U.S. Accounts for Fifth of All Dangerously Mutated R.1 COVID Variant Cases

The United States has recorded more than one in five of known global cases of a COVID-19 strain that may infect vaccinated people more than previous versions.

There have been 2,266 cases of the R.1 variant reported across 47 U.S. states, according to the latest available data collated by nonprofit Scripps Research.

Globally, there have been 10,573 known cases of the variant, which was first detected in Japan at the end of November 2020.

Scientists fear the variant's mutations could lead to increased resistance to protective antibodies, which are found in the recently infected and the vaccinated....