A highly contagious coronavirus variant first detected in Britain does not appear to lead to more severe disease in hospitalized patients, suggests a new study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

The B.1.1.7 variant was identified in Britain in late 2020 and has at present become the most common strain in the United States, as per the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Researchers assessed 496 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in British hospitals during November and December, 2020, and compared the outcomes in those infected with B.1.1.7 variant or other variants. There was no difference in risk of severe disease, death, or other clinical outcomes in patients with B.1.1.7 and those with other variants. The findings are reassuring that severity in hospitalized patients with B.1.1.7 has no considerable difference from severity in those without the variant… (Reuters, April 13, 2021)