direct to your inbox The Kent variant of Covid-19 may be up to twice as deadly as previous strains of coronavirus, new research suggests.
Epidemiologists from the Universities of Exeter and Bristol said the data suggests the variant is associated with a significantly higher mortality rate among adults diagnosed in the community compared with previously circulating strains.Robert Challen, from the University of Exeter, lead author of the study, said: “In the community, death from Covid-19 is still a rare event, but the B117 variant raises the risk.“Coupled with its ability to spread rapidly, this makes B117 a threat that should be taken seriously.”Researchers looked at death rates among people infected with the new variant and those infected.