Data on UK coronavirus variant is very preliminary –expert

An infectious disease expert eased concerns that the UK variant of the coronavirus was deadlier, emphasizing that data on the matter was still preliminary.

Dr. Edsel Salvana, director of the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology at the UP National Institutes of Health, said there was still no evidence that the B.1.1.7 variant was more deadly.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday that the new COVID-19 variant may be associated with a higher level of mortality although he said evidence showed that both vaccines being used in the UK were effective against it.

“The data from the UK about potentially increased deadliness of the virus, is very preliminary,” Salvana, a member of the technical advisory group that advises the Department of Health (DOH) and Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF), said.

“The original data po kasi is wala talagang evidence, that it's deadlier, pero may karagadagang paga-aral na ginawa sila that suggests na baka maybe 30% more deadly,” he said.

The report that the new variant may be deadlier came on the heels of the DOH’s announcement that there were now 17 UK variant COVID-19 cases in the Philippines after the first who arrived from the United Arab Emirates earlier in January.

Of the additional 16 cases, three have recovered while 13 are still active. Of the 13 active cases, three are asymptomatic while the remaining 10 have mild symptoms.

The B.1.1.7 variant of the novel coronavirus, first detected in the United Kingdom, was more infectious but it did not make the disease more severe.

Twelve of the 16 additional cases are from Bontoc in the Mountain Province, two are OFWs returning from Lebanon, two are from La Trinidad in Benguet and Calamba in Laguna.

“So pinaga-aralan pa po ito, hindi pa po siya final, very very preliminary po ang sinabi ng UK, the other thing is transmissible ang isang variant, mas maraming cases, mas mase-stress po yung ating health care system,” Salvana said.

“So in general, pwedeng mangyari is pag puno po yung mga ospital, mas maraming mamamtay kasi yung iba, hindi po naaalagaan,” he said. — DVM, GMA News