With the vaccine production ramping up, hope is on the horizon, but unfortunately, the new COVID strains are causing a whole lot of concern and for good reason. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, said Friday that new variants of the coronavirus from the U.K., South Africa, and Brazil have all been identified in the United States.

These mutant, or variant, strains are expected to persist and eventually overcome the number of cases of the original strain of the virus. Dr. Fauci said, “we will continue to see the evolution of mutants.”

The variant first identified in the U.K. has now been found in 29 states, and Brazil’s new COVID strain raises is especially concerning because it is more contagious than the original strain.

“The fact is, when you have a virus that has ability to transmit more efficiently than the wild type in the community — sooner or later, by pure viral dynamics itself — it will become more dominant than the wild type.”

Fauci also said vaccinating “as many people as we can, as quickly as we can,” is the best defense against new variants.