The latest figures also suggest that women are increasingly at risk, compared to the original first wave coronavirus strain.
The highly contagious variant of the new coronavirus that is prevalent in the UK can be up to 70 percent more deadly than previous strains, according to a report by the government’s scientific advisers.
The findings of the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (NERVTAG), published Friday on the government’s website, underscored concerns about how mutations characterize SARS-CoV2 – the virus that causes COVID-19. can change and the course can change. of the pandemic.
NERVTAG’s report was based on a dozen studies that found the so-called Kent variant, named after the county where it was first identified, is likely 30 to 70 percent more deadly than other versions of the new coronavirus in circulation.
Those studies compared hospital admissions and death rates between people infected with the B.1.1.7 variant and those infected with other strains.
NERVTAG includes experts from universities and public institutions across the UK.
The results of the group’s analysis are concerning, said David Strain, a senior clinical professor at the University of Exeter Medical School and the clinical leader for COVID-19 at Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital.
“The higher transmissibility means that people who previously had a low risk of contracting COVID (especially younger, fitter females) now catch it and end up in the hospital,” said Strain.
“This is underscored by the latest hospital admissions figures which now indicate a male to female ratio of nearly 50:50, while this was predominantly among men during the first wave.”
To date, the UK has registered more than four million cases of COVID-19. The virus has killed more than 117,000 people nationwide, which is one of the worst death tolls in the world.
B.1.1.7 fans to the outside
Experts have previously said that the B.1.1.7 strain can be between 30 and 70 percent more contagious than other variants.
After it was first discovered in September, it quickly became the dominant variety in the UK.
It is believed to have sparked a rapid rise in the country’s COVID-19 caseload in recent months, spiking the death toll and forcing British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to complete a third national lockdown on January 4. force.
The variant has also quickly spread to other parts of the world.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 83 countries have reported cases of the species. It has been observed on every continent on Earth except Antarctica.
Research suggests that the two COVID-19 vaccines in use in the UK – developed by Pfizer / BioNTech and AstraZeneca – offer some protection against B.1.1.7.
But the spread of the variant has nevertheless raised fears of emerging mutations of the new coronavirus.
Concern has been heightened by two other highly contagious strains in circulation – the so-called Brazilian and South African variants, known to scientists as 20I / 501Y.V2 or B.1.351 and P.1, respectively.
Those variants have the E484K mutation, which is found on the virus spike protein. The mutation is believed to help the virus evade antibodies and slip past the body’s immune defenses. Scientists have warned it could weaken the effectiveness of vaccines.