The UK government’s SAGE group has claimed in a new paper that it is a “realistic possibility” that a new COVID variant could end up with a morbidity rate of over 35%, arguing the government should consider drastic measures like the vaccination or culling of animals.
The research paper, published on Friday by the UK government as part of transparency efforts, outlined a number of scenarios for the future of COVID variants. Four scenarios were considered, including the possibility of a vaccine-resistant and drug-resistant variant. The most shocking however, was “Scenario One,” which predicted a situation where a new variant causes “severe disease in a greater proportion of the population.” Death rates suggested in this scenario could be between 10%, like SARS, or even as high as 35%, like MERS.--
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