UK variant of Covid-19 could be deadlier, UK officials say

LONDON – UK public health officials have warned that the new variant of the coronavirus first identified in the country last month could be much deadlier and more contagious, raising the stakes in the global vaccination race.

The new version is already the most prevalent variety of the virus in most parts of the UK, and US federal authorities have said it will likely become the dominant variant in America by March. Britain’s top science adviser on Friday said preliminary studies show it could be between 30% and 40% deadlier than previous variants.

The UK’s preliminary findings, based on four separate studies, come as health officials express increased concerns about mutations in the virus that could make it more contagious, deadly or more resistant to vaccines. A variant discovered in South Africa has a mutation that could make current vaccines less effective at preventing it, the researchers say. Another in Brazil raised similar concerns.

The emergence of such variants raises the stakes for the sometimes hesitant efforts to deploy vaccines in the United States and around the world.

The conclusions of scientists advising the British government are still provisional. UK hospitals are already being pushed to their limits with more Covid-19 patients than at any time during the pandemic. The UK’s Covid-19 death toll is expected to exceed 100,000 next week.