Florida reports 1st new COVID-19 strain case in Martin County

Florida has become the third state, after Colorado and California, to report the detection of a United Kingdom variant of COVID-19 in the US.

According to a Florida Department of Health tweet yesterday: Florida has evidence of the first identified case of the UK COVID-19 variant in Martin County. The individual is a male in his 20s with no history of travel. The Department is working with the CDC on this investigation. We encourage all to continue practicing COVID-19 mitigation.

DOH continues: At this time, experts anticipate little to no impact on the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants are circulating globally. Several new variants emerged in the fall of 2020, to include the UK variant.

According to the CDC:

• This variant is estimated to have first emerged in the UK during September 2020.
• Since December 20, 2020, several countries have reported cases of the UK VOC 202012/01, including the United States and Canada.
• Preliminary epidemiologic indicators suggest that this variant is associated with increased transmissibility (i.e., more efficient and rapid transmission).
• Currently there is no evidence to suggest that the variant has any impact on the severity of disease or vaccine efficacy.