Scientists at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are in talks with health officials in the UK in a bid to understand more about UK’s data that indicate that a new coronavirus variant could be more fatal.

A CDC official stated that they have reached out to UK officials and are reviewing their new data on mortality associated with variant B.1.1.7.A UK report was released Friday which suggested a realistic possibility of the new variant being associated with a higher death rate compared to other variants.

CDC modeling suggests that the new variant could dominate in the United States by March. A total of 195 cases of the new variant have been detected in the US thus far, reports CDC; however, according to public health officials, many more cases are going undetected. Cases have been detected in 22 states, with California and Florida having a high number… (CNN, January 24, 2021)