We’re in a new year and we have also entered a new phase of this pandemic. So I thought I’d start off the new year with a quick catch-up thread on the UK variant B.1.1.7 and where we are at in this pandemic.

The variant caught scientists' attention in early December based on a surge in cases around Kent and sequencing data showing it carried a host of mutations. (I wrote about this and how a quirk in the PCR is helping track it here:

CAVEAT: The pace at which we have learnt about this new variant is astonishing. But it’s important to realize that a lot of crucial lab experiments take longer. Most data now is looking at noisy epidemiological data and making inferences based on that.

Having said that: The picture is becoming clearer.
Good news first: There still is no evidence that the variant causes more severe disease or that it can reinfect people more easily or circumvent vaccine-induced immunity. Still, we need to stay vigilant.

The bad news: The evidence has only become stronger that B.1.1.7 is more transmissible and potentially a lot more transmissible than previously circulating #sarscov2. That has potentially massive consequences for the course of this pandemic.