- The beta variant of the coronavirus first detected in South Africa may have caused more severe disease during the country’s second wave, but other factors were likely involved.
- Researchers looked at COVID-19 patient admission data from over 644 South African hospitals from March 2020 through March 2021, along with the number of coronavirus cases during that time.
- Researchers found that COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and in-hospital deaths were all higher during the second wave when the beta variant was more common than the first wave when the alpha variant was more common.
During South Africa’s second wave of the pandemic, COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and in-hospital deaths were all increased than with the first wave, a new study showed.
This came at a time when the coronavirus’ beta variant was predominant in the country, which suggests “that the new lineage (beta) in South Africa might be associated with increased in-hospital mortality during the second wave,” the authors wrote July 9 in
However, they noted limitations to the study. Also, other factors likely contributed to the higher death rate in hospitalized COVID-19 patients during the country’s second wave.
Source: healthline