8 Cases Of UK Variant Of COVID-19 Confirmed In Alabama

MONTGOMERY, AL — As new cases of COVID-19 overall in Alabama have decreased in the last few weeks, the Alabama Department of Public Health has confirmed eight cases of the UK variant of the virus in the state.

The cases were reported in Autauga, Jefferson, Madison, Mobile and Montgomery counties. One fatality from the new variant was reported in Jefferson County earlier this month.

Fortunately, ADPH officials say the COVID-19 vaccine is effective against the new variant, but as the virus mutates, the vaccine could become less effective.

"Eventually we are going to see strains that this vaccine is not going to protect against nearly as well," state health director Dr. Scott Harris said Wednesday. "As we get more and more people vaccinated, and yet we still have these strains of virus going around, we are going to eventually have a problem, we are only going to have the virus circling that the vaccines are not going to be able to prevent."

The United Kingdom identified a variant called B.1.1.7 with a large number of mutations in the fall of 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This variant is believed to spread more easily and quickly than other variants.

In January, experts in the U.K. reported that this variant may be associated with an increased risk of death compared with other variant viruses, but more studies are needed to confirm this finding. This variant was first detected in the U.S. at the end of December 2020