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Biden administration readies battle plan as Covid variants reach the U.S.

2021-01-30 09:32:58       source:Politico

January 29, 2021


New research suggesting that several Covid-19 vaccines are less effective against a variant first found in South Africa has increased pressure on President Joe Biden’s administration to speed inoculations and enforce basic public health measures like wearing masks.


Johnson & Johnson said Friday that its hotly anticipated vaccine was 66 percent effective overall at preventing moderate and severe illness. But that figure dropped to just 57 percent in South Africa, where a more transmissible Covid-19 variant called B.1.351 dominates. Vaccine makers Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax also revealed this week that their shots show reduced potency against the variant.


With the first known U.S. cases of B.1.1351 confirmed Thursday, the Biden administration is rushing to increase genetic sequencing of virus samples nationwide. The U.S. so far has lagged well behind the level of analysis needed to track how B.1.1.1351 and other variants are spreading — even though more-contagious strains from the U.K. and Brazil have also reached the United States in recent weeks. Federal and state officials are emphasizing simple but effective tactics such as using masks, limiting public interactions, testing broadly and banning international travel.


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https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/29/biden-covid-variants-us-463832