The new variant is transmitted much more easily than the original one. Everything you think you know about covid must be reconsidered.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-55507012
The Imperial College study suggests transmission of the new variant tripled during England's November lockdown while the previous version was reduced by a third.
Here in the UK we are more or less back to full lockdown. Nonetheless, cases are still rising very rapidly. Our emergency hospitals are called 'Nightingales' (after the nurse) and are ready. It remains to be seen whether they are enough.
The problem is that the new variant has a transmission rate - the famous R number - between 0.4 and 0.7 higher than the original variant. In other words, if the precautions in your area take R from around 3 (the old variant natural rate with no precautions) to 0.9, you have done a great job and the number of infections will be falling. However, with the new variant the same precautions will result in R being around 1.5. Which is pretty rapid transmission.
What does this mean in reality? In means that what we used to think of as pretty fierce lockdown is inadequate to stop the spread of the new variant.
In cuddling terms, this means that whatever precautions you have taken up till now will not be adequate when the new variant reaches you. Unless you have at least 75%(?) of the local population vaccinated. In most of the UK, cuddling is now illegal except with members of your household.
There is now a race on here in the UK, and that race is coming soon to a country near you. Can we get the vaccine out fast enough to beat the faster spread? At the moment it's not clear. Our government has been consistently over-optimistic in its planning and seems set to continue in that vein. Nonetheless, the UK realistically expects to be vaccinating about 1/8 of the whole population per month by mid-January, thanks to the Oxford vaccine (normal fridge temperature) which has been approved in addition to the Pfizer (very cold) one. Vulnerable groups first, obviously. Over a million people have received at least a first dose so far.
The good news is that the new variant is otherwise similar to the old one. It results in much the same symptoms of much the same severity and much the same fatality rate. The vaccine people are saying that they expect that the vaccines will work against the new variant, and if they don't it will not take long at all to create a new vaccine. And the vaccine will be having a statistically significant effect on hospital admissions by Easter.
In the meantime, good luck everybody.