The study says the variant found in the UK is 45% more contagious

A The variant detected in the United Kingdom is more contagious than the original version of the SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for Govt-19. These are the results of a new study conducted in Israel and published in the press Cell Reports Medicine.

According to Galileo, Variant B.1.1.7, spreads very rapidly in the country. According to scientists at Tel Aviv University, on December 24, only 5% of positive cases were due to the new variant. Six weeks later, in January 2021, that number had risen to 90%, and now stands at 99.5%.

In the face of these alarming statistics, the researchers determined that this variant was 45% more contagious than the original version of the virus, based on data collected through 300,000 Covid-19 tests.

In addition to the epidemic, the researchers also studied the spread of B.1.1.7 with age and some effects of the vaccine on the population, i.e. in January, the number of new cases in people over the age of 60 dropped significantly, with an increase for the remaining individuals. These data were verified two weeks after 50% of citizens over the age of 60 received the first dose of the vaccine.

“We can say that the vaccine saved hundreds of lives, even in a short period of time,” said Dan Yamin, one of the authors of the article. “Even after 50% of the elderly population has been vaccinated and tested toward the risks of the center, the West can expect the curve of severe cases to fall despite the high incidence of the British variant,” the researcher points out.

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