• A student takes a lateral flow test at Weaverham High School in Cheshire. Reuters
    A student takes a lateral flow test at Weaverham High School in Cheshire. Reuters
  • British Health Secretary Matt Hancock walks outside Downing Street in London. Reuters
    British Health Secretary Matt Hancock walks outside Downing Street in London. Reuters
  • Pupils gather in the playground for a break on their first day back from lockdown at Chertsey High School. Getty Images
    Pupils gather in the playground for a break on their first day back from lockdown at Chertsey High School. Getty Images
  • Prince Charles, Camilla. NHS England National Medical Director Stephen Powis and Chief Executive of the National Health Service in England Sir Simon Stevens are pictured during a visit at the Skipton House in London. Reuters
    Prince Charles, Camilla. NHS England National Medical Director Stephen Powis and Chief Executive of the National Health Service in England Sir Simon Stevens are pictured during a visit at the Skipton House in London. Reuters
  • Two people sit on the grass in St James's Park in London. As part of the governments plans to ease lockdown restrictions in England, as of Monday people can leave home for recreation outdoors such as a coffee or picnic with one person outside their household. AP Photo
    Two people sit on the grass in St James's Park in London. As part of the governments plans to ease lockdown restrictions in England, as of Monday people can leave home for recreation outdoors such as a coffee or picnic with one person outside their household. AP Photo
  • A student takes a lateral flow test at Weaverham High School in Cheshire. Reuters
    A student takes a lateral flow test at Weaverham High School in Cheshire. Reuters
  • Nicky Clough visits her mother Pam Harrison in her bedroom at Alexander House Care Home for the first time since the lockdown restrictions began to ease, in London. Reuters
    Nicky Clough visits her mother Pam Harrison in her bedroom at Alexander House Care Home for the first time since the lockdown restrictions began to ease, in London. Reuters
  • Pupils arrive for their first lessons on their first day back from lockdown at Chertsey High School. Getty Images
    Pupils arrive for their first lessons on their first day back from lockdown at Chertsey High School. Getty Images

UK strain could be up to twice as deadly as other Covid variants


Paul Carey
  • English
  • Arabic

The UK strain of Covid-19 which has spread across the world could be up to twice as deadly as previous variants.

The more infectious B117 variant, also known as the Kent variant, which swept across the UK at the end of last year, is between 30 per cent and 100 per cent more deadly, according to a new study.

The study compared death rates among people in Britain infected with the new variant against those infected with other strains. Epidemiologists from the Universities of Exeter and Bristol said the new highly infectious variant had "significantly higher" mortality.

The B117 variant was first detected in Britain in September 2020 and has since been found in more than 100 countries. It is thought to have contributed towards the rapid increase in cases before new lockdown rules were introduced across the UK.

It has 23 mutations in its genetic code – a relatively high number of changes – and some of these have made it far more able to spread. UK scientists say it is about 40 per cent to 70 per cent more transmissible than previously dominant circulating coronavirus variants.

In the UK study, published in the British Medical Journal on Wednesday, infection with the new variant led to 227 deaths in a sample of 54,906 Covid-19 patients, compared with 141 among the same number of patients infected with other variants.

Robert Challen from the University of Exeter, lead author of the study, said, “In the community, death from Covid-19 is still a rare event, but the B117 variant raises the risk.

“Coupled with its ability to spread rapidly, this makes B117 a threat that should be taken seriously.”

According to the study, the higher transmissibility of the Kent strain meant that more people who would previously have been considered low risk were admitted to hospital with the newer variant.

Epidemiologists from the Universities of Exeter and Bristol said the new highly infectious variant had 'significantly higher' mortality. Getty Images
Epidemiologists from the Universities of Exeter and Bristol said the new highly infectious variant had 'significantly higher' mortality. Getty Images

Leon Danon from the University of Bristol, senior author of the study, said, “We focused our analysis on cases that occurred between November 2020 and January 2021, when both the old variants and the new variant were present in the UK.

“This meant we were able to maximise the number of ‘matches’ and reduce the impact of other biases. Subsequent analyses have confirmed our results.

“Sars-CoV-2 appears able to mutate quickly, and there is a real concern that other variants will arise with resistance to rapidly rolled-out vaccines.

“Monitoring for new variants as they arise, measuring their characteristics and acting appropriately needs to be a key part of the public health response in the future.”

Ellen Brooks-Pollock from the University of Bristol said, “It was fortunate the mutation happened in a part of the genome covered by routine testing.

“Future mutations could arise and spread unchecked.”

In January, a paper from the New And Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag) said there was a “realistic possibility” that the variant was associated with an increased risk of death.

But scientists stated there was a lot of uncertainty around the data.

Mutations of the virus have raised concerns about whether vaccines would be effective against the new strains, including the now-dominant Kent strain.

But research suggests the Pfizer-BioNTech jab is just as effective against the Kent variant of coronavirus as it was against the original pandemic strain, while other data indicates the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines has a similar efficacy against the variant.

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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