It is possible that the new variant infects the little ones the most, because the research was done at a time when there were closures, but schools were still open.
Photographer: OLI SCARFF / AFP via Getty Images
Photographer: OLI SCARFF / AFP via Getty Images
The new coronavirus variant that emerged in the UK is more transmissible and appears to affect a larger percentage of people under 20. according to a report by Imperial College London and other scientific groups.
The mutation’s concern has a major transmission benefit ‘and has been linked to’ epidemic growth in almost all areas’, the scientists wrote. This could increase the reproduction rate of the virus, which indicates how many people infect one patient, by as much as 0.7, the researchers found.
“It will complicate control and further emphasize the urgency of the vaccination as soon as possible,” said Neil Ferguson, a professor at Imperial, working on modeling the outbreak.
Social distancing measures that worked against earlier strains of the virus were insufficient to control the spread of the new variant, the study found. The government had earlier said the new strain was as much as 70% more transmissible than other versions, without providing documentation.
The researchers used statistical tools to evaluate the relationship between the transmission and the frequency of the new variant in the UK.
It is possible that the new variant infects the pups the most, as the research was conducted at a time when there were closures, but schools were still open, scientists said.