
[Ed. – Apparently UK scientists dispute this (but also dispute it among themselves). It’s a data point.]
Adm. Brett Giroir, the White House coronavirus testing czar, expressed confidence that a new, more infectious strain of the vaccine detected in the U.K. is no more deadly than the more common strain.
“We don’t know if it’s here or not, there’s certainly a possibility that it’s here or not,” Giroir said on “Fox News Sunday.” “It is not any more serious than the normal stains of COVID. You can still protect yourself by the mitigation measures … we have no evidence to suggest, nor do we believe that the vaccine would not be effective.”
Giroir added that “we would certainly encourage states to have quarantine orders or to have testing once these travelers arrive” from the U.K., but noted existing protocols for travelers from the U.K. and continental Europe that are already in place.