LONDON - A new study has confirmed that a new variant of the novel coronavirus first discovered in the U.K.
and since reported in the U.S. is more transmissible than COVID-19 — and the research suggests it’s affecting a greater proportion of young people.The study, published Dec.
31 in a pre-print by a team from Imperial College London and elsewhere, found that the variant B.1.1.7 is growing rapidly throughout England, where it was first detected in September.The reproduction number, or "R" number, was estimated to be between 1.4 and 1.8 for the new variant in the study.
This measure indicates the number of people one infected person will pass the virus to, on average."These analyses, which have informed U.K.