New York, November 20: A SARS-CoV-2 variant with traits similar to that of the Delta variant might cause a more severe pandemic with more infections and breakthrough infections/reinfections than variants with either trait alone, finds a new study.

The study, published in the journal Cell, indicated that a variant with enhanced transmissibility alone would likely be more dangerous than a variant that could partially evade the immune system. Yet a variant with both traits could cause more infections, reinfections, and breakthrough infections than a variant with either trait alone.

"Thus far, evidence of immune escape -- the ability of a variant to evade the immune system and cause reinfections or breakthrough infections -- has been a red flag," said researcher Mary Bushman from Harvard University. India Logs 10,302 New COVID-19 Cases, 267 Deaths in Past 24 Hours; Active Cases Decline to 1,24,868.

"Our findings say it's maybe more of a yellow flag -- this is not such a big deal on its own. But when it's combined with enhanced transmissibility, then it can be a really big deal," Bushman added. The traits of the Delta variant include enhanced transmissibility and an ability to infect people who had previous infections/vaccination. AstraZeneca's Antibody Shot 83% Effective at Preventing COVID-19.

The analysis simulated a SARS-CoV-2 pandemic with several different hypothetical variants including combinations of the two traits -- enhanced transmissibility, similar to the Alpha variant; partial immune escape, similar to the Beta variant; enhanced transmissibility with partial immune escape, similar to the Delta variant; and a variant with neither trait.

The analysis also factored in how certain variables, such as masking/physical distancing or vaccinations, would affect the pandemic's trajectory. For each of the scenarios, the team analysed the total number of infections as well as the number/percentage of infections averted by vaccination.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 20, 2021 04:56 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).