UK Variant Continues To Spread Around The World As Coronavirus Enters 2021

Over 30 countries have reported cases of the highly-transmissible UK variant of the novel coronavirus, raising fears of increased global spread of the virus, even as countries begin to unroll vaccination programs in the new year.

Vietnam on Saturday was the latest nation to report a case, which authorities detected in a woman quarantined after recent travel from the United Kingdom. Vietnam has banned nearly all international travel, but it is providing repatriation flights for citizens stranded in the UK

Turkey reported Friday its first 15 cases of the UK variant, found in recent travelers from the UK, leading Turkish authorities to issue a temporary ban on entries from the there. Turkey, along with many other countries, suspended flights between the United Kingdom in late December.

At least three US states have identified cases of the variant. Public health officials, however, say it is likely already spreading undetected due to limited genetic sequencing of the coronavirus in the United States.

The United States leads the world in coronavirus cases and deaths, though widespread transmission of the fast-spreading form of the virus would likely lead to even larger outbreaks, putting further strain on the country's already overwhelmed health-care system.

In recent weeks British authorities have imposed strict lockdowns on millions of people as the variant, first documented in late September, has led to surges in infections. So far, scientists do not think that the fast-spreading form of the virus is more deadly or vaccine resistant.

As global infections continue to rapidly rise, Ireland has recently gone from having the European Union's lowest per capita rate of cases to the fastest growing, the Guardian reported.

"The virus is absolutely rampant now in the community," the CEO of Ireland's health services Paul Reid said Friday. "Everybody is at extreme risk of contracting the virus."

But Philip Nolan, the head of Ireland's covid-19 modeling group, told national news broadcaster RTE on Saturday that the UK variant represented between 5% and 17% of current cases, according to the latest available genetic analysis.

While Nolan's predicted new infections would continue to increase as the variant spreads, he attributed the current surge to socializing over the Christmas holiday.

"Right now we believe the UK variant is here at a relatively low level, even with that small sample," he said. "We saw an even more intense level of socialization and viral transmission over Christmas than we might have expected and that's what's leading us to the really precarious position we're in now."

The bleak return to lockdowns in many communities across the globe comes in sharp contrast to the hopeful rollout of vaccines programs in some countries.

Israel has provided the first of two coronavirus vaccine shots to more than a million of its citizens, the highest rate in the world since beginning its efforts in late December. The United States, in contrast, vaccinated some 2.8 million people by Dec. 30, falling far short of President Trump's pledge to inoculate 20 million people by the years end.

Despite widespread expectations that vaccines will turn the tide of the pandemic, it will still take weeks for the initial shots to kick in and months before vaccines will likely become available for a majority of the world's communities and countries, in particular poorer ones. Adding to concerns, significant percentages of many populations have reported hesitations around injecting the fast-tracked vaccines, while health experts worry about the impact of disinformation campaigns dissuading publics from taking it.

As the United Kingdom tries to contain the UK variant, health authorities have also deviated some from initial inoculation plans.

On Wednesday, British health officials said they would prioritize giving more people the first shot to ensure wider, partial protection from the virus, and in turn delay providing the second injection, only after which is the vaccine is most effective.