Month: February 2021

"It seems to be very efficient in spreading from person to person," the director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Disease told CNN's Chris Cuomo, adding that recent studies show that it could be more deadly and cause more severe illness. The emergence of these virus mutations -- first detected in the United Kingdom ( B.1.1.7), South Africa ( B.1.351) and Brazil ( P.1), respectively -- could mean another surge in cases, according to Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. The UK variant is already on track to becoming dominant in hotspots like Florida and Southern California "within a few weeks," according to a testing company called Helix that has helped identify the largest share of US c...

British hospitals have been inundated with COVID-19 patients.Credit: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AFP via Getty The news is sobering, but complicated. Scientists have released the data behind a British government warning last week that the fast-spreading SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.1.7 increases the risk of dying from COVID-19 compared with previous variants. But some scientists caution that the latest study — like the government warning — is preliminary and still does not indicate whether the variant is more deadly or is just spreading faster and so reaching greater numbers of vulnerable people. The latest findings are concerning, but to draw conclusions “more work needs to be done,” says Muge Cevik, a public-health researcher at th...

SAN JOSE —  Santa Clara County has launched an investigation into a complaint alleging San Jose State athletic department employees are being forced to work in the office during the pandemic, county executive Dr. Jeffrey Smith told the Bay Area News Group on Thursday. It marks the third time the school athletic department has come under scrutiny for its approach to county directives intended to help stop the transmission of COVID-19. “At this point, we need to find out what is going on,” said Smith, adding that enforcement officers planned to visit the campus. San Jose State officials said in a statement Thursday evening that they were unaware of a current investigation. The statement added that school officials contacted Santa Clara County Code Enforcement division after thi...