A study from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health shows that the British virus variant gives infected people 2.6 times the risk of becoming seriously ill and hospitalized.
– People infected with the British variant are associated with a 2.6 times higher risk of being admitted to hospital with covid-19 as the main reason for admission, says department director Line Vold in FHI to NRK.
At the beginning of March, more than 70 per cent of all people with corona in Norway were infected with the British variant, according to the National Institute of Public Health.
– It is serious that this new, more contagious variant, also seems to give a higher risk of hospitalizations. We are concerned about the spread of infection with this new variant, says Vold to NRK.
Increased risk in all age groups
255 people infected with the British virus variant were hospitalized until 7 March. This corresponds to 4.3 percent of those infected. Among people infected with a non-specific variant, 106 people were admitted. This corresponds to 2.5 percent.
After adjusting for age, sex, country of birth, risk status, county and test date, people infected with the British variant thus have a 2.6 times higher risk of being admitted, FHIs shows tall.
The increase in the number of admissions is now happening in all age groups, and the study shows that the British variant also causes serious illness to those under 40 years of age.
Study not peer-reviewed
The NIPH study includes all new cases that were tested between 14 December and 7 March. A total of 32,374 corona cases have been analyzed. Of these, 11,154 were examined for varieties that are of particular concern.
54 per cent is a British variant, 38 per cent was not a separate variant, 8 per cent another separate variant, and 0.5 per cent an unknown variant.
The study has not yet been peer-reviewed. It will be sent to a journal for peer review, FHI states.
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