April 8, 2021 – The State’s top public health doctor says that they are keeping a watchful eye on the COVID variants circulating in Illinois and across the United States.
704 cases of variants have been confirmed in the state of Illinois so far. The vast majority are the B-117 strain, first seen in the UK. This isn’t unusual says state Public Health Director Ngozi Ezike.
“We know that viruses mutate all the time. When there are people who are susceptible to infection, that is what the virus needs to mutate. So there are viruses and variants that are going to be happening as well.” said Ezike.
She says that experts will continually be studying the properties of any new variants in order to determine if they are more contagious and covered by the vaccine.
