Covid warning as new variant with '46 mutations' infects 12 in southern France A WARNING has been issued by scientists over another new COVID-19 variant discovered in Southern France. https://www.express.co.uk/news/scie...-found-southern-france-b16402-cameroon-origin Scientists have rung the alarm bells over "the emergence of a new variant" in southern France. It comes after 12 patients tested positive in the same region, and their tests showed "an atypical combination". The index case had returned from travelling to Cameroon, suggesting to experts that it may have originated in the African country. In a preprint paper, that is yet to be peer reviewed, experts from a French government-back programme said they had identified "46 mutations" in the variant. The variant has been given the name B.1.640.2. Its presence was first detected by experts at the IHU Mediterranee Infection in Marseille. They announced on their Twitter earlier this month that they had detected a new variant in COVID-19 patients from Forcalquier, in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence region. There are scores of new variants discovered all the time, but it does not necessarily mean they will be more dangerous than Delta or Alpha. What makes a variant more well-known and dangerous is its ability to multiply because of the number of mutations it has in relation to the original virus. This is when it becomes a "variant of concern" – like Omicron. It remains to be seen in which category this new variant will fall. But in the new paper, dated December 29, scientists said: "SARS-CoV-2 variants have become a major virological, epidemiological and clinical concern, particularly with regard to the risk of escape from vaccine-induced immunity."
France detects new COVID-19 variant 'IHU', more infectious than Omicron: All we know about it The new variant — B.1.640.2 — which has been detected in 12 patients near Marseille, contains 46 mutations, making it more resistant to vaccines and infectious https://www.firstpost.com/health/fr...an-omicron-all-we-know-about-it-10256521.html Even as the world battles the uptick in COVID-19 cases owing to the Omicron variant, scientists in France have found another variant. The discovery of the variant, dubbed B.1.640.2, was announced in a paper posted on medRxiv. Called IHU, as of now, the strain was discovered by academics based at the IHU Mediterranee Infection on 10 December. Here’s what we know so far of this new COVID-19 variant: • Researchers say that it contains 46 mutations — even more than Omicron — which makes it more resistant to vaccines and infectious. • Some 12 cases have been spotted so far near Marseille, with the first linked to travel to the African country Cameroon. • Tests show the strain carries the N501Y mutation — first seen on the Alpha variant — that experts believe can make it more transmissible • According to the scientists, it also carries the E484K mutation, which could mean that the IHU variant will be more resistant to vaccines. • It is yet to be spotted in other countries or labelled a variant under investigation by the World Health Organization. Omicron dominant variant Currently, Omicron is the dominant coronavirus variant in France, joining other European countries like the United Kingdom and Portugal with surging case numbers over the past few days. France's public health agency had recently said that "62.4 percent of tests showed a profile compatible with the Omicron variant". The Omicron variant of coronavirus has stoked average daily confirmed cases to more than 160,000 per day over the past week, with peaks above 200,000. “The tidal wave has indeed arrived, it’s enormous, but we will not give in to panic,” Health Minister Olivier Veran was quoted as telling Parliament. In an attempt to battle this surge, French MPs have proposed legislation that would require most people to be vaccinated against Covid-19 to enter public spaces such as bars, restaurants and long-distance public transport. It is expected to come into force on 15 January after passing through the upper house Senate. News agency AFP reported that the bill’s headline measure is aimed at getting France’s remaining five million unvaccinated people over 12 to accept a shot. At present a health pass is required to access numerous everyday venues including bars, cafés, restaurants, cinemas, theatres, gyms, leisure centres and long distance train travel – but a recent negative test is accepted for the health pass. The bill aims to replace the health pass with a vaccine pass – which would only allow people who are fully vaccinated to gain access to those venues.
Cyprus Finds Covid-19 Infections That Combine Delta and Omicron https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...-19-infections-that-combine-delta-and-omicron A strain of Covid-19 that combines delta and omicron was found in Cyprus, according toLeondios Kostrikis, professor of biological sciences at the University of Cyprus and head of the Laboratory of Biotechnology and Molecular Virology. “There are currently omicron and delta co-infections and we found this strain that is a combination of these two,” Kostrikis said in an interview with Sigma TV Friday. The discovery was named “deltacron” due to the identification of omicron-like genetic signatures within the delta genomes, he said. Kostrikis and his team have identified 25 such cases and the statistical analysis shows that the relative frequency of the combined infection is higher among patients hospitalized due to Covid-19 as compared to non-hospitalized patients. The sequences of the 25 deltacron cases were sent toGISAID, the international database that tracks changes in the virus, on Jan. 7. “We will see in the future if this strain is more pathological or more contagious or if it will prevail” over delta and omicron, he said. But his personal view is that this strain will also be displaced by the highly contagious omicron variant.
IHU: How dangerous is new Covid variant and where has it spread? Researchers referring to B.1.640.2 as ‘new variant of probably Cameroonian origin’ https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/ihu-variant-covid-france-symptoms-b1989230.html
WHO chief says pandemic 'nowhere near over' and 'new variants are likely to emerge' https://www.businessinsider.com/who...-nowhere-near-over-new-variants-likely-2022-1 The director-general of the World Health Organization said that the pandemic is "nowhere near over." "New variants are likely to emerge," Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press conference. As the Omicron variant surges, the world is averaging over 2.8 million daily new COVID-19 cases. The World Health Organization's director-general said Tuesday COVID-19 is likely to continue to place a strain on healthcare systems around the globe. "This pandemic is nowhere near over and with the incredible growth of Omicron globally, new variants are likely to emerge," Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press conference. Ghebreyesus said tracking the virus remains essential for health care workers and noted that even mild COVID-19 cases are "inundating" healthcare facilities. "The virus is circulating far too intensely with many still vulnerable," Ghebreyesus said. "For many countries, the next few weeks remain really critical for health workers and health systems." As the Omicron variant surges, the world is averaging over 2.8 million daily new COVID-19 cases, according to the latest data from Worldometers. In the US, which boasts a highest number of daily new cases than any other country, the seven-day average is nearly 800,000, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Biden's chief medical advisor, said Monday during a virtual panel discussion at the World Economic Forum that it's too soon to tell if slowing the spread of the highly-contagious Omicron variant would spell the end of the pandemic. "I would hope that that's the case, but that would only be the case if we don't get another variant that eludes the immune response to the prior variant," Fauci said. He added: "It is an open question as to whether or not Omicron is going to be the live virus vaccination that everyone is hoping for."
https://www.onenewspage.com/video/20220110/14124288/COVID-PITCH-MEETING.htm https://www.onenewspage.com/video/20220110/14124288/COVID-PITCH-MEETING.htm
Omicron COVID-19 variant is infectious for up to 10 days, Tam says By Mia Rabson The Canadian Press Posted January 18, 2022 7:39 pm The latest evidence does not show the Omicron variant is contagious for less time than previous versions of the virus that causes COVID-19, chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam said Tuesday. But Tam told the House of Commons health committee that the sheer number infections from Omicron is stressing workforces and is a reason to adjust our risk tolerance for ending isolation periods early. “This is a difficult decision that the provinces have to make,” Tam said. Three weeks ago, the United States Centers for Disease Control said data on infectious periods supported cutting the isolation period to five days from 10, if people wear masks after leaving isolation. That was based on data the CDC said suggested Omicron was most infectious for about two days before symptoms started and for three days after. In Canada, quarantine rules are set by provinces and territories, except as it relates to international travellers. But the Public Health Agency of Canada still recommends people infected with COVID-19 isolate for at least 10 days after they test positive or symptoms begin, whichever came first. Every province and territory has stopped following that advice, starting with Ontario and Saskatchewan on Dec. 30. Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as Yukon and Nunavut, cut the isolation period from 10 days to seven for vaccinated people. Every other province and the Northwest Territories say five days. Unlike the CDC however, in Canada the shorter isolation period only applies to fully vaccinated individuals _ and in the Northwest Territories to people with a booster shot. Unvaccinated individuals are still supposed to isolate for 10 days everywhere though exceptions are made in some places for children not yet able to be vaccinated. Tam was asked by MPs at the health committee Tuesday when Canada would change its guidance and she said the Public Health Agency of Canada is working to update its data on infectious periods. “There’s very little information,” she said. “But the studies that we’ve managed to amass, including a recent one for Japan, suggests that the period of communicability is no shorter than the other variants, because the viral shedding and the viral load doesn’t decrease really until day 10 following symptom onset or specimen collection after the diagnosis.” The Japanese study is preliminary and still not peer reviewed but it indicated the viral load was highest among Omicron patients three to six days after symptoms started and disappeared at around 10 days. That makes it no different from previous variants, Tam said. “An individual that is infected, for example, is still capable of shedding the virus and communicating this even up to the 10 days,” Tam told the MPs. The Japanese study showed similar results to a data review in the United Kingdom published earlier this month. However, that doesn’t mean the isolation period can’t be adjusted with the right precautions, said Tam. “We do recognize that because so many people are infected with Omicron, at the moment, maintaining business continuity and continuity of critical services is extremely challenging,” she said. Tam said reducing the isolation period carries “a certain amount of risk” and makes other protective layers, like masks, and testing even more important. The United Kingdom reduced its isolation period from 10 days to seven before Christmas, and further to five days on Monday. But the U.K. says symptoms must be gone and the individual must have two negative rapid tests taken on day five and day six. https://globalnews.ca/news/8522193/covid-omicron-infectious-period-tam/ ---------- As of today, 81.32% of Canadians are fully vaccinated. Fortunately, individuals that are not vaccinated make up the majority of those that develop severe Covid illness that requires Hospitalization, ICU Admission, or Death. wrbtrader
Meet the new variant -- more infectious and possibly more deadly(?)... New Covid variant spreading like wildfire across UK and Scandinavia: BA.2 ‘stealth’ mutation now half of all new coronavirus cases in Denmark and rapidly pushing Omicron aside https://www.cityam.com/new-covid-va...in-denmark-and-rapidly-pushing-omicron-aside/ Various media across Scandinavia and the UK are reporting the emergence of a new Covid variant that is so infectious and spreading so fast that nearly half of all cases in Denmark are now the new mutation, named BA.2, with more than 400 confirmed infections across the UK. The new mutation has reportedly also popped up in Norway, Sweden, Singapore and India. Reuters reports that UK health authorities are investigating 426 confirmed cases of BA.2 in Britain, while officials in Denmark said that just over 45 per cent of all new infections in the country are now the new variant. Professionals point out that there is still much we do not know about BA.2 as it has only been arounds for a very short time. So what do we know so far? BA.2 rapidly outpacing Omicron The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies Omicron as B.1, On December 23, the WHO reported that over 99 per cent of the cases it sequenced were BA.1. However, the rise of BA.2 in Denmark and elsewhere suggests that BA.2 may outcompete BA.1. The country’s new Covid infections have shot to record highs in recent weeks. Denmark is recording over 30,000 new cases per day this week, 10 times more cases than during peaks in previous waves. BA.2 infection after Omicron seen in Norway Anders Fomsgaard, who is chief physician and virus researcher at the Statens Serum Institut (SSI), told Danish media that a few cases have been seen in Norway where people who have been infected with Omikron have subsequently been infected with BA.2. He reportedly called it “remarkable” that Omicron and BA.2 have significant differences when it comes to immunity and infection. Allan Randrup, professor of experimental virology at the University of Copenhagen, said however that “so far we have not seen any variants of covid-19 that have not had any cross-immunity at all, and that immunity after infection is usually good.” “The system will be high-armed when you have just overcome an infection,” said Randrup. Viggo Andreasen, who is a professor of mathematical epidemiology at Roskilde University, explained in various media that other viruses that circulate between people can infect people every few years, “this also applies to the flu,” he stressed. ‘New piece in the Covid game’ According to multiple reports, BA.2 causes mild symptoms. Fomsgaard said people should not be too worried, at least not yet, despite the speed at which BA.2 is spreading. “We can not see any difference in hospitalization numbers, death rates and so with BA.2, “so it is not something that worries us yet.” “But we are also aware that we have a very short observation time,” he added, referring to the fact that BA.2 is still “a new piece in the Covid game.” Therefore, his belief is that “right now we should just treat it as yet another variant until new data should eventually show other results”. Covid vaccines should still be effective, however, one of the reasons for BA.2’s rapid spread may be that it is more resistant to people’s immunity, “which allows the variant to infect better,” Fomsgaard reportedly said.