Officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Wednesday that the new variant of COVID-19 first discovered in the United Kingdom and now reported in Colorado has likely been spreading undetected person-to-person in the United States.
The new strain is one of two new mutations of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, known by the scientific name SARS-CoV-2, which causes the COVID-19 respiratory illness. The one first identified in the UK, which bears the scientific name VOC 202012/01 or lineage B.1.1.7, has infected at least 3,000 people in Britain as of Dec. 26, according to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control. The other strain, dubbed 501.V2, was first noted in South Africa, according to the agency.
