Published: 4/1/2021 11:06:24 AM Even as New Hampshire’s COVID-19 vaccination program shifts into high gear, a highly contagious variant of the virus is spreading, overall case numbers are increasing and a significant segment of the population doesn’t want to be inoculated. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at least 72 people in New Hampshire and more than 11,000 across the country have contracted the so-called U.K. variant, which was first documented in the state in February. Two members of the University of New Hampshire Durham community are among those who have contracted it. A study by the British Medical Journal found that this variant, also known as B.1.1.7, had a higher mortality rate than previous versions of the virus – an increase in deaths from 2.5 to 4.1 per 1,000 cases. British studies have shown the U.K. variant to be 50% more infectious and transmissible. Because of that, the U.K. variant could soon be the norm in New Hampshire and throughout the U.S..