Dr Anthony Fauci warned on Sunday that new data suggests that the COVID-19 strain that first emerged in the UK could be more deadly.
“We have to assume that now what has been circulating in the UK has an increase in virulence, that is, the power of the virus to cause more damage, including death,” Fauci said. said Margaret Brennan, CBS anchor, on “Face the Nation.”
Fauci said British officials initially indicated that the new variant was no longer lethal, but that they have now reversed the course after a study suggested it was around 30 per cent more fatal in older adults.
The average mortality rate among 60-year-olds in the UK had been around 10 per 10,000.
But with the new strain, there had been about 13 or 14 deaths in the same population, USA Today reported.
“We want to look at the data ourselves, but we have every reason to believe it. They are a very competent group, “Fauci said.
The UK strain has been confirmed in at least 22 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Fauci said the available COVID-19 vaccines appear to be effective against the variant, although he admits there may be a “very small decrease” in protection.
“The pillow you have of effectiveness is so big that it won’t negatively affect you,” Fauci said.
But he said it is “a little more worrying” when it comes to another new strain that was first detected in South Africa, which appears to be more resistant to the vaccine.
“It seems to further decrease the effectiveness of the vaccine, but we are still within that cushion level for vaccines to be advantageous against these mutants,” Fauci said.
“That said, we will look at this and follow it very carefully because these things are evolving. What we will and will do is prepare for the possibility that … at the end of the line, it will be necessary to modify and update the vaccines, “he added.