Patients Admitted for Variant Alpha COVID-19 Have Poorer Outcomes than Those Infected with the Old Strain

The variant alpha COVID-19 rapidly spread across Europe in early 2021. While this variant's increased infectivity has been proven, little is known of its clinical presentation and outcomes compared to the old strain.

We identified patients admitted to the Cannes General Hospital for variant alpha-related COVID-19 infection from January to April 2021. Their main demographic parameters, inflammatory markers and clinical characteristics were recorded. Patients admitted from October to December 2020 for 20E (EU1) COVID-19 were selected as controls. Differences between groups were analyzed.

We included 157 patients (mean age 73 years; 58% men; mean delay of symptoms 6.9 days). Comorbidities were present in 92% (mainly hypertension, diabetes and obesity or overweight). The prevalence of comorbidities did not differ between groups. In 28% of cases, patients either died or required transfer to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). The cause of death or of transfer to the ICU was presumably associated with severe pneumonia. Variant alpha COVID-19 had 3.8-fold higher risk of death or transfer to the ICU compared to the old strain.

Patients infected with variant alpha COVID-19, despite similar background characteristics, had a higher risk of unfavorable outcomes than those infected with the old strain, suggesting increased virulence related to this variant.