New mutant coronavirus strain is almost 50% more contagious

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The new mutant variant of “super” coronavirus is indeed more infectious than previous variants, as scientists feared, a new study has found.

Researchers at Imperial College London have found that the new devastating variant in the UK could be almost 50% more transmissible, based on samples taken from almost 86,000 Britons.

In the study posted online yesterday, which has not yet been evaluated by colleagues, researchers at Imperial College found that the number “R” for the new variant B117 is 0.4 and 0.7 points higher than other variants.

The “R” number of a virus describes the average number of additional cases that each infection leads to.

In the UK, the last R number is between 1.1 and 1.3, government figures show. This means that, on average, every 10 infected people will infect between 11 and 13 other people.

The graphs in the new study show how, over the course of eight weeks, the new variant became more common (higher points on each chart) in the UK and became more transmissible (the right points on each chart show increasing R numbers or transmission rates

The graphs in the new study show how, over the course of eight weeks, the new variant became more common (higher points on each chart) in the UK and became more transmissible (the right points on each chart show increasing R numbers or transmission rates

Pictured: a screenshot from the Imperial College report showing case trends involving the new coronavirus strain, where the% S rate indicates the transport of the new variant

Pictured: a screenshot from the Imperial College report showing case trends involving the new coronavirus strain, where the% S rate indicates the transport of the new variant

Pictured: Graphics from the Imperial College report showing the age distribution of people found to be wearing the new version of Covid-19

Pictured: Graphs in the Imperial College report showing the age distribution of people found to be wearing the new version of Covid-19

Meanwhile, on average in the US, each infected person currently leads to 1.15 other infections, according to daily calculations from RT.live.

With this measure of transmissibility, the R number in the US ranges from about 0.86 in Alaska to 1.23 in Maine, which emerged as a hot spot this week.

The new variant was first detected in the UK in September, the study shows, but in early December it exploded and caused an increase in infections among the British.

The spread of the new novel SARS-CoV-2 variant, or Variant of Concern 202012/01 (VOC), in England is taking place despite the existence of a multilevel system, as part of efforts to control the spread of the virus.

The vast majority of England is below “Level 4”, the strictest level, but still has a record number of daily Covid-19 infections, despite measures.

Researchers at Imperial College London sequenced the genomes of 1,904 people infected with the new variant and compared how quickly the virus spread to a larger sample of other specimens taken from more than 48,000 people in England.

What is the “mutant COVID strain” and what are the experts concerned about?

Coronaviruses move regularly, gaining about a new mutation in their genome every two weeks.

Most mutations do not significantly change the way the virus works.

This super strain, called B.1.1.7, was first identified in the UK in November.

It has since been found in France, Spain, Italy, Iceland, Japan, Singapore, Australia and now in the United States.

The new variant COVID-19 has a mutation in the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the spike protein at position 501, where the amino acid asparagine (N) was replaced by tyrosine (Y).

It is more infectious than previous strains and potentially more harmful to children.

However, it is not thought to be more lethal.

Researchers at Public Health England compared 1,769 people infected with the new variant with 1,769 who had one of the previous strains of the virus.

Forty-two people in the group were hospitalized, of which 16 had the new variant and 26 were of the wild type.

Twelve of the variants and 10 of the oldest cases of the virus died within four weeks of testing.

Neither the differences in hospitalization nor mortality were statistically significant.

As expected, they discovered that the new virus did indeed have a “selective advantage over SARS-CoV-2 variants circulating in England,” they wrote in the press posted online on Thursday.

The variant was also disproportionately common among 20-year-olds and those living in the south-east and east of England and London.

The results of the new study mean that every person who catches this mutant virus will transmit it to up to 0.7 people on average.

To date, there is no evidence to suggest that the new variant causes more serious illness or is more fatal.

Encouragingly, virologists and public health experts believe that vaccines made by companies such as AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Moderna will continue to be effective against the new variant of coronavirus.

But the new variant heats the race between the spread of the virus and vaccination campaigns in the UK, USA – where the new variant has now been found in Colorado, California and Florida – and at least 31 other countries where the most infectious form of coronavirus has been detected. .

With over 186,000 newly infected people in a single day, on average in the US, the 48% higher transmissibility rate of 1.85 could lead to new infections per day beyond 275,000.

It could be a disaster for hospitals in hot spots like California, where some health care systems and regions are already out of ICU beds, in states of “internal disaster” and rationing care.

There are similar fears in the UK about the National Health Service (NHS) and its ability to cope with the number of coronavirus patients that are expected as the new variant of the disease continues to spread.

Sharing data from a separate study by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), Deepti Gurdasani – Senior Lecturer at Queen Mary University of London in the field of epidemiology and statistical genetics – ADVISED that “B117 is either dominant or very close to dominant in most regions” in England.

Over the course of six weeks, researchers saw the transmission rate of the new coronavirus (R) variant become higher (orange) than other variants, especially in South East England, East England and London.

Over the course of six weeks, researchers saw the transmission rate of the new coronavirus (R) variant become higher (orange) than other variants, especially in South East England, East England and London.

Meanwhile, only 3.17 million Americans had been vaccinated since Friday, according to a Bloomberg News report.

The CDC number puts the number even lower. The agency’s website says its vaccination tracker will be updated every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, but at the time of publication, the tool showed Wednesday’s figures of 2.79 million people vaccinated.

Bloomberg’s higher estimate means that Operation Warp Speed ​​vaccinated only 16% of the 20 million Americans it promised to inoculate by the end of the year.

At this rate, it would take nearly a decade to vaccinate all adult members of the American population of 331 million people.

And many Americans remain on the fence about getting a vaccine even when one is available. About 60 percent of Ohio asylum workers say they will refuse a shot.

The slow, dysfunctional distribution of the vaccine and Americans’ distrust of the photos could give the B117 only the openness it needs to spread like wildfire across the country, infecting millions beyond the 20 million people who have already had the infection. US thousands.

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