Gottlieb says new coronavirus strain in Europe could be more infectious

Washington — Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the former head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), warned Sunday that a new strain of the coronavirus discovered in Europe that prompted stringent restrictions in parts of the United Kingdom appears to be more contagious than existing variants but likely is not more lethal.
“There is a new variant, and there’s question of whether or not it’s become the predominant strain in London because of what we call founders’ effect — it just got into London and got into some early super spreading events — or whether or not it’s the result of what we call selective pressure, it’s being selected for because it has qualities that make it more likely to spread,” Gottlieb said in an interview on “Face the Nation.” “Increasingly, it does seem to be the latter. It seems like this new strain is more contagious.”
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[Source: CBS News]