First Known U.S. Case of New Variant of COVID-19 Seen in Colorado

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 30, 2020 (HealthDay News) — The first recorded case of a faster-spreading variant of the new coronavirus has been detected in a 20-year-old man in Colorado, Gov. Jared Polis said Tuesday.

The young man carries a variant of the virus that is thought to be more contagious — but not more lethal — than variants previously circulating globally this year. He has no history of recent travel, state health officials said, and is currently under isolation southeast of Denver in Elbert County, The New York Times reported.

According to The Times, Colorado Politics said that the Elbert County director of public health has also reported a second suspected case of the new variant in the state. Both cases were found in people who worked in the county but did not live there — raising the odds of statewide spread, The Times said.

In a news release, Colorado health officials reiterated that vaccines already in use should be just as effective against the new variant of the virus. However, “now I’m worried there will be another spring wave due to the variant,” scientist Trevor Bedford, who studies the coronavirus at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, told The Times. “It’s a race with the vaccine, but now the virus has just gotten a little bit faster.”

The New York Times Article