The scientific journal The Lancet Infectouse Diseases has published the results of studies of the characteristics of the B.1.1.7 line (a mutation of a new type of coronavirus isolated in early December 2020 in the UK and known as the “British strain”).
Scientists managed to find out that this mutation really spreads faster than other varieties of SARS-CoV-2, but the assumptions about the high risk of death as a result of infection with this strain have not been confirmed.
“The reproduction index (a measure of the rate at which the virus spreads) in the British strain is 1.35 times higher than that of the original coronavirus,” the researchers confirmed.