305 Cases Of COVID-19 U.K. Variant Found In Ohio: CDC

COLUMBUS, OH — More than 300 cases of the U.K. COVID-19 variant have been found in Ohio, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The U.K. variant of COVID-19 is more contagious, the CDC said, and may cause more severe sickness. However, the strand is not resistant to COVID-19 vaccines, the CDC said.

Fear of COVID-19 variants prompted Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine to expand vaccine eligibility to residents 16 and older. DeWine said the state is now in a race to vaccinate Ohioans before the virus mutates into something more resilient and deadly.

Read more: Substantial COVID-19 Transmission In Ohio, Report Finds

"As we hear more and more about the variants in the country - and Ohio - we know that the faster we are able to get Ohioans vaccinated, the safer and more protected we will be," DeWine said.

The U.K. variant has been spreading more rapidly in two of Ohio's neighbors: Michigan and Pennsylvania. The Keystone State has 431 confirmed U.K. variant cases, while Michigan has 1,227 U.K. variant cases.

Ohio's other neighbors, Indiana, Kentucky and West Virginia, have seen fewer than 100 U.K. variant cases, the CDC said.

There may be more than 305 U.K. variant cases in Ohio at this time, the CDC said. The agencies data is based on a sampling of COVID-19 tests and is not comprehensive.