Dr Anthony Fauci warned on Sunday that new data suggests that COVID-19 stress, which first appeared in the UK, could be more deadly.
“We must now assume that what is circulating in the UK has an increase in virulence, which means that the power of the virus can cause more damage, including death,” Fauci CBS anchor Margaret Brennan said, “Face the Nation.”
Fauci said that British officials had initially indicated that the new variant was no longer lethal, but that they had now reversed it following a study suggesting that it was about 30 per cent more lethal in older adults.
The average mortality rate among 60-year-olds in the UK was around 10 per 10,000.
But with the new tribe, there were about 13 or 14 deaths in the same population, USA Today reports.
“We want to look at the data ourselves, but we have every reason to believe it. “They are a very capable group,” Fauci said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the British tribe has been confirmed in at least 22 states.
Fauci said the available COVID-19 vaccines still appear to be effective against the variant, although he acknowledges that there may be a ‘very slight decrease’ in protection.
“The pillow you have effectively is so large that it has no negative effects,” Fauci said.
But he said it’s a little more worrying when it comes to a new strain first detected in South Africa – which is more resistant to the vaccine.
“It seems to reduce the effectiveness of the vaccine more, but we are still within the cushioning level of the vaccines that are beneficial to these mutants,” Fauci said.
“After we have said that, we are going to look at this and follow it very closely because these things are evolving. “What we will do and do is prepare for the possibility that we may have to change and upgrade the vaccines,” he added.