The virulence of the CCP virus variant that first emerged in England last year and triggered the country’s current third full national lockdown has been re-estimated and found to be lower than originally thought, according to experts. Raghib Ali, Senior Researcher at the University of Cambridge MRC Epidemiology Unit, wrote on Twitter on Wednesday that findings (pdf) from a Public Health England (PHE) investigation show the variant is just 30 to 50 percent more transmissible than the original strain, rather than the previously estimated 50 to 70 percent. Ali also wrote that compared to the original strain of the virus, the variant shows “no significant difference in age distribution” nor is it “more likely to infect children/younger people.” The PHE investigation findings cover the period up to Jan. 4. They provide an update to previous briefings in December when, amid concerns over its rapid spread, the variant’s status was upgraded …