email article At least one of two or more new SARS-CoV-2 variants have likely made it into community spread in the United States, but they're unlikely to have much impact on vaccine effectiveness or standard precautions, CDC officials said at a briefing. The first reported U.S. case of the highly transmissible coronavirus variant first seen in Great Britain (dubbed SARS-CoV-2 VUI 202012/01) was confirmed on Tuesday in a Colorado man with no travel history. The strain may be at least 56% and up to 70% more transmissible than the "wild type" virus, although not more severe or more deadly. The British variant has likely been circulating there since September 2020.