'No Evidence' Of New COVID-19 Strain In Pennsylvania: Officials

PENNSYLVANIA — There is no evidence that a new coronavirus strain spreading across the United Kingdom has found its way into Pennsylvania, health officials said on Wednesday, acknowledging reports coming in from overseas regarding a mutation of the virus.

Authorities say there is no reason to panic. The nation's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, told the Associated Press that "we don't want to overreact." However, local officials are still being cautious.

Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Levine said that the CDC is working with local health departments to start surveillance screens and to look at genetic markers to get a more accurate assessment of the strain's presence.

"Much is being investigated," Levine added.

Fauci was confident that it was already here in the United States. "When we start to look for it, we're going to find it," he told PBS News Hour Monday.

Levine added that the new strain "does seem more contagious," but it's not more virulent, meaning that though it's more easily transmitted it doesn't cause any more severe symptoms.

The current presumption is that the existing Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will still be effective against the new strain, experts told the AP.

New strains are really nothing new, authorities said. Variants of COVID-19 have been present since shortly after the virus. Most strains have such minor differences that they are meaningless. The strain in the U.K. is different because it spreads faster, and because of this advantage it has become more prevalent, officials said.