The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, speaks during a media briefing on coronavirus (COVID-19) in Downing Street, on January 15, 2021, in London, England.
Dominic Lipinski | Getty Images
LONDON – There is “some evidence” that a new Covid variant first identified in Britain could be more deadly than the original strain, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday.
“We were informed today that, in addition to the faster spread, there now seems to be some evidence that the new variant – the variant that was first discovered in London and the south-east (England) – can be associated with a higher degree. mortality, “Johnson told a news conference.
He added that all the evidence suggests that vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca-Oxford University, the two currently used in the UK, remain effective against both old and new variants of the virus.
The evidence is still in a preliminary stage and is being evaluated by the Advisory Group on New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats, which advises the British government.
The variant, known as B.1.1.7., Has an unusually large number of mutations and is associated with a more efficient and faster transmission.
Scientists first detected this mutation in September. The variant of concern has since been detected in at least 44 countries, including the United States, which has reported its presence in 12 states.
Last week, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that the model trajectory of the US variant “shows a rapid growth at the beginning of 2021, becoming the predominant variant in March”.