The CDC is reviewing new data that suggests that the coronavirus variant identified in the UK may be more deadly

The CDC is reviewing new data that suggests that the coronavirus variant identified in the UK may be more deadly

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“The CDC has contacted the UK authorities and is reviewing its new mortality data associated with variant B.1.1.7,” a CDC official told CNN on Saturday, using the scientific name of the variant detected for the first time. in the UK in November.

A UK report released Friday says there is “a realistic possibility” that the new variant has a higher death rate than other variants.
Although the data are not conclusive, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that “there is some evidence that the new variant … may be associated with a higher degree of mortality”.
Modeling the CDC shows that this new variant, which spread quickly, may become the predominant variant in the United States in March.
Only 195 cases of the new variant have been detected in the US so far, according to the CDC, but public health officials believe that many other cases are going unnoticed. The cases have been found in 22 states, says the CDC, with California and Florida detecting an especially high number.
CDC is still working on the goal of duplicating coronavirus sequences to expand the search for mutations

So far, studies suggest that current vaccines will protect against the new variant and that wearing masks, social detachment and hand hygiene are critical to controlling the spread of the virus.

Michael Osterholm, an epidemiologist and a member of President Joe Biden’s coronavirus transition team, said he had reviewed the UK report, as well as other data that was not publicly released, and is “convinced” that the new variant is more deadly.

“The data is accumulating – and some of it I can’t share – that clearly supports that B.1.1.7 is causing more serious illness and increasing the number of deaths,” said Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at Minnesota University. “We already know that this variant has increased transmission and, therefore, this is very bad news.”

A CDC adviser said it would be ideal if American doctors could check and see how patients with the new variant perform compared to patients infected with other variants.

But Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said this could be difficult because genomic sequencing – the laboratory work needed to detect new strains – is not very robust in the United States.

“Our current ability to determine whether your particular patient has this new strain is very limited, and it really reinforces the notion that other countries are much more capable of doing this than we are,” said Schaffner, a member of the Advisory Committee of the CDC in immunization practices.

The United Kingdom has one of the strongest genomic sequencing programs in the world. The report provides details of several studies that compare the severity of the new variant with the previous ones.

The UK’s leading scientific adviser, Patrick Vallance, cited the mortality data, adding that the evidence is not yet strong and the data remains uncertain.

“If you caught … a man in his 60s, the average risk is that for 1,000 infected people, about 10 will unfortunately die from the virus. With the new variant, for 1,000 infected people, about 13 or Can- if 14 people are expected to die, “he said on Friday.

“This is the type of change for this type of age group, an increase from 10 to 13 or 14 in 1,000 and you will see that in different age groups too, a similar type of relative increase in risk,” he added.

The analyzes cited in the UK report include those made by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Imperial College London, University of Exeter and Public Health England.

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