coronavirus cases as a potentially more lethal variant spreads in the US.The US has seen more than 1,000 cases of the strain first identified in the UK, with infections across at least 39 states, said Rochelle Walensky, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.It is around 40% to 50% more transmissible, meaning “we’re likely to have more cases and more deaths from this," and early data “have suggested there might in fact be increased morbidity and mortality," Walensky said on NBC’s “Meet the Press," one of three scheduled interviews on Sunday.Even with more than 52 million vaccines administered in the U.S., the country continues to see close to 100,000 cases per day -- although infections, hospitalizations and deaths have.