Deadliest US surge now over; Fauci tells graduates virus is the enemy, not each other : Latest COVID-19 updates John Bacon, Elinor Aspegren and Mike Stucka, USA TODAY
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The latest and worst surge in coronavirus cases across the nation is finally over.
The country s pace of new cases fell this weekend below the low of Sept. 12, the day before the deadly fall surge got underway, became a disastrous winter and turned into a painful spring. Between that day in September and now, the U.S. reported more than 390,000 COVID-19 deaths and more than 26.4 million coronavirus cases, a USA TODAY analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows.
The B.1.617 coronavirus variant devastating India right now has arrived in the United States. Experts say it s not likely to cause much harm here because of high vaccination rates and because the health care system is not under stress. But with a virus that has defied expectations and the variant infecting hundreds of thousands of Indians every day, researchers are keeping an eye on it.
Here s what you need to know about the coronavirus variant that originated in India:
What is the B.1.617 variant?
It first appeared in India, where it is believed to have contributed to that nation s devastating second wave of COVID-19. It was dubbed a variant of concern by the World Health Organization last week because of worries it might be more contagious and may more easily evade existing vaccines.