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The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working with officials in the UK to examine recent data suggesting there is a “realistic possibility” that the B.1.1.7 COVID-19 variant is not only more contagious but more deadly.
In an article published Friday by the UK Advisory Group on New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats, scientists said that “some preliminary analysis has been undertaken which shows that there may be an increase in the severity of the disease associated with this new variant, B.1.1.7. “
The group noted that infection death rates remain low and that the new data is based on a “relatively small number of people” from “a small number of backgrounds”.
“More data is being collected and the position will become clearer over the next few weeks,” the group wrote.
But British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted on Friday: ‘We have now learned that in addition to spreading faster, the new variant of the virus may also be associated with a higher death rate. So it is more important than ever that we all follow the rules and stay home, protect the (National Health Service) and save lives.
A CDC official told CNN on Saturday that the agency “has contacted UK officials and is reviewing their new mortality data associated with B.1.1.7.”
First identified in the UK in November, the variant swept across the country and has been transmitted to more than 50 countries, including the United States.
More than one case has been discovered in Massachusetts, including a Worcester County resident who traveled to the UK during the holiday season. To learn more about B.1.1.7. strain, read here.
Early data from the UK and CDC showed the new strain is more contagious but does not lead to more severe symptoms or a higher rate of hospitalizations or death. But public health officials have always called for caution and encouraged continued social distancing efforts and vaccinations in light of B.1.1.7. strain and a similar strain detected in South Africa and Brazil.
“I’m concerned … that as it spreads more easily, more people will be infected,” said Dr. John Brownstein, epidemiologist, researcher and director of innovation at Boston Children’s Hospital, in a recent article on the strain. “This would likely lead to more hospitalizations and deaths, which underlines that we still need to take public health measures such as wearing masks and social distancing seriously.”
Brownstein noted that many variants of the COVID-19 virus are already circulating around the world, which is expected with any virus. “Most only have a few genetic changes that don’t drastically change the behavior of the virus,” he said.
He added that the B.1.1.7 variant “did not acquire enough mutations to escape vaccine coverage,” so existing vaccines administered across the country will still blunt the variant.
According to the CDC, B.1.1.7. could become the main source of the virus in the United States by March. Nearly 200 cases have already been detected in at least 22 states, CNN reported.
Michael Osterholm, an epidemiologist on President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 transition team, told CNN that data from the recent British report had “convinced” him that the new variant was deadlier.
“Data is piling up – and some of it that I cannot share – that clearly supports that B.1.1.7 causes more severe illness and increased mortality,” he said. “We already know that this variant has increased drivetrain, so that’s really bad news.”
More than 25 million Americans have contracted COVID-19 and more than 417,000 have died throughout the pandemic, according to Johns Hopkins University.
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