The mutant strain "Yota", which first appeared in New York, has a higher mortality rate

Source: Science and Technology Daily

The first mutant strain in New York, "Yota", had a higher mortality rate, on average, 60% more than the original strain.

Science and Technology Daily Beijing, August 12 (Reporter Liu Xia) Scientists from the Department of Health and Mental Health of New York City and the Columbia University School of Public Health recently published an article on the biomedical preprint website that compared with the previous new coronavirus variant strain, the new coronavirus variant strain "Yota", which was first discovered in New York in November 2020, has a greater infectious and immune escape tendency, and can increase the mortality rate of elderly infected people by 62%-82%.

The "Yota" variant strain (b.1.526) was first identified in New York City in November 2020. The virus has spread to all 52 states in the United States and 27 countries around the world. From November 2020 to March 2021, the Yota variant dominated New York City, and later, with the prevalence of the more contagious Alpha (b.1.1.7) variant strain, the local prevalence of Yota gradually decreased.

Studies have shown that this variant strain is moderately resistant to therapeutic monoclonal antibodies and vaccine/infection-inducing antibodies. In addition, there is evidence that this variant does not increase the risk of breakthrough infection in individuals who have been vaccinated or previously infected.

In the latest study, the scientists used nine epidemiological databases to build a comprehensive model to assess the strain's infection rates, immune evasion, and infection mortality between November 2020 and April 2021.

The results of the study showed that compared with the previously circulated new coronavirus variant strain, the infection rate of "Yota" increased by 15%-25%, and there was still no more than 10% immune evasion in infected people. Moreover, the infection mortality rate of this mutated strain in the middle-aged and elderly groups was significantly improved, and compared with the benchmark mortality rate of the previous mutated strain, the infection mortality rate of infected people aged 45-64, 65-74 years and over 75 years increased by 46%, 82% and 62%, respectively.

In addition, the mortality rate after infection with the "Yota" variant strain increased by an average of 60% compared to the previous COVID-19 variant strain, which is comparable to the estimate of the alpha variant strain.

Although the study was not peer-reviewed, the researchers said, it underscored the importance of monitoring the epidemiological characteristics of variant strains of the new coronavirus to better respond to the covid-19 outbreak.