwhile, the U.S. saw record COVID-19 deaths in December. NPR.org

The coronavirus variant that was first spotted last month in the U.K. has now spread to dozens of countries, likely passed on by infected people who traveled around the world and unknowingly brought the microscopic invaders with them.

Researchers say the new variant — dubbed B.1.1.7 — probably originated in the South East region of England in September, before being detected there in November. According to a new report from Imperial College London, Britain's November lockdown did little to curb its spread, which was most prevalent in young people under 20 years old. The World Health Organization s

The variant is now in dozens of countries, including the United States, where it has infected people in Colorado, California and Florida. Europe is riddled with the variant, which has been reported in Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. It has also been detected in Asia, Australia, the Middle East and South America.

And the new version of the virus is already mutating — 17 mutations have been spotted, NPR global health correspondent Michaeleen Doucleff told Weekend Edition. "Mutations in viruses crop up all the time, when the virus grows inside a person — specifically when it reproduces and makes a bunch of copies of itself," Doucleff said. Mutations occur because of random mistakes as the virus gets copied.

The good news is that the new variant doesn't appear to be more deadly. But it is much more contagious — researchers are still trying to determine exactly how much more, but many have estimated it could be 50% more transmissible than the original strain. That may be because it leads to an increased viral load inside a person's nose or respiratory tract — and so it gets dispersed more easily when people talk or cough. Another theory is that the new variant binds to human cells more easily. ...