CDC: New York variant of virus less likely to cause serious illness or secondary infection

A federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report released on May 5 shows that the New York City-originated variant of the virus may not be as likely to cause severe illness and has little risk of secondary infection compared to other variants of the new coronavirus (CCA virus).

The variant named B.1.526 was first detected in Washington Heights last November and has spread rapidly since then; according to the CDC, the variant has accounted for 40 percent of samples tested in two laboratories as of early April.

The city has previously said it is still too early to tell whether the New York City variant is more risky than other variants; the CDC report, however, said preliminary studies show that the risk of serious illness or post-vaccination infection from the New York variant is relatively small.