Outbreaks of the new variants — including a highly contagious one first identified in the United Kingdom, as well as others from South Africa and Brazil that scientists worry can evade existing vaccines — have lent urgency to a review of potential travel restrictions within the United States, one federal official said.
Discussions in the administration over potential travel restrictions do not target a specific state but focus on how to prevent the spread of variants that appear to be surging in a number of states, including Florida and California. One White House official said, referring to discussions about new travel restrictions that could target the spread of the U.K. mutation in Florida:
"There are active conversations about what could help mitigate spread here, but we have to follow the data and what's going to work. We did this with South Africa, we did this with Brazil, because we got clear guidance. But we're having conversations about anything that would help mitigate spread."The U.K. variant, known as B.1.1.7, has recently surged in Florida, where over a third of all cases in the United States have been identified.
Comment: Whether true or not, scare tactics on the 'new variant' will serve to kickstart the vaccination stampede.
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Is it true that the new variants are very dangerous?