New UK Covid Strain Found in Colorado
The first case of the UK Covid variant was reported in Colorado by Governor Jared Polis on Tuesday, who stressed the urgency of vaccinations for all Americans be implemented as quickly as possible. The strain infected a man in his 20’s who has no history of traveling outside of the state, which is concerning health officials in rural Elbert County, just southeast of Denver.
A second possible case of the UK strain is suspected according to the county’s director of public health, Dwayne Smith. Both people thought to have the new virus variant were working in the small community of Simila located in Elbert County, although they are not local residents, making the spread of the variant strain a concern statewide. Health officials are currently conducting contact tracing in an effort to find the source and prevent further spread of the variant.
The US Centers for Disease Control was notified by Colorado state health officials upon verifying the two cases. UK scientists have reason to believe the new strain is much more contagious, although health experts say it will not be resistant to the current vaccines becoming available for widespread use with the hope of preventing another spring wave of coronavirus cases. Governor Polis is expected to hold a news conference with state health officials on Wednesday.
Ann Sullivan is a contributing staff writer covering national and world news topics. She brings dedicated experience having written international and domestic news, blogs, and web content for over 20 years. She’s also a published poet and graphic designer with degrees in Business and Graphic Communications and has been a music distributor, music industry sponsorship sales director and band manager.