CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Public health officials in Indiana confirm the new variant of the coronavirus has shown up there and they’re asking people to redouble efforts to protect themselves and others.
The discovery of the mutation comes as no surprise to health experts - that's what viruses do, they said. It was just a matter of time before it showed up in Indiana.
"The fact that it is in Indiana is really more of a confirmation of what I think most people suspected anyway," said Dr. Paul Paul Calkins, Associate Chief Medical Executive at IU Health.
While experts say there is no evidence the new variant causes more severe infections or is more lethal, they say it is more contagious.
With the initial strain, Dr. Calkins said, one infected person would infect two others on average.
"Those three go to nine, those nine go to 27, and those 27 go to 81," he said.
Dr. Calkins told CBS 4 Indy people don't need to do anything new, unless they are not doing what they are supposed to be doing following health guidelines.
"I think if we try to add new behaviors, we will just have people who do the old behaviors less well," he said.
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Indiana State Health Commissioner Dr. Kris Box said mutations are common with viruses and reiterates the importance of wearing masks and following other guidance.
"It’s common for viruses to mutate, and we are seeing that occur with COVID-19," Indiana State Health Commissioner Dr. Kris Box said. "Because this strain of the virus can be transmitted more easily, it’s more important than ever that Hoosiers continue to wear their masks, practice social distancing, maintain good hygiene and get vaccinated when they are eligible."
Research suggests Pfizer's vaccine can protect against the mutation and a separate one identified in South Africa, The Associated Press reported.
The mutation circulating in Britain also has been detected in several other U.S. states, including Texas, Pennsylvania and Connecticut.
The state health department also reported Monday that 3,726 more coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Indiana and that more 30 Hoosiers have died from COVID-19.
The new deaths, which occurred between Thursday and Sunday, raise Indiana’s pandemic death toll to 9,016, including both confirmed and presumed infections.
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