Mutating Corona Virus

[snowdragon]

Scientists warn of new Botswana variant of Covid with ‘horrific’ number of mutations

UK.YAHOO.COM

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Only 10 cases have been reported worldwide so far

Slovaks lock down to slow world's highest COVID infection rate

UK.YAHOO.COM

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Slovakia went into a two-week lockdown on Thursday, as the country with one of the EU's lowest vaccination rates reported a critical situation in...

 

Edited November 25, 2021 by snowdragon

[tobyjugg2]

A deeply disturbing variant which has already been seen in a number of locations across the world

 

New variant of Corona detected in South Africa: What we know about B.1.1.529 strain, so far?

WWW.ONEINDIA.COM

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London/Johannesburg, Nov 25: A new variant of COVID-19, feared to have a high amount of spike mutations unseen before, has been detected in...

 

 

New COVID Variant B.1.1.529 leaves scientists worried; what you need to know

WWW.FIRSTPOST.COM

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The scientists have warned that this variant carries an 'extremely high number' of mutations may drive further waves of disease by evading the...

 

 

Edited November 25, 2021 by tobyjugg2

[honeybee13]

Is that the one Sandy posted about, TJ?

 

A smart government would put those countries who are affected on the red list pronto.

[snowdragon]

'We're deeply concerned': UK suspends flights from six countries amid fears over new COVID 'super variant'

UK.YAHOO.COM

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Health Secretary warns the variant may make vaccines less ef

South Africa to be put on England’s travel red list over new Covid variant

 

Edited November 25, 2021 by snowdragon

[tobyjugg2]

13 hours ago, honeybee13 said:

Is that the one Sandy posted about, TJ?

 

A smart government would put those countries who are affected on the red list pronto.

Yes - it was extra info in reply to SD

and as Sandy has linked - they have

 

 

See here for breaking:

(sheesh - thats big tweets - I din't do it)

Strain is already in Hong Kong - so undoubtedly also already in New York (hense also London) + Melbourne ...  and spreading

 

... especially with testing labs like Immensas ?

 

 

Edited November 26, 2021 by tobyjugg2

[honeybee13]

You got the series of tweets because you didn't take the option to post them as a link, TJ. If you want to redo your post, I can remove this one and keep the post shorter.

[tobyjugg2]

Its just the sheer size of them and how many

 

You used to get an option for small/medium/large display size for link/videos didnt you?

Dont seem to get that anymore, and not sure why it included so many tweets, rather than the simple first one as it seemed to do before

 

Some numpty been fiddling with the site code again?

 

Gonna embed entire linked newsheets next rather than just HL?

Edited November 26, 2021 by tobyjugg2

[honeybee13]

I don't think anything's changed lately, TJ. There hasn't been an upgrade that I've heard about.

 

As I say, if you want to redo your post, I can remove the one you aren't happy with.

[honeybee13]

As a test, I just went to post a link to a Twitter thread and under the box with the picture and the title of the thread was a purple box that says 'Post as link instead'.

 

 

[tobyjugg2]

Yes HB - I can post as link but intended to embed, but its the sheer size and volume of that embedded tweet - maybe I did it differently

[snowdragon]

'Complex’ new coronavirus variant ‘could well defeat the vaccine’, warns UK minister

UK.YAHOO.COM

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One of the UK's leading health officials has said the variant is the most worrying we've seen so far.

 

[tobyjugg2]

On 25/11/2021 at 12:19, hightail said:

 but I do understand (to an extent) the argument that says they're all mixing at school anyway so what's the difference.

 

As do i, with perhaps a slightly other perspective with a more correct (IMO) allocation of blame:

They are all mixing at school without any mitigations in place and there nothing the parents can realistically do about the governments directives on that,

- so they are probably already infected and already bought it back into the home

 

 

 

[tobyjugg2]

oh and no attack intended HT, just offering a perhaps different perspective

[snowdragon]

Public must prepare for change in restrictions in wake of new South African Covid variant, JCVI scientist warns

UK.YAHOO.COM

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The public need to be ready for a change in Covid restrictions in the wake of the new South African variant, a JCVI scientist has warned.

 

[snowdragon]

New coronavirus strain could already be in the UK, health officials warn

UK.YAHOO.COM

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The health secretary said the new variant was of 'huge international concern', amid fears it may have reached the UK.

Omicron variant: WHO names 'extremely concerning' new variant identified in South Africa

UK.YAHOO.COM

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The UK has placed South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Namibia on its travel red list in response to the outbreak,

 

Edited November 26, 2021 by snowdragon

[tobyjugg2]

Yep A number of changes in this that seem likely to assist its spread and bypassing vaccination/existing immune responses

 

Two bits of more positive news though:

1. Existing pcr/lft tests should still detect it OK ... unless the test is incompetently processed by immensa or similar Johnson VIPals of course

2. Crucially  - that a mask is still effective whether vaccines are or not ...

[snowdragon]

First two UK cases of new omicron variant confirmed in Essex and Nottinghamshire

UK.YAHOO.COM

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The first UK cases of the omicron Covid variant were confirmed on Saturday, as ministers planned to impose travel restrictions on further countries...

 

[snowdragon]

61 passengers from South Africa arrive in Amsterdam with Covid

UK.YAHOO.COM

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Sixty-one travellers who flew into Amsterdam from South Africa on Friday have tested positive for Covid-19, officials have confirmed. Dutch health...

 

[tobyjugg2]

Interesting that with the European positive results, those infected appear to have been quickly isolated from other passengers, and all given further tests at the airport(s)

 

In the UK the infected are in Nottingham and Chelmsford ... Presumably having traveled there after arriving?

 

Johnson and Patel really not doing a good job protecting the borders are they?

Edited November 27, 2021 by tobyjugg2

[snowdragon]

bit scary as I am in Nottinghamshire!

[tobyjugg2]

I think we'll quickly find out its already all over country sandy, especially around the capital, major cities and Universities. Not yet sure if Nottingham is because of a returnee from EM airport or traveled from the capital,

but whichever is the case, it seems it left the/whichever airport - which is a damning condemnation of the Uk's processes IMO - which needs speedy and effective correction (fat chance)

 

Despite the changes, it seems most likely that the new variant wont cause significantly greater issues with the vaccinated other than a likely increase in spread (maybe from 10% to 15-20%), although that does need to be confirmed. Masks will still be a significant protection.

I wouldn't want to be one of the unvaccinated+unmasked though. My booster is next week.

 

(especially given the cold strains out ther at the moment + the bird flu outbreaks)

Edited November 27, 2021 by tobyjugg2

[tobyjugg2]

Mask-wearing back for shops and transport and PCR tests for arrivals, PM announces

WWW.INDEPENDENT.CO.UK

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Boris Johnson also imposes 10-day isolation for contacts of Omicron cases – regardless of vaccination status

 

[tobyjugg2]

Scientists have so far detected 22 cases of the B1.1.529 variant in Gauteng Province, the country’s economic hub.

Botswana’s health ministry confirmed that four cases of the variant had been detected in people who were all fully vaccinated. All four were tested before planned travel. One sample was also detected in Hong Kong, carried by a traveler from South Africa, South African scientists said. - NYT     Gauteng is a densely populated area of SA, associated with Gold (and the immune damage the mining methods cause), poverty and HIV     Israel has also trapped a number of cases at entry to the country and is isolating the people

Edited November 27, 2021 by tobyjugg2

[honeybee13]

I wonder if this variant is anything to do with the low vaccine rate in southern Africa, leading to more mutation of the virus than in Europe.

 

I think the manufacturers should have released the formulation of their vaccines so that poorer countries could make their own, rather than waiting until rich countries had vaccines to spare.

[BazzaS]

(Almost) absolutely (to your first point) HB, and partial agreement with your second point.

 

It isn’t now low vaccination rate though, it is low vaccination rate in the immunocompromised (and the whole host of other pressures that come with sociopath-economic challenges in the developing world) .

Virus mutation is expected for the coronaviridae. Add to that prolonged replication / shedding in the immunocompromised, increased risk of transmission in those environments (poorer housing / access to healthcare / lower vaccination rates / inability to self-isolate when unwell), and emergence of variants can be expected.

(If you are in a marginalised group and living hand to mouth at best, when unwell you can’t self-isolate / stop doing whatever gives you some income, let alone arrange for food deliveries ……)

 

vaccines? Production in the developing world needed, as well as vaccines from the developed world. At what point should the focus switch from “vaccinate our population at most risk” to “vaccinate the developing world’s population at most risk” to protect OUR population (from the emergence of new variants that have greater escape from current vaccine).

 

Whilst travel bans appeal to those who want to blame “Johnny Foreigner”:

a) Omicron is already here.

b) “Punishing” South Africa (or anywhere with a robust sequencing / surveillance system!) is counter-productive.

We don’t seem to learn the lessons of history (1918 H1N1 ‘Spanish Flu’ didn’t originate in Spain ……)