NEW DELHI: A study published in the medical journal, The Lancet Infectious Diseases, on Monday, April 12, found that the highly contagious British variant of the novel coronavirus does not cause a severe disease in hospitalised patients. The strain named as B.1.1.7, was identified in Britain last year and now has become the most common variant in the United States of America (USA), according to US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.
The study analysed data of 496 COVID-19 patients who were admitted in British hospitals in November and December last year. The experts found no significant difference in severity of disease and deaths between patients with the B.1.1.7 variant and other patients. Another study published in The Lancet Public Health medical journal found that the vaccines are effective against the British variant since there is no apparent increase in the reinfection rate as compared to the non-UK variants.
The study also confirmed the previous findings that B.1.1.7 variant of COVID-19 is more transmissible than the others.