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Summary
- The PHE had identified a new variant -VUI – 202012/01 in mid-December, when there was a rapid increase in cases
- A new PHE study has shown that no severe illness is caused by the new coronavirus variant as compared to other strains
A recent study conducted by the Public Health England (PHE) has shown that though the new coronavirus variant -- VUI – 202012/01 -- is easily transmissible, it is not as fatal as other variants. The study has found that no severe illness is caused by the new variant of the novel coronavirus as compared to other variants.
The PHE had identified the new variant in mid-December when there was a rapid increase in the cases in Kent and London. Around 1,108 cases were identified with this new variant as on 13 December, particularly in the South and East of England, which made the UK government impose tier 4 restrictions, followed by travel bans.
The UK government had earlier announced that PHE along with its partners was carrying out a study to investigate the severity of the impact and vaccine efficacy with respect to the new strain.
Study at a glance
The study was divided into two groups -- one consisting of the people infected with the new variant; and the other consisting of people infected by what researchers have described as "wild-type" virus. Researchers compared 1,769 infected people from each group, and their results were matched 1:1 on basis of their age, area of residence, sex, and time of testing.
According to the study, a total of 42 people were hospitalised, of which 16 were infected with the new variant and 26 cases were of the wild type infection. The study also reported 12 deaths were due to the new variant in comparison with 10 deaths that were due to the wild type.
Statistically, there were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of hospitalisation and 28-day case fatality, the preliminary results from the cohort study stated. Additionally, no significant difference was found between the new variant cases and wild-type cases with regards to the likelihood of a re-infection.
However, the study showed that the secondary attack rate was much higher in cases with the new variant infection as compared to the wild-type one. Secondary attack rate means the rate at which the disease spreads between the two groups.
Andrew Hayward, a leading epidemiologist of the UK, warned that if the government doesn’t take tough action to curb the spread of the new variant, then Britain would be heading for catastrophe in the coming weeks.
Not only the UK but more than 20 other nations have also reported cases of the new variant.
