COVID In New York: 2 Variants Account For Over Half Of All Coronavirus Cases In NYC

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — While there’s progress on the road to reopening, New York City is closely tracking the rise of variants of the coronavirus.

Health officials say two variants, one first reported in the United Kingdom and the other here in the city, account for 51% of all COVID cases in the city right now.

The variant first seen here is becoming more prevalent. It represented 39% of recent test samples, compared to 31% the prior week.

Watch Mayor De Blasio’s Daily COVID Briefing —

“Very important — our preliminary analysis does not show that this new strain, B1526, causes more severe illness or reduces the effectiveness of vaccines,” said Dr. Jay Varma, senior advisor for public health with the mayor’s office.

Varma says preliminary analysis does indicate the variant is more infectious, but that’s not certain.

source https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2021/03/10/covid-variant-nyc/