A more contagious strain of COVID-19 could sweep through the country and become the dominate variant of the virus by March, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The new and more transmissible strain is called SARS-CoV-2 known as B.1.1.7.
Hospitals already struggle to staff personnel needed to treat current Coronavirus patients. ICU capacity for the state consistently sits in single digits. A more contagious strain, leading the charge, could be devastating.
As of January 18, 14 states have reported cases of the variant. The CDC believes B.1.1.7 is more widespread than reported.
There is no evidence the B.1.1.7 strain causes more severe symptoms and current vaccines seem to work against the variant.