MONTGOMERY, Ala. – A new and more highly transmissible COVID-19 variant, B.1.1.7, has been identified in three Alabama residents, the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) reported Wednesday.
According to the ADPH, two of the residents are from Montgomery County and one is from Jefferson County; two are children under 19 and one is an adult.
“These are the first reported cases in Alabama of the variant which was first detected in the United Kingdom in late 2020. The UAB Laboratory sequenced the specimens and identified them as the SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.1.7.,” said a media release from the department.
“This variant is associated with increased person-to-person transmission of COVID-19. ADPH is closely monitoring the emergence of this variant which has been detected in at least 24 other states, including Tennessee, Georgia, Florida and North Carolina and at least 293 cases in the U.S.
“Viruses mutate, and due to surveillance, it was expected that cases would be found in Alabama. At this time, many infectious disease experts and the CDC have indicated that the current vaccine should be effective against the U.K. strain. However, this is still being studied. Currently, the U.K. variant has not definitively been linked to worse outcomes of the disease. As this variant is recent to the United States, it is important to follow the outcome of persons infected with this variant.”
