LONDON – British officials warned on Friday that a variant of the coronavirus first identified in the UK could be more lethal as well as more transmissible than previous versions of the pathogen.
The conclusions of scientists advising the British government are still highly uncertain. But British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a televised speech that the variant – which caused Covid-19 infections to rise in the UK and is spreading rapidly in the United States – could result in higher death rates.
US federal health officials said it is likely to become the dominant variant in the U.S. by March.
“We were told today that, in addition to spreading faster, it now also appears that there is some evidence that the new variant – the one that was first identified in London and the South East – may be associated with a higher degree of mortality” , said Mr. Johnson.
Interim conclusions come when British hospitals deal with more patients with Covid-19 than at any time during the pandemic. The UK’s Covid-19 death toll is expected to rise from 100,000 next week.