The U.S. will get hit by a viral hurricane, according to a leading infectious disease expert, who says that the more deadly British strain of COVID-19 will soon become America’s dominant mutation of the virus.

Dr. Michael Thomas Osterholm, a leading epidemiologist and director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said that the country needs to brace for the tsunami-like spread of the virus this spring.

According to The Guardian, Osterholm said that the “surge that is likely to occur with this new variant from England is going to happen in the next 6 to 14 weeks”, and added that the onslaught will usher in something like we have not seen yet in this country.”

The expert told NBC News on Sunday, “The hurricane is coming.”

Osterholm said that while he would like to see all Americans receive both doses of COVID-19 vaccines, in light of what is likely ahead, we need to step up the pace and get at least one dose administered to as many people over the age of 65 as possible to mitigate the risk of severe illness.

“If we get a number of first doses in people, particularly 65-years-of age and older, we can really do a lot to reduce the number of serious illnesses and deaths in this next big surge, which is coming,” he said, according to NBC News.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that the new U.K. variant may be 30% more deadly than the original SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, according to The Guardian.

The Centers for Disease Control reports that approximately 50 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been distributed and 30 million have been administered.