Why are there no American variants of the virus

Jedi boro

Jedi boro

Well-known member
As We seem to have variants sprouting up across the country on an almost monthly basis so I find it hard to believe given the mix and diversity and sheer scale across the US that they haven’t seen Similar things.

Given how volatile the reaction and handling of the pandemic had been especially in places like Florida and their care free attitudes to masks and social distancing.

so why no us variants
 
zorro_mfc said:
As We seem to have variants sprouting up across the country on an almost monthly basis so I find it hard to believe given the mix and diversity and sheer scale across the US that they haven’t seen Similar things.

Given how volatile the reaction and handling of the pandemic had been especially in places like Florida and their care free attitudes to masks and social distancing.

so why no us variants
Click to expand...
Luck I guess. As manuas, Kent, South Africa and India have proven there is no rhyme or reason as to where the next, more contagious variant comes from. No environmental conditions or type of population that’ll breed it. I agree there are big odds of a highly populous and highly infected country like the us spawning a worse mutation (Mexico too) but they haven’t yet.
They did give us Spanish flu though so they’ve done enough
 
SmallTown said:
Luck I guess. As manuas, Kent, South Africa and India have proven there is no rhyme or reason as to where the next, more contagious variant comes from. No environmental conditions or type of population that’ll breed it. I agree there are big odds of a highly populous and highly infected country like the us spawning a worse mutation (Mexico too) but they haven’t yet.
They did give us Spanish flu though so they’ve done enough
Click to expand...
Not lucky at all as it seems they have downplayed them as the article shows

www.nature.com

Multitude of coronavirus variants found in the US — but the threat is unclear

Ramped-up sequencing efforts are helping to identify mutations that might boost transmission or help a virus evade immune responses.
www.nature.com www.nature.com
 
For the scientists who have spent the past year poring over hundreds of thousands of coronavirus genomes, the United States has been an enigma. Despite having world-leading genome sequencing infrastructure and experiencing more COVID infections than any other country, the United States has until recently lagged far behind in sequencing coronavirus genomes and spotting worrisome variants.

But in recent weeks, US researchers have identified a host of new variants, including in California, New York State, Louisiana and elsewhere. And they are continuing to ramp up SARS-CoV-2 sequencing efforts.

That has brought another challenge: making sense of the variants that are discovered. They carry potentially worrying mutations and might be becoming more common, but a dearth of data on how the variants are spreading means the threat they pose is unclear.
 
It seems there is new Thai variant that is causing concern now and it has been detected in the Uk.
 
I follow the US news alot and hand friends over there and it’s barely ever mentioned yet they comment on the Uk variant and South African variants all the time.

maybe our us based posters can add more.
 
SmallTown said:
Luck I guess. As manuas, Kent, South Africa and India have proven there is no rhyme or reason as to where the next, more contagious variant comes from. No environmental conditions or type of population that’ll breed it. I agree there are big odds of a highly populous and highly infected country like the us spawning a worse mutation (Mexico too) but they haven’t yet.
They did give us Spanish flu though so they’ve done enough
Click to expand...
Do you know why it's referred to as the Spanish Flu?
 
zorro_mfc said:
As We seem to have variants sprouting up across the country on an almost monthly basis so I find it hard to believe given the mix and diversity and sheer scale across the US that they haven’t seen Similar things.

Given how volatile the reaction and handling of the pandemic had been especially in places like Florida and their care free attitudes to masks and social distancing.

so why no us variants
Click to expand...
Why do you ask this question when your subsequent posts on the same question indicate you know the answer that you would like to see?
 
zorro_mfc said:
I follow the US news alot and hand friends over there and it’s barely ever mentioned yet they comment on the Uk variant and South African variants all the time.

maybe our us based posters can add more.
Click to expand...
Difficult to say as it's treated on a state to state basis and I can only speak for New York. We hear very little about variants, far more about the importance of getting vaccinated. 55% of over 18s are fully vaccinated and 65% have had the first one. Vaccination is open to anyone 12 and older. Infection rates are way down and the hospital system where I work has about 100 covid patients with about 30 in ICU over all our hospitals.
 
I would sort of guess it's because America just let it rip and didn't bother with suppression so it probably burnt out and got a degree of herd immunity in the first wave without having to mutate. Guess that's one benefit of having a mutant in the White House last year.

Also as noted above, Americans in the scale of things don't travel.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top