UK Coronavirus Variant In Connecticut: What To Know

CONNECTICUT — Connecticut health officials’ hunch that the United Kingdom coronavirus variant was already present in Connecticut was confirmed Thursday after two people who recently traveled tested positive for it.

The variant has caused concern in the United States and around the world because evidence suggests it is significantly more contagious than other strains of the coronavirus.

Will I know if I have the variant?

Most likely not. The process to detect genetic changes in the virus is more arduous than a coronavirus test that gives a simple detected or not detected result.

“We will not be able to do genomic sequencing on every single case in Connecticut,” said Department of Public Health Acting Commissioner Deidre Gifford at a news conference this week.

How widespread is the variant in Connecticut?

The state health department, in conjunction with Yale Medicine and Jackson Laboratories, are sequencing test samples to determine how prevalent the new strain is in Connecticut. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working with partners around the country to find the answer as well.

“As the governor mentioned, if you are diagnosed with COVID in Connecticut you should just assume there is a good possibility that you have this variant,” Gifford said.

What makes the variant different?

Viruses constantly mutate as they replicate over and over, according to the CDC. Sometimes the variants aren’t much different from the original virus and disappear.

The new strain was first detected in the U.K. in September 2020 and has become highly prevalent in London and southeast England, according to the CDC.

The variant appears to be spread more easily, but so far evidence suggests it doesn’t cause a more serious illness or a greater chance of death than other COVID-19 strains.

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the variant was 50 to 70 percent more contagious than other strains.

Will the coronavirus vaccine work against the new variant?

Scientists continue to study whether approved vaccines will be as effective against the new strain. So far there is no evidence that the vaccine won’t be effective and scientists believe more study will confirm that, according to the CDC.

One study suggests the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will work against mutant strains. Moderna is also running tests, but company officials said that it has run tests in the past against other variants and that the vaccine still worked.

What other steps can I take to avoid the variant?

The general medical advice of social distancing, mask use and good hand hygiene work to help prevent the spread of the variant.

“It just means be even more careful,” Lamont said this week. “What it means is if you’re standing 6 feet away from somebody for less than 15 minutes, and you’re not wearing your mask the chance of you getting infected if somebody nearby is infected, it’s just gone up.”

Are there any other concerning variants?

Another variant that was discovered in South Africa is causing concern as well.

Former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said changes in the South African strain could potentially make antibodies less effective. It could also potentially defeat current coronavirus tests.

A recent study also suggested that convalescent plasma therapy wasn’t as effective against the South African variant. The therapy takes blood plasma from someone previously infected with the coronavirus and gives it to another person as a way to help fight off the virus.

“That’s a suggestion that even prior exposure, prior immunity may not be totally protective against this strain,” he said in a CNBC interview.

However, vaccines should still be mostly effective against the new variant because they use the entire key spike protein, Gottleib said. The variants have changes to some parts of the spike protein, but not to the whole thing.