Filenews 15 March 2021
The most contagious variant B.1.1.7 of the coronavirus, first detected in Britain in September last year, is probably associated with an increased risk of death, according to a new British scientific study.
The researchers, led by Dr Nicholas Davies of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who published the study in the prestigious journal Nature, came to this conclusion, analysing the results of more than 2.2 million positive coronavirus tests and almost 17,500 Covid-19 deaths in England between September 2020 and February 2021.
Of the tests in the community, it was possible for half (51%) of the tests in the community. to establish the presence or absence of the British variant due to specific mutations in the virus spike protein gene.
The researchers estimate that in the British variant the risk of death of patients is about 55% higher than those infected by previous variants of SARS-CoV-2. This is estimated to result in an increase in the absolute risk of death of a man aged 55 to 69 from 0.6% to 0.9% (i.e. almost one chance out of 100) over the next 28 days after the initial positive diagnostic test.
Making some adjustments to their initial estimates, the researchers concluded that the British variant increases the risk of death by Covid-19 by 61%.
Source: in.gr
