‘Grim’ virus discoveries in Colorado and California alarm scientists

A contagious variant of the coronavirus spreading through Britain has left that nation grappling with new lockdowns, curtailed air travel and a surge in infections. Now, the same variant has appeared in Colorado and California.

Scientists are unsure how widely the new variant has spread in the United States, but they concur the extent of its spread will color virtually every aspect of the nation’s pandemic response: hospital treatment, community lockdowns, school closures and more.

A pathogen that spreads easily is more difficult to contain, and a greater percentage of the population must be inoculated to turn back the pandemic. Yet even as the variant surfaced in the United States, Trump administration officials acknowledged Wednesday that the vaccine rollout was going too slowly. Just 2.1 million people had received their first dose as of Monday morning, far short of the 20 million goal.

The new variant, called B.1.1.7, is not thought to be more deadly than previous variants, nor does it seem to cause more severe illness. Current vaccines are likely to be effective against it.

Gov. Gavin Newsom of California announced Wednesday that a case of the new variant had been identified in San Diego County, but he did not provide additional details.

Officials in Colorado confirmed one case and identified a second suspected case. Both men are in the National Guard assigned to a nursing home in Simla, Colorado, southeast of Denver.

Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday that they were working with state laboratories in California, Delaware and Maryland to analyze patient samples for infection with the new variant.

The number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 daily has been rising relentlessly since October, totaling nearly 125,000 on Wednesday. That number is expected to swell as a result of family gatherings over the holidays.

People infected with the new variant may need different care than earlier coronavirus patients, further burdening the health care system, experts said.

The arrival of the variant also ramps up the urgency to get Americans vaccinated, because the more contagious the virus is, the greater the percentage of people who must be inoculated to contain the threat. That threshold may be 90% now, versus the 70% experts previously estimated.