With over 500,000 dead from COVID-19 in the U.S., health experts are sounding the alarm on COVID-19 variants.

Several are predicting the U.K. variant will fuel a surge in cases within weeks, around April or May, CNN reports.

Even though the U.K. variant could be contained in the summer, health officials say enforcing COVID-19 safety guidelines will help reduce the surge. 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has met the requirements for emergency use authorization.

The vaccine proved almost 67% effective at least two weeks after the firsts dose and 66% almost one month after vaccination, for moderate to severe/critical COVID-19 cases.

An independent group of FDA advisors will review the vaccine and suggest wether emergency use should be authorized. 

The U.S. Biden administration is sending more than 25 million masks to community health centers, food pantries and soup kitchens to be distributed at no cost to those in need.

The deliveries are expected between March and May, the White House says. 

U.S. scientists are concerned about a new COVID-19 variant found in California.

Two new studies are expected to show the new variant called B.1.427/B.1.429 might be more contagious and cause a more severe disease, according to CNN.

Scientists at the University of California, San Francisco, found the new variant was becoming more common but the research hasn't been published or peer-reviewed yet.

They say the new variant has a different pattern of mutations compared to other variants. 

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