A patient was taken to an ambulance outside the Royal London Hospital in London during a third national exclusion from England to limit the spread of coronavirus. Image Date: Wednesday 17 February 2021.
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The highly contagious coronavirus variant first identified in the UK is associated with a 64% higher risk of dying from Covid-19 than earlier strains, according to a new study published in the British Medical Journal .
Researchers at the University of Exeter and the University of Bristol analyzed data from more than 100,000 patients in the UK between 1 October and 28 January. The mortality rates were compared among people infected with B.1.1.7, the variant first introduced into the UK, and those infected with other strains that had previously been in circulation.
The researchers, who published their findings on Wednesday, said that people infected with B.1.1.7 are between 32% and 104% more likely to die. This means a central estimate of 64%, according to them, and adds that the ‘absolute risk of death in this largely unvaccinated population remains low.’
“In the community, death due to COVID-19 is still a rare occurrence, but the B.1.1.7 variant increases the risk. Together with its ability to spread rapidly, it makes B.1.1.7 a threat. which should be taken seriously, “Robert Challen, lead author of the study at Exeter, said in a press release.
The researchers said B.1.1.7 resulted in 227 deaths in a sample of 54,906 patients. This compares with 141 deaths in approximately the same number of patients infected with other strains.
They said with the variant already detected in more than 50 countries worldwide, “the analysis provides important information to governments and health officials to prevent its spread.”
The UK identified B.1.1.7, which appears to be spreading easier and faster than other strains, in the autumn of 2020. It has since spread to other parts of the world, including the US, which identified 3,283 cases on Tuesday. to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. U.S. health officials say they are identifying more cases.
The new study comes about two months after a CDC study warned that B.1.1.7 could become the dominant strain in the United States. The CDC director, dr. Rochelle Walensky, told JAMA on February 17 that the B.1.1.7 variant is thought to be about 50% more transmissible and that early data suggest it could be up to 50% more virulent or deadly.
New variants are of particular concern to public health officials as they are resistant to antibody treatments and vaccines. The best health officials, including the White House medical adviser, dr. Anthony Fauci, urges Americans to be vaccinated as soon as possible and says that the virus cannot mutate if it cannot infect the hosts and repeat it.