The proportion of people infected with B.1.1.7 increased from 4% in early January to 45% in the second week of February. And B.1.1.7 now accounts for over 60% of the total infection.
As predicted by mathematical model calculations, B.1.1.7 has now been taken over as the most widespread variant in Denmark. Now, results from a Danish study show that B.1.1.7 also seems to carry a 64% greater risk of hospitalizations (95% safety interval 32-104%).
Due to greater infectivity, the proportion of those infected with the B.1.1.7 variant has been steadily growing and is today dominant in Denmark.
There is good reason to take the virus variant B.1.1.7 seriously. Calculations of the variant made by the expert group for mathematical modeling at the Statens Serum Institut (SSI) have since the turn of the year predicted that an undercurrent of infection with the more infectious variant would take over and drive the epidemic in Denmark during February.
Those predictions have proven to hold true. The proportion of people infected with B.1.1.7 increased from 4% in early January to 45% in the second week of February. And B.1.1.7 now accounts for over 60% of the total infection.
Now, the results of a registry-based study conducted by SSI show that people infected with B.1.1.7 have an estimated increased risk of hospitalization compared to people infected with other SARS-CoV-2 virus variants of 64% (95 safety range 32-104%).
“We do not know the explanation for the fact that B.1.1.7 increases the risk of being admitted. But our figures point in the same direction as several other studies from the UK, which show that B.1.1.7 may have more serious courses, ”says Tyra Grove Krause, Acting Technical Director at SSI.
