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    Medical experts are worried about a “New York COVID Strain” and the impact it could have in Connecticut.

    HARTFORD, CT (WFSB) - The Department of Public Health announced on Monday that Yale New Haven Health has identified dozens of cases of the “New York COVID Strain” in CT.

    Officials confirmed that 45 cases of the variant were confirmed by Yale-New Haven Health. 

    They say this is just a variant of interest, not of concern yet. 

    RELATED: State urging people to get vaccinated as coronavirus variants spread

    Medical experts believe the New York COVID Strain has resulted in a 15-percent positivity rate in parts of New York City.

    They said more testing needs to be done to see how effective the vaccine is against the strain.

    The U.K., South African and Brazilian variants of the coronavirus have also been detected in Connecticut.

    The New York COVID Strain is known as “1526” and health experts don’t know how effective vaccines are at preventing that particular strain.

    “The fact that these cases are being detected, particularly in people who haven’t traveled recently, really raises the concern that this variant is here, it’s likely spreading much more than we know,” said Dr. Summer McGee of the University of New Haven.

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    Doctors are also trying to figure out if people who’ve already had COVID-19 can be reinfected with the New York Strain.

    Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration said scientists at Yale University in New Haven have been testing for all variants, including the New York one. However, more testing needs to be done.

    “I think they are starting to look for that now and we don’t have any cases identified at this point,” said Josh Geballe, Lamont’s chief operating officer.

    On Tuesday, the Dept. of Public Health says, "they know of these 45 cases and Josh did misspeak/misunderstood the question [on Monday]." 

    Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the former Food and Drug Administration commissioner, said we need to be much more aggressive in sequencing cases, especially with people who’ve been vaccinated or have already had COVID.