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A patient is taken in an ambulance outside the Royal London Hospital in London during England’s third national lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Photo date: Wednesday, February 17, 2021.
Ian West | PA Pictures | Getty Images
The highly contagious coronavirus variant first identified in the UK is associated with a 64% higher risk of dying from Covid-19 than previous 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 October 1 and January 28. They compared death rates among people infected with B.1.1.7, the variant first found in the UK, and those infected with other previously circulating strains.
The researchers, who released their results on Wednesday, said people infected with B.1.1.7 were between 32% and 104% more likely to die. This translates into a central estimate of 64%, they said, adding that “the absolute risk of death in this largely unvaccinated population remains low.”
“In the community, death from COVID-19 is still a rare event, but the B.1.1.7 variant increases the risk. Coupled with its ability to spread rapidly, this makes B.1.1.7 a threat that must be taken seriously, “Robert Challen, lead author of the study in Exeter, said in a press release.
The researchers said that B.1.1.7 led to 227 deaths in a sample of 54,906 patients. This compares to 141 deaths in roughly the same number of patients infected with other strains.
They said that with the variant already detected in more than 50 countries around the world, “the analysis provides crucial information for governments and health officials to help prevent its spread.”
The UK identified B.1.1.7, which appears to spread more easily and faster than other strains, in the fall of 2020. It has since spread to other parts of the world, including United States, which identified 3,283 cases on Tuesday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. U.S. health officials say they are working to identify 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. On February 17, CDC director Dr Rochelle Walensky told JAMA that the B.1.1.7 variant would be about 50% more transmissible and that early data indicates it could be up to 50% more virulent. or fatal.
The new variants are of particular concern to public health officials as they could become more resistant to antibody treatments and vaccines. Senior health officials including White House chief medical adviser Dr Anthony Fauci are urging Americans to get vaccinated as quickly as possible, saying the virus cannot mutate if it cannot infect hosts and replicate.
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