A highly suspicious sample of COVID-19 found in Shelby County is the UK variant strain B.1.1.7, according to University of Tennessee Health Science Center officials. The sample was sequenced in the regional biocontainment lab on campus and has been sent to Nashville for confirmation. “The hamburger is already made; they are just putting a little ketchup on it,” said Dr. Scott Strome, executive dean of the University of Tennessee Medical School. “We have a UK variant.” The sample has the genetic markers that match the variant. It was detected in one of local labs. For weeks, Colleen Jonsson, head of the biocontainment lab, has been sequencing 100-plus samples of virus specimens from test sites across the city, looking for variants, particularly the four most contagious strains, including the UK strain.
- February 2: Commercial Appeal