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US to Track COVID-19 Variants, Study Whether Vaccines Remain Effective

VOA News

   The U.S.is increasing efforts to track theseveral coronavirus
   variantsemergingas the virus continues to spread throughout the world,
   a health official said Sunday.

   The plan is to monitor "the impact of these variants on vaccines, as
   well as on our therapeutics," as the virus continues to mutate while it
   spreads, said Dr. RochelleWalensky, head of the U.S. Centers for
   Disease Control and Prevention.

   "We are now scaling up both our surveillance of these and our study of
   these,"Walenskysaidduring a Fox News Sunday interview. ShesaidtheCDC
   was collaboratingwith the National Institutes of Health, the Food and
   Drug Administration, as well asthe Pentagon, in tracking the
   coronavirus mutations.

   The news comes as the world is on the verge of reaching 100 million
   COVID-19 infections, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus
   Resource Center. More than 2 million people have died from the virus.

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