Changes in symptomatology, reinfection, and transmissibility associated with the SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.1.7: an ecological study
Mark S. Graham, Carole H. Sudre, Anna May, Michela Antonelli, Benjamin Murray, Thomas Varsavsky, Kerstin Kläser, Liane S. Canas, Erika Molteni, Marc Modat, David Drew, Long H. Nguyen, Lorenzo Polidori, Somesh Selvachandran, Christina Hu, Joan Capdevila Pujol, Cherian Koshy, Amy Ash, Emma L. Wise, Nathan Moore, Matilde Mori, Nick Cortes, Jessica Lynch, Stephen P. Kidd, Derek Fairley, Tanya Curran, James McKenna, Helen Adams, Christophe Fraser, Tanya Golubchik, David Bonsall, Mohammed O. Hassan-Ibrahim, Cassandra S. Malone, Benjamin J. Cogger, Michelle Wantoch, Nicola Reynolds, Ben Warne, Joshua Maksimovic, Karla Spellman, Kathryn McCluggage, John P.T. Mo, Robert Beer, Safiah Afifi, Siân Morgan, Angela Marchbank, Anna Price, Christine Kitchen, Huw Gulliver, Ian Merrick, Joel Southgate, Martyn F. Guest, Robert J. Munn, Trudy Workman, Thomas R. Connor, William Fuller, Catherine Bresner, Luke B. Snell, Amita Patel, Themoula Charalampous, Gaia Nebbia, Rahul Batra, Jonathan Edgeworth, Samuel C. Robson, Angela H. Beckett, David M. Aanensen, Anthony P. Underwood, Corin Yeats, Khalil Abudahab, Ben Taylor, Mirko Menegazzo, Gemma Clark, Darren Smith, Manjinder Khakh, Vicki M. Fleming, Michelle M. Lister, Hannah C. Howson‐Wells, Louise Berry, Tim Boswell, Amelia Joseph, Iona Willingham, Carl Jones, Christopher W. Holmes, Paul Bird, Thomas Helmer, Karlie Fallon, Julian W. Tang, Veena Raviprakash, Sharon L. Campbell, Nicola Sheriff, Victoria Blakey, Lesley-Anne Williams, Matthew Loose, Nadine Holmes, Christopher Moore, Matthew Carlile, Victoria Wright, Fei Sang, Johnny Debebe, Francesc Coll, Adrian W. Signell
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.1.7 was first identified in December, 2020, in England. We aimed to investigate whether increases in the proportion of infections with this variant are associated with differences in symptoms or disease course, reinfection rates, or transmissibility. METHODS: , for the two incidence estimates. FINDINGS: fell below 1 during regional and national lockdowns, even in regions with high proportions of infections with the B.1.1.7 variant. INTERPRETATION: The lack of change in symptoms identified in this study indicates that existing testing and surveillance infrastructure do not need to change specifically for the B.1.1.7 variant. In addition, given that there was no apparent increase in the reinfection rate, vaccines are likely to remain effective against the B.1.1.7 variant. FUNDING: Zoe Global, Department of Health (UK), Wellcome Trust, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (UK), National Institute for Health Research (UK), Medical Research Council (UK), Alzheimer's Society.