Thread by @alexbolze

Weekly update from @my_helix SARS-CoV-2 surveillance program.

Check dashboards here: public.tableau.com/profile/helix6…

As reported by @CDCDirector, B.1.1.7 represents more than 50% of cases in US. And fraction still increasing.

See 7 states where Helix tests a lot. Details in 🧵

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Before going in details on B.1.1.7, here are some stats on vaccinations in US from @CDC. What an effort! I am very optimistic for the US.

Also important to note that all vaccines work very well against the B.1.1.7 variant. It is really incredible how well they work.

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California

Fraction of B.1.1.7 is still increasing. Numbers are small, but I think we may have enough information to look closely at direct competition between B.1.429 and B.1.1.7. Hypothesis is that B.1.1.7 is more transmissible.

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Quick note on SGTF

stands for S Gene Target Failure
Also called S Gene drop-out

When we do a PCR test, we look at S gene, N gene & ORF1a. B.1.1.7 variant has a deletion in S gene interfering with test leading to a positive signal in N & ORF1a targets, but not S target.

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Florida

Y-axis is different, but it is still clear that B.1.1.7 counts are growing steadily, while non-B.1.1.7 cases are now flattening (after a long decrease).

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Georgia

In our tests, one of the states with highest fraction of cases being B.1.1.7. Counts increasing, but slower than MI for example.

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Massachusetts

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Michigan

There is a lot of talk about MI. Because cases increasing fast. Counts below are pretty clear.

Looks like conditions start of Feb favored virus (as non-SGTF also started to rise), and B.1.1.7 took fully advantage of it.

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North Carolina

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Pennsylvania

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This is it for this update.

For other states check our dashboard. You can also check @nytimes nytimes.com/interactive/20…

@LaurenLeatherby does a much better job than me at presenting these numbers :)