COVID-19 patients age, comorbidity profiles and clinical presentation related to the SARS-CoV-2 UK-variant spread in the Southeast of France

The variant 20I/501Y.V1, associated to a higher risk of transmissibility, emerged in Nice city (Southeast of France, French Riviera) during January 2021. The pandemic has resumed late December 2020 in this area. A high incidence rate together with a fast turn-over of the main circulating variants, provided us the opportunity to analyze modifications in clinical profile and outcome traits. We performed an observational study in the University hospital of Nice from December 2020 to February 2021. We analyzed data of sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 from the sewage collector and PCR screening from all positive samples at the hospital. Then, we described the characteristics of all COVID-19 patients admitted in the emergency department (ED) (n = 1247) and those hospitalized in the infectious diseases ward or ICU (n = 232). The UK-variant was absent in this area in December, then increasingly spread in January representing 59% of the PCR screening performed mid-February. The rate of patients over 65 years admitted to the ED decreased from 63 to 50% (p = 0.001). The mean age of hospitalized patients in the infectious diseases ward decreased from 70.7 to 59.2 (p < 0.001) while the proportion of patients without comorbidity increased from 16 to 42% (p = 0.007). Spread of the UK-variant in the Southeast of France affects younger and healthier patients.