From the Associated Press
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Nebraska health officials continue to identify more cases of different variants of the coronavirus in the state.
The state said Monday that five cases of the variant first identified in the United Kingdom and 14 cases of a variant first identified in California have now been confirmed in Nebraska. Both of those variants of the virus are believed to be more easily transmitted than the original coronavirus but less is known about the California variant.
State officials said they expect to receive 82,430 doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines this week but no additional doses of the new Johnson & Johnson vaccine as that company works to ramp up production. That may lead to a small drop in the number of people vaccinated in the state this week after officials vaccinated 90,461 people across Nebraska last week.
The state says 519,857 doses of the vaccines have now been administered, and 12% of the state's population has received their required shots.
There have now been 203,279 cases of the virus and 2,113 deaths in the state since the pandemic began a year ago.
The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Nebraska remains low, but it has risen over the past two weeks from 244.71 new cases per day on Feb. 21 to 311.14 new cases per day on Sunday.