The highly-contagious UK COVID-19 variant is rapidly spreading in the United States, according to a report released on Sunday, “outcompeting other strains and doubling its prevalence among confirmed infections every week and a half” according to the Washington Post: “Florida leads the nation in reported cases involving B.1.1.7, with 187 as of Thursday, followed by much more populous California with 145, according to the CDC.”
Meanwhile, The Hill shared several clips and photos of mobs of Super Bowl fans running rampant and maskless in downtown Tampa following the Buccaneers win on Sunday night: “Photos and video of the celebration, which kicked off soon after the home-team Bucs notched a 31-9 win over the Kansas City Chiefs, show hundreds of people packed tightly together on street corners and in bars. Many fans were not wearing masks or practicing social distancing. “
In related news, a new study reports that the BioNTech/Pfizer coronavirus vaccine should protect against the UK and South African variants: “The researchers tested the blood sera of participants who had been given the vaccine against virus samples that were genetically modified to resemble the variants, finding that the antibodies responded to these viruses. However, one limitation of the peer-reviewed study is ‘that the engineered viruses do not include the full set of spike mutations found in the [U.K.] or [South African] variants,' the researchers said.”
