New virus strain’s transmissibility to cause more deaths ─Study

*The new Coronavirus variant is 56 percent more transmissible than other strains, says Centre for Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Alexander Davis | ConsumerConnect

As part of the blazing second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the mutated virus strain that has been spreading in the United Kingdom (UK) appears to be more contagious and will likely lead to higher levels of hospitalisations and deaths next year, a new study showed.

The variant is 56 percent more transmissible than other strains, according to the study by the Centre for Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

There’s no clear evidence that it results in more or less severe disease.

The UK Government previously, had said the mutated variant appears to be as much as 70 percent more transmissible than other circulating strains.

Patrick Vallance, British Chief Scientific Adviser, December 19 also opined that it has almost two dozen mutations that may affect proteins made by the Coronavirus.

Report indicates that has raised concern that tests, treatments and vaccines that just started rolling out might be less effective, though Europe’s health regulator said the variant probably isn’t different enough from earlier ones to elude Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE’s shot.

Countries including Australia, Denmark and Singapore have also discovered the strain.

Measures like England’s national lockdown in November are unlikely to reduce the reproduction number ─ the new infections estimated to stem from a single case ─ to less than 1 unless schools and universities are also closed, the report said.

It also stated that vaccine rollouts may need to be accelerated to contain its spread, to a rate of 2 million people a week from the current pace of 200,000.