A study published March 15 in Nature offers more evidence that the U.K. coronavirus variant B.1.1.7 is not only more transmissible than other strains, but may also be deadlier.
Researchers analyzed data on more than 2.2 million positive COVID-19 tests collected in community-based settings in England between Sep. 1, 2020, and Feb. 14, 2021. The presence or absence of the U.K. variant could be identified in about 51 percent of samples.
Based on 4,945 deaths with a known U.K. variant status, researchers estimated that the 28-day death risk associated with the variant was 55 percent higher than other strains after adjusting for such factors as age, sex and testing date. Researchers estimated this figure was closer to 61 percent for the whole study cohort.
The findings come five days after a separate study published in The BMJ found patients ages 30 and older infected with the U.K. variant had a 64 percent higher death risk than those infected with previously circulating strains.
However, both research teams noted the absolute 28-day mortality risk was still low for most populations, according to CIDRAP News. Both studies also focused on less than 10 percent of total deaths recorded in England during the study periods, so the findings may not be transferable to other settings or age groups.
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