Written by rjs, MarketWatch 666
The news posted last week for the coronavirus 2019-nCoV (aka SARS-CoV-2), which produces COVID-19 disease, has been surveyed and some important articles are summarized here. The articles are more or less organized with general virus news and anecdotes first, then stories from around the US, followed by an increased number of items from other countries around the globe. Economic news related to COVID-19 is found here.
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Summary:
Covid totals continue to fall, both in the US and worldwide. New US cases during the week ending May 22nd were down 22.0% from those testing positive during the week ending May 15th, and down 64.2% from our mid-April surge high; this week’s new cases were also the lowest for a 7 day period since that ending June 19th of last year. US deaths attributed to Covid this week were down 7.1% from the prior week, and less than a sixth of the death rate during the peak weeks of January; US Covid deaths were also the lowest since the first week of last July.
Globally, this week’s new Covid cases were 12.9% lower than the prior week, and down 27.3% from the late April peak; however, they are still higher than any time other than during the post holiday’s surge and during April of this year. Also worldwide, this week’s Covid deaths were 2.5% lower than last weeks’, and down 10.2% from the peak at the end of April..
However, since India’s case counts and deaths are still such a large percentage of the total, the global figures tend to hide what’s going on elsewhere. If we pull India’s new cases, which were down 23% week, from the global totals, we find that new cases globally ex-India were only down 3.5% week over week. That’s because new cases in most South American and most southeast Asian countries other than India are still rising; in fact, after a 45% jump in new cases this week, Argentina became the country with the 3rd most new cases, after India and Brazil, passing the US. Likewise, new cases in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka were all up by double digit percentages this week and all moving up on the global charts. The point is that we can’t let lower broad averages obscure the fact that the virus is still raging and setting new records in some corners of the globe.
The chart below from WorldoMeter shows the daily number of new cases for the US, updated through 22 May.
The graphics presented by Johns Hopkins have been changed to a new format. Global new cases, global deaths, and global cummulative vaccinations now all appear in a consolidated chart.
According to Johns Hopkins (first graph below), new cases globally appear to have peaked. The same for global deaths (second graph below), while global vaccinations continue to increase (third graph below).
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Steven Hansen continues to summarize and link the latest news related to the pandemic every day, 7 days a week, plus displays over a dozen important graphics updated at least daily. The most recent article at the time this is published: 22 May 2021 Coronavirus Charts and News: There Continues Widespread Confusion and Frustration Over CDC Mask Policy. Popular Dating Sites Encourage Users To State Their Vaccination Status.
This article leads the daily newsletter from Global Economic Intersection every day. Newsletter subscription is free.
Here are the rest of the articles for the past week reviewed and summarized:
New coronavirus discovered – and dogs are spreading it –A newly discovered coronavirus that originated in dogs has been found in patients who were hospitalized with pneumonia in Malaysia. A study published Thursday in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases details how researchers in 2018 analyzed the nasal swabs of 301 people treated for pneumonia at a hospital in Sarawak, Malaysia. Epidemiologists from Duke University used a new test that worked like a SARS-CoV-2 test but could detect a wider range of coronaviruses, even types that have yet to be identified. Among the 301 patients tested, researchers discovered evidence of a coronavirus similar to one found in dogs in eight of the patients, all but one of them children. The eight patients were treated and released from the hospital after up to six days in the hospital, where they were provided oxygen. While the study suggests the virus jumped from dog to humans, the infection may be a dead end as there’s no evidence yet of transmission from human to human. Researchers have also yet to determine whether the newly discovered virus causes pneumonia. “We don’t really have evidence right now that this virus can cause severe illness in adults,” Anastasia Vlasova, an author of the study and professor at The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CFAES), said in a news release. . “At this point, we don’t see any reasons to expect another pandemic from this virus, but I can’t say that’s never going to be a concern in the future,” Vlasova said. Researchers note that the virus could be the eighth coronavirus known to cause illnesses in people and needs to be confirmed through further studies. This is the first report suggesting a novel coronavirus similar to one found in dogs can replicate in humans.
Coronavirus New Strain Can Infect Your Eye Cells, All You Need To Know –Coronavirus has impacted our lives for more than a year now. It is primarily a respiratory infection, but experts have suspected that the virus can also infect your eye cells. A team of US researchers has, in an alarming study, found direct evidence that Covid-19 is harming your cells in the eye. SARS-CoV-2, which causes Covid-19, is thought to transmit and begin infection in the upper respiratory tract. For this reason, the use of face masks has been recommended for the general public. However, the new study by the Mount Sinai Hospital researchers found that cells in the eye can be directly infected by SARS-CoV-2. While aerosol transmission is thought to be the primary route of spread, viral particles have been detected in ocular fluid suggesting the eye may be a vulnerable point of viral entry. The findings showed that SARS-CoV-2 can infect surface cells of the eye. The exposed cells revealed the presence of infection-associated proteins including ACE2 -the virus receptor -and TMPRSS2 -an enzyme that allows viral entry. IFN-beta – a protein that has antiviral and antibacterial properties – was also found to be suppressed from exposure to the virus.In addition, the researchers found that ocular surface cells, particularly the limbus, were susceptible to infection, while the central cornea was less vulnerable.“We hope this new data results in additional measures to protect the eyes. We also intend to use these models to test approaches to prevent ocular infections,”
Vaccine-hesitant Americans list false side effects among concerns: poll – Coronavirus vaccine-hesitant Americans list multiple false or undocumented side effects – such as DNA alteration – among their reasons for not getting the shot, according to a recent Harris poll reported by Axios on Monday.Among the 1,061 people in the survey who say they are unlikely to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and listed side effects as a concern, 60 percent named blood clots, which have indeed been reported in extremely rare cases. But 24 percent listed infertility, and just as many cited potential birth defects, which are not considered possible from any of the vaccines that have been approved. Twenty-two percent said they were concerned about potentially getting cancer from their coronavirus vaccine, another false side effect. Approximately 65 percent of baby boomers and half of Generation Z respondents said they were concerned about potential flu-like symptoms, which are possible after the shots. Polling results are based on interviews conducted on April 23 to 25 and May 7 to 9. A margin of error was not listed. Lingering hesitancy about the shots poses a stumbling block as the Biden administration seeks to vaccinate harder-to-reach Americans. Earlier this month, President Biden announced a goal of getting at least one shot into 70 percent of Americans and to have at least 160 million adults fully vaccinated by July 4.
Strain on Healthcare: Nurses talk about working on the COVID-19 floor – Healthcare workers never know what the work day could bring. In 2020 when COVID-19 hit, the pandemic sent them into unknown territory. “At first we didn’t know what equipment we were going to need, what we were going to have available. You hear all these stories about ‘we’re going to run out of this, or we’re going to run out of that’,” At Raleigh General Hospital they turned the 4 North floor into the COVID floor. Director of 4 North, Tammy Womack, said no matter how much experience you have it doesn’t prepare you for what they handled this past year. “One of our nurses is a brand-new nurse, and she’s had to come to my office and cry because of not seeing as much illness, people as sick as what the COVID has been at times,” Womack said. “This was the one that really scared us all because we knew what they were saying on the news, we knew how many had already died from it. So, I think it scared us worse then anything we had ever dealt with,” Tammy Pritt, License Practical Nurse at RGH, said. Families were not able to visit family members in the hospital because of fear of spreading the virus, so the nurses got creative, finding ways to bring those families together. Flint said it’s hard to see patients isolated from loved ones. “I remember a patient telling me that when he was getting plasma that this is the most contact he’s had with anybody since he’s been here,” Flint said. “He was just like, ‘you can stay here as long as you can’ because he hasn’t had that much contact with people.” Nurses 59 News spoke with said the hardest thing for them to face in 2020 were all the deaths. “You see young people passing away and there is nothing that you can do, and you just don’t understand why,” Pritt said. “Seeing so much death, and the death has not just been elderly but seeing younger people die, it’s been really hard,” Womack said. What started as fear is now anger. “They don’t understand what we have dealt with. That day when you have to call a patient’s family and say your 35-year-old son passed away, and then you’ve got somebody saying ‘this is not real’. It causes a lot of anger and a lot of emotions,” Pritt said.
Total deaths due to COVID-19 underestimated by 20% in US counties –Deaths caused by indirect effects of the pandemic emphasize the need for policy changes that address widening health and racial inequities. More than 15 months into the pandemic, the U.S. death toll from COVID-19 is nearing 600,000. But COVID-19 deaths may be underestimated by 20%, according to a new, first-of-its-kind study from Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH), the University of Pennsylvania, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Published in the journal PLOS Medicine, the study uses data from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to estimate the number of deaths in 2,096 counties from January to December 2020 above what would be expected in a normal year, or “excess deaths.” For every 100 excess deaths directly attributed to COVID-19, there were another 20 excess deaths not attributed to COVID-19. In other words, 20 out of every 120 excess deaths, or 17%, were not directly attributed to COVID. The researchers found that the proportion of these excess deaths not directly attributed to COVID-19 was higher in counties with lower average socioeconomic status and less formal education, as well as in counties located in the South and West. Counties with more non-Hispanic Black residents–who were already at high risk of dying directly from COVID-19–also reported a higher proportion of excess deaths not assigned to COVID-19. “Our findings suggest that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mortality has been substantially underestimated in many communities across the US,” says study lead author Dr. Andrew Stokes, assistant professor of global health at BUSPH. “Several factors, including severe testing shortages, overwhelmed health care systems, and a lack of familiarity with the clinical manifestations of COVID-19 has likely led to significant underreporting of COVID-19 on death certificates, especially early in the pandemic. Official COVID-19 death tallies also fail to capture the pandemic’s profound social and economic consequences, including the downstream effects of interruptions in receiving health care, loss of employment, evictions, and social isolation and loneliness.”
CDC: At least 600,000 kids 12 to 15 have received first COVID-19 vaccine dose – At least 600,000 kids in the United States ages 12 to 15 have already received their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine nearly a week after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended the Pfizer-BioNTech shot for the age group. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky revealed the latest numbers during a press briefing Tuesday, saying a total of about 3.5 million people younger than 18 are already vaccinated, according to agency data. NBC News reported that while Walensky initially said Tuesday that 4.1 million people under 18 had been vaccinated, the CDC later said it was a clerical error. President Biden asked states to immediately make the Pfizer-BioNTech shot available for adolescents after Walensky adopted a recommendation from an independent advisory panel that endorsed the vaccine’s safety and efficacy among the age group. Some clinics in states such as Pennsylvania, Maine and Georgia did not wait for the CDC recommendation and instead began administering the vaccine to young people ages 12 and 15 after it was authorized for emergency use for the age group by the Food and Drug Administration. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which is administered in two doses three weeks apart, had already been authorized for use in people as young as 16 years old, while the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson shots have been recommended only for those 18 and older. Although severe cases of COVID-19 are relatively uncommon among younger populations, the American Academy of Pediatrics has recorded more than 3.9 million cases among children in the U.S., accounting for about 14 percent of total infections in the country.
Nearly 3% of Americans take immune-weakening drugs that may limit COVID vaccine response — A national study from researchers at Michigan Medicine found that nearly 3% of insured U.S. adults under 65 take medications that weaken their immune systems. The findings, published in JAMA Network Open, are based on data from over 3 million patients with private insurance. They focus on patients’ use of immunosuppressive drugs, including chemotherapy medications and steroids such as prednisone. The analysis reveals nearly 90,000 people met the study criteria for drug-induced immunosuppression that may elevate risk for severe COVID-19 symptoms and hospitalization if they became infected. Two-thirds of them took an oral steroid at least once, and more than 40% of patients took steroids for more than 30 days in a year. “This study gives us previously unavailable information about how many Americans are taking immunosuppressive medications,” says Beth Wallace, M.D., a rheumatologist at Michigan Medicine and lead author of the paper. “It also reinforces that many Americans continue to take oral steroids, which are associated with serious side effects and can often be avoided or substituted with alternative medications.” When the team of researchers examined the data, a vaccine against COVID-19 was not yet available outside clinical trials. The evidence is growing, however, that taking immunosuppressive drugs may reduce the efficacy of the shot, Wallace says. “We’re starting to realize that people taking immunosuppressive drugs may have a slower, weaker response to COVID vaccination, and, in some cases, might not respond at all,” she says. “We don’t have a full picture on how these drugs affect the vaccine’s effectiveness, so it’s difficult to formulate guidelines around vaccinating these patients.” Wallace mentions several strategies, including holding medications around the time of vaccination and giving an extra “booster” shot, that scientists are testing to look into this question.
FDA recommends not using syringes from Chinese firm after safety issues with vaccine injections The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday asked healthcare providers to stop using certain syringes and needles manufactured by Chinese medical device maker Guangdong Haiou Medical Apparatus Co (HAIOU). At least one pharmacist that Reuters spoke to said the syringes had been shipped for use with the Pfizer Inc /BioNTech SE COVID-19 vaccine.An FDA spokesperson said the devices stopped being shipped in COVID-19 vaccination kits as of March 22. The agency does not believe that stopping use of these syringes will cause vaccination delays. The FDA said it has received information about quality issues, including certain HAIOU needles detaching from the syringe and getting stuck to the patient’s arm after injection and a few incidents involving accidental needlestick injuries to healthcare providers.The agency has recommended against use of two of HAIOU’s syringe-needle combinations – 1mL syringe with 25Gx 1-inch needle and the 1mL syringe with 23G x 1-inch needle – until further notice.
Nation’s largest nurses union condemns new CDC guidance on masks –The nation’s largest nurses union condemned the new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that stipulates fully vaccinated people do not have to wear masks in most settings. National Nurses United (NNU) in a statement Saturday said it was concerned that it would put patients, front-line workers and nurses at risk amid a pandemic that is still present in the U.S. “This newest CDC guidance is not based on science, does not protect public health, and threatens the lives of patients, nurses, and other frontline workers across the country,” said NNU Executive Director Bonnie Castillo. “Now is not the time to relax protective measures, and we are outraged that the CDC has done just that while we are still in the midst of the deadliest pandemic in a century.” “CDC issued this new guidance even though the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) emergency temporary standard mandated by President Biden’s Jan. 21 executive order has been delayed for two months. This lack of protection compounds the dangers that nurses and other essential workers continue to face on the job,” Castillo added. The union specifically noted that more than 35,000 new cases are tallied daily in the U.S. and that fears linger over the spread of highly contagious variants. The rebuke comes two days after the CDC said that people who are fully vaccinated no longer need to wear face coverings or practice social distancing. The administration touted the guidance as a victory and a return to normalcy after more than a year of death and confusion. “Anyone who is fully vaccinated can participate in indoor and outdoor activities, large or small, without wearing a mask or physical distancing,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said during a White House briefing. “If you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing the things that you had stopped doing because of the pandemic. We have all longed for this moment when we can get back to some sense of normalcy.” The new guidelines do not apply in health care settings, correctional facilities or homeless shelters. People also will be required to follow local business and workplace guidelines. In addition, Americans will still be required to wear masks in airports and while traveling on airplanes buses and trains.
Mask mandate lifted for vaccinated people in national parks, federal buildings — The federal government is lifting mask requirements for vaccinated people in its buildings and in national parks following last week’s guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A notice from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) sent to all federal government agencies lifts the mask requirement for anyone two weeks post-vaccine. It’s change not only for the nation’s more than 2 million federal workers but any contractor or visitor to a federal facility, including post offices and at the country’s more than 400 national parks. “If you are fully vaccinated (at least 2 weeks past your final dose), you are no longer required to wear a mask,” OMB wrote in the memo. “If you are not fully vaccinated (at least 2 weeks past your final dose), please continue to wear a mask consistent with the requirements set forth in your agency workplace safety plan,” the agency continued. The guidance was distributed to agencies late Thursday after the CDC announced vaccinated people don’t need to wear masks indoors or outside. More than 117 million Americans, or about 35 percent of the population, are now fully vaccinated, though the announcement sparked concern that the shift could remove an incentive for unvaccinated people to get inoculated. National parks preparing for a busy summer season have urged unvaccinated people to continue wearing masks even when outdoors. “Consistent with CDC recommendations, people who are not fully vaccinated must continue to wear masks indoors and in crowded outdoor spaces,” the National Park Service says on its website. All visitors, regardless of vaccination status, are required to wear masks on public transportation within parks. The announcement was one of the first major updates to an executive order President Biden signed on Inauguration Day that required federal employees to wear masks. The order says agencies should be in “compliance with CDC guidelines.” The move has had ramifications beyond the civilian federal workforce. The Department of Defense announced Friday that vaccinated personnel would no longer have to wear masks, lifting the requirement for more than 600,000 service members and 250,000 civilian employees.
DC lifts mask mandate for fully vaccinated people – Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) on Monday announced that the nation’s capital is lifting its mask mandate in most places for fully vaccinated individuals, aligning with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) guidance released last week.As of Monday, fully vaccinated people in Washington, D.C., must wear a mask or practice social distancing only in settings where doing so is required, including in businesses that mandate masks, taxis and rideshares, schools, health care settings, and homeless shelters.Washingtonians will also have to continue wearing masks on the Metro and on buses.Bowser told reporters that restrictions on most “public and commercial activity” in Washington, D.C., including capacity limits, will be lifted beginning Friday at 5 a.m.Bars, nightclubs, and other sports and entertainment venues will be able to resume normal operations as of June 11. The mayor told reporters on Monday that the city’s number of COVID-19 cases, hospital capacity and other metrics are “moving in the right direction.”“We continue to have confidence that those metrics are a positive indicator of where we are with the virus and the progress that we have made with the vaccine,” she said.Bowser added that “previously, before we had a vaccine, the best way to protect yourself was to wear a mask, social distance and wash your hands frequently.”“Now, of course, your best protection is to be fully vaccinated,” she said.
COVID-19 variant first found in India detected in Maine -A COVID-19 strain first detected in India – which has already been deemed a “variant of concern” in the UK – has been discovered in Maine, according to a new report. One case of the B.1.617.2 variant has been reported in the state in York County, WGME reported. So far, 11 variants have been discovered in Maine COVID cases – most of them the B.1.1.7 variant first detected in the UK. But the variant detected in India – which is now facing a catastrophic surge in infections – is “more transmissible” than the UK one, England’s chief medical officer, Prof. Chris Whitty, told the BBC. “We expect, over time, this variant to overtake and come to dominate in the UK,” Whitty said. Maine has reportedly seen 11 different variants of COVID-19, most being the UK variant. Maine has reportedly seen 11 cases of variants of COVID-19, most being the UK variant. AP Now UK officials are racing to contain the variant – which experts previously warned could kill up to 1,000 people per day, the Sun reported. It could also hijack the nation’s effort to finally lift all its lockdown restrictions by June, according to reports out of London. “If the virus is significantly more transmissible, we are likely to face some hard choices,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson told reporters Friday. “I have to level with you that this could be a serious disruption to our progress.” India has been overwhelmed with COVID-19 cases as daily deaths and cases surged.
May 17th COVID-19 New Cases, Hospitalizations, Vaccinations –According to the CDC, on Vaccinations. Total administered: 274,411,901, as of yesterday 272,925,411. Day: 1.49 million. (U.S. Capacity is around 4 million per day)<
2) 1) 59.8% of the population over 18 has had at least one dose (70% goal by July 4th).
2) 123.8 million Americans are fully vaccinated (160 million goal by July 4th)
And check out COVID Act Now to see how each state is doing. Almost 9,500 US deaths were reported so far in May due to COVID.This graph shows the daily (columns) 7 day average (line) of positive tests reported.This data is from the CDC. The 7-day average is 30,211, down from 31,629 yesterday, and down sharply from the recent peak of 69,881 on April 13, 2021. This is the lowest since June 23, 2020.The second graph shows the number of people hospitalized. This data is also from the CDC. The CDC cautions that due to reporting delays, the area in grey will probably increase. The current 7-day average is 26,726, down from 27,992 reported yesterday, but still above the post-summer surge low of 23,000.
P1 COVID strain identified in wastewater by UofL researchers — University of Louisville (UofL) research that uses wastewater to monitor rates of COVID-19 infection was the first to detected the P1 strain in Louisville before traditional testing. UofL says the research and identification gave officials time to work to contain the strain. The P1 variant was found in a wastewater sample from western Jefferson County early April. Once researchers received the results, Louisville Metro Department of Health and Wellness was alerted, which confirmed a positive case in the same zip codes with different testing methods a week later. “The ability to detect viruses early, such as in this case, gives officials more time to take precautions and contain their spread,” professor of medicine Aruni Bhatnagar said. “With pandemics, every second counts. In as little as one week, the virus can spread significantly, and then it becomes much harder to contain. This work gives us more time and an opportunity for targeted testing.” The Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Sewer District has sent weekly samples from 12 sites representing multiple neighborhoods and five wastewater treatment facilities that aggregate the entire county to Co-Immunity Project researchers. Bhatnagar said understanding that connection could “revolutionize the way we track and contain pandemics, and not just COVID-19.” Rather than rely solely on direct testing, such as with nasal swabs, wastewater testing can give health departments another tool to gauge the severity of community infection and to identify areas where the infection is prevalent. The tool also is faster, more efficient and less invasive. “This is cutting-edge work – and the fact that it’s being done right here in Louisville – right here at UofL – places us at the forefront of public health innovation,” Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer said. “It shows we’re doing the work to keep our city and cities around the world safe.”
Louisville’s COVID-19 cases hit lowest level since July, while variant strains hit record high – The Louisville Metro reported its lowest number of new COVID-19 cases since July, but the number of variant strains hit an all-time high.Jefferson County had 542 confirmed cases of COVID-19 last week, according to Dr. Sarah Moyer, director of the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness. Those new cases included an increased number of variant strains.”The B117 is still the majority of the cases, but also seeing an increase in our P1 and B1429 cases across our city,” Moyer said.Health officials now estimate two-thirds of Kentucky’s COVID-19 cases are variants of concern.”If you get COVID now, it’s probably one of the variants,” Moyer said.
South Carolina reports first cases of India COVID-19 strain – Four cases of a COVID-19 strain found in India have been reported in South Carolina, as health officials fear a possible Memorial Day spike in new cases.
Ohio vaccination rate jumps 28 percent after lottery announcement – Coronavirus vaccinations in Ohio jumped 28 percent in the days following the governor’s announcement of a lottery for residents who get the shots, state health officials said Thursday. Vaccinations among people 16 and older had been down 25 percent May 7 to 10, compared to the previous weekend. After Gov. Mike DeWine (R) announced the lottery on May 12, and vaccination rates increased 28 percent in the period of May 14 to 17, the state Department of Health said. Residents who have been vaccinated will be eligible for five drawings of $1 million each. “This dramatic increase in vaccinations indicates that the Vax-a-Million drawing has been impactful in creating momentum for vaccinations throughout Ohio,” Stephanie McCloud, director of the Ohio Department of Health, said in a statement. “We are grateful that the drawings are helping spur Ohioans to take this important measure to protect their health, their loved ones, and their community.” Following Ohio’s announcement, New York and Maryland both unveiled plans for their own versions of a lottery. Public health officials have said that this stage of the vaccination campaign is more challenging since the most eager recipients have already gotten their shots. The number of vaccinations nationally has fallen to about 1.8 million per day, down from more than 3 million a day during parts of April, according to Our World in Data. “I know that some may say, ‘DeWine, you’re crazy! This million-dollar drawing idea of yours is a waste of money.’ But truly, the real waste at this point in the pandemic — when the vaccine is readily available to anyone who wants it — is a life lost to COVID-19,” DeWine wrote on Twitter earlier this month when announcing the program.
100 million J&J vaccine doses may need to be thrown out – Emergent BioSolutions CEO Robert G. Kramer admitted to the House of Representatives on Wednesday that more than 100 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine are on hold and possibly contaminated. It was the first time that Kramer admitted the high figure of potentially spoiled vaccines after The New York Times reported last month that the facility may have jeopardized 62 million of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine doses, after ruining 15 million doses of the vaccine through cross-contamination with ingredients for AstraZeneca’s vaccine. “No one is more disappointed than we are that we had to suspend our 24/7 manufacturing of new vaccine,” Kramer told members of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis. The Subcommittee is investigating the company and its factory mishaps. “I apologize for the failure of our controls,” Kramer added. Members asked questions about whether Kramer used political connections to win government contracts for vaccine production at the company’s facilities. The millions of possibly contaminated Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine doses haven’t been distributed to the public. A representative for Johnson & Johnson told Insider that, “The quality and safety of our COVID-19 vaccine are paramount. We continue to work with the US Food & Drug Administration and with Emergent, in order to secure Emergency Use Authorization in the US for drug substance manufactured at Emergent Bayview as quickly as possible.”
Manitoba transfers 3 COVID-19 ICU patients to Ontario due to ‘extreme strain’ on resources – The risk of hitting critical care capacity at Manitoba hospitals has led to COVID-19 patients in ICU from Manitoba being transferred to Ontario for care. A spokesperson from Shared Health confirmed two patients, both described as COVID-19 positive and in stable condition, were transferred to Thunder Bay Tuesday, while another patient was transferred on Wednesday. “These transfers gave us some much needed capacity in the immediate term while planning continues to shore up staffing resources within our ICUs,” the Shared Health spokesperson said in an email. “Over the past week, Manitoba’s hospitals have been dealing with a significant increase in admissions, to both medicine units and ICUs. “The compounding effect of multiple days of admissions well over the norm and far beyond what we experienced during wave two has placed extreme strain on our staffing resources.” The spokesperson said the decision to transfer the patients came after Manitoba ICUs admitted 34 COVID-19 patients in a 96-hour period between May 13 and 17. “To put into context, that is nearly half of our normal pre-COVID baseline capacity (72) in critical care for our province. This does not include patients who require care in an ICU for non-COVID reasons,” the spokesperson said. “Yesterday, this combination of continued high admissions, no ICU patients that were sufficiently recovered for a move to a medicine ward, and an increase in the number of very sick patients in our medical wards at risk of needing to be transferred into ICU placed our critical care capacity at significant risk.” On Monday Siragusa said she expected demand for ICU beds to soon reach a record level as COVID-19 numbers continue to rise in the pandemic’s third wave. At the time there were 120 patients in intensive care beds, nine shy of the peak last December during the second wave of the pandemic.
Third oil worker dies from COVID-19 outbreak at Canadian Natural Resources’ Alberta worksite – The massive COVID-19 outbreak at Canadian Natural Resources’ Horizon oil tar-sands worksite in northern Alberta claimed another worker’s life Tuesday, bringing the publicly acknowledged death toll among the workforce to three. With the local health system collapsing, the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, where the Horizon mine and most other Canadian oil tar-sands operations are located, declared a local state of emergency late last month. Since then infections and deaths have continued to surge. The latest victim was a worker in his 60s, who had two children and seven grandchildren. He had been employed at CNRL’s Horizon site as a pipefitter from late March. Alberta has been ravaged by a third wave of the pandemic directly attributable to the Canadian ruling class’ policy, implemented by the federal Liberal government and with especial gusto by the province’s United Conservative Party (UCP) government, of prioritizing corporate profits over saving lives. Currently Alberta has among the highest per capita infection and active COVID-19 case rates in North America, and in proportionate terms Wood Buffalo is the hardest-hit region in Alberta. According to local public health officials, there are currently 30 workplace and 19 school outbreaks in Wood Buffalo, and 31 COVID-stricken patients are hospitalized at the Northern Lights Regional Health Centre (NLRHC) in Fort McMurray, Wood Buffalo’s principal population centre. Eight of the 31 are in intensive care (ICU), but just during the past week 16 other ICU patients were transferred from NLRHC to Edmonton hospitals. Across the province, there are 241 COVID patients in ICUs. In anticipation of a continuing wave of infection and death, the UCP government is hastily building more field hospitals, even as it orders schools across the province, with the lone exception of those in Wood Buffalo, to reopen next Tuesday. Throughout the pandemic oil-sands mining operations and the work camps that support them have been designated an essential service by the hard-right, Jason Kenney-led UCP government, and have thus been exempt from any restrictions on their operating at full-tilt. When the government was recently compelled to announce a new rule that workplaces with 10 or more infections must close, the energy sector was excluded as an “essential service.”
COVID Cases in Mumbai Down 70%, Slowing in Other Parts of India — COVID-19 cases in Mumbai declined by nearly 70% in the past week, from 11,000 daily cases to fewer than 2,000 a day in India’s financial capital. On Monday, the Associated Press reported an average of 340,000 daily cases in India to below 300,000 in the last week.With active cases over 3.6 million, hospitals are still swamped by patients. With over 24 million confirmed cases and 270,000 deaths, India’s caseload is the second highest after the U.S.But experts believe that the country’s steeply rising curve may finally be flattening – even if the plateau is a high one. Izhaar Hussain Shaikh, an ambulance driver in Mumbai, drove about 70 patients to the hospital last month. Two weeks into May, he’d carried only 10 patients. “We used to be so busy before, we didn’t even have time to eat,” Shaikh said.The success was credited to a well-enforced lockdown and vigilant authorities, along with testing and other resources being able to make it to the more populated areas of India.Even the capital of New Delhi is seeing faint signs of improvement as infections slacken after weeks of tragedy and desperation playing out in overcrowded hospitals and crematoriums and on the streets.It is still too early to say things are improving, with Mumbai and New Delhi representing only a sliver of the overall situation.For one, drops in the national caseload, however marginal, largely reflect falling infections in a handful of states with big populations and/or high rates of testing. So the nationwide trends represent an incomplete and misleading picture of how things are faring across India as a whole, experts say.”There will always be smaller states or cities where things are getting worse, but this won’t be as clear in the national caseload numbers,” said Murad Banaji, a mathematician modeling India’s cases. Given India’s size and population of nearly 1.4 billion, what’s more important to track is a cascade of peaks at different times instead of a single national one, experts said. “It seems like we are getting desensitized by the numbers, having gotten used to such high ones,” . “But a relative change or drop in overall cases does not diminish the magnitude of the crisis by any means.” Experts also warn that another reason for an apparent peak or plateau in cases could be that the virus has outrun India’s testing capabilities. As the virus jumps from cities to towns to villages, testing has struggled to keep pace, stirring fears that a rural surge is unfurling even as data lags far behind.Combating the spread in the countryside, where health infrastructure is scarce and where most Indians live, will be the biggest challenge. “The transmission will be slower and lower, but it can still exact a big toll,” said K. Srinath Reddy, president of the Public Health Foundation of India.Even in big cities, testing has become increasingly harder to access. Labs are inundated and results are taking days, leading many to start treating symptoms before confirming a coronavirus infection. In the last month, cases have more than tripled and reported deaths have gone up six times – but testing has only increased by 1.6 times, said Mukherjee. Meanwhile, vaccinations have plummeted by 40%.
India Sees Highest Single-day Covid Deaths, Daily Cases Lowest in A Month – India recorded the highest single-day Covid fatalities as the death toll climbed to 2,78,719 with a record 4,329 new deaths. The single day rise in coronavirus cases stood at 2.63 lakh, the lowest in 28 days, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday. The country reported 2,63,533 new cases in a span of 24 hours, taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 2,52,28,996, the data updated at 8 am showed.A total of 2,59,170 cases were reported in a span of 24 hours on April 20. The active cases further reduced to 33,53,765 comprising 13.29 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has improved to 85.60 per cent, the data updated at 8 am showed.Here is all you need to know about coronavirus in India in ten points: – India reports 2.63 lakh new Covid cases, 4.22 lakh new recoveries, 4,329 new deaths in the last 24 hours. There has been a dip of 1.63 lakh in active cases. – The new cases recorded in the country is the lowest in last 4 weeks. New deaths have been record high since the pandemic began last year. The daily deaths remained above 4,000 for the third consecutive day. – The country has registered highest single day dip in active cases. Over 1 lakh dip for the second consecutive day. Fall in active cases for the 5th consecutive day. – 27 states and UTs report fall in active cases. Cases rising in 9 states including 5 North Eastern states. – Difference between new cases reported in the last 7 days and the preceding 7 days is -18%. Whereas the same difference globally is -14%. – Karnataka reports 3,860 new cases, Tamil Nadu 33,000 and Maharashtra 2,660. Maharashtra reports 1000 new deaths, Karnataka 476 and Delhi 340. – 18.69 lakh new tests have been conducted in the last 24 hours. Test positivity rate is 14.1% in compared to 17.9% on the previous day. – Test positivity rate in the states are as follows: Karnataka 39.70%, Goa 36.62%, Sikkim 36.84%. Uttar Pradesh 3.68%, Bihar 4.72%, Gujarat 5.82% and Delhi 8.42%. – 15.10 lakh new vaccinations. 12.67 lakh received their first dose yesterday, 2.43 lakh their second dose. 18.44 crore total vaccinations – Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Maldives reporting steep rise in new cases.
50 Doctors Reported Dead In 1 Day From Covid Across India: Medical Body – Anas Mujahid, 26, a junior Resident Doctor at Delhi’s Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital — a dedicated Covid specialty — died within hours of testing positive due to Covid. He is the youngest of 244 doctors who have lost their lives to Covid this year in India’s second wave. Last year, 736 doctors had lost their lives during the first wave. A total of nearly 1,000 doctors across India have lost their lives due to Covid so far. Mujahid is survived by his parents and four siblings. A week has gone by, but his friend and colleague Dr Aamir Sohail is still struggling to come to terms with the loss. Mujahid had minor symptoms like sore throat and tested positive in an antigen test at the hospital. In a rare case of sudden progression, he collapsed soon after and died due to intracranial bleeding. He had not been vaccinated. “It was shocking. He had no comorbidity. His parents also told us that he has never faced any health issue. We just could not understand how it happened,” Dr Aamir Sohail said. “He had not been vaccinated. Many colleagues here, including me, have not taken the jab. Our process of getting vaccinated while being on Covid duty, is long. We have to inform superiors and get their signature etc. He was planning to get the jab in the next few days.” Dr Sohail added that he got infected last month and had moderate symptoms and is now doing fine. But he said it was hard to comprehend how his friend, who seemed perfectly fine hours ago, suddenly faced such severe issues and died. According to the Indian Medical Association, 244 doctors have lost their lives due to Covid in the second wave. Of them, 50 deaths were recorded on Sunday. The highest number of fatalities have been reported from Bihar (69) followed by Uttar Pradesh (34) and Delhi (27).
As India’s daily COVID-19 deaths reach new high, Modi opposes free vaccinations – Although India’s new daily COVID-19 infections dropped this week below 300,000 for the first time in almost a month, the official death toll reached record highs on successive days, with 4,329 fatalities registered on Tuesday and 4,529 on Wednesday. Making the situation even worse, the pandemic has found new breeding grounds in India’s remote and rural areas, where more than 65 percent of the country’s population – over 800 million mostly oppressed and impoverished people – reside. Health care facilities are virtually nonexistent in rural areas. As horrific as the official infections and death tallies are, they are widely seen by health experts as gross underestimates of the true extent of India’s COVID-19 catastrophe. Some scientists project that the real number of deaths in India’s “second wave” of the pandemic, which began in mid-February, is between five and 10 times higher than the official figure. This would mean that tens of thousands of people are currently dying from COVID-19 every single day. Responsibility for this disastrous state of affairs lies squarely with Modi, his far-right Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government and India’s venal capitalist elite, which less than two months ago were still boasting about India’s purported exemplary management of the pandemic. Modi systematically ignored warnings from his scientific advisers about the developing second wave, which was driven by new and more infectious variants – including the B.1.617 strain, which was first identified in India and has now spread around the world. Instead, Modi continued to insist, as his government has done for over a year, that nothing can be allowed to get in the way of corporate profits. Even as the official daily death toll reached 3,000 in mid-April and India emerged as the epicentre of the global pandemic, Modi declared that it was necessary to “save India from lockdown,” not from the virus. The government’s vaccine rollout, which is in complete disarray, is of a piece with Modi’s “profits before lives” strategy. His government is categorically refusing to provide free vaccines to the Indian population, which in practice means that hundreds of millions of impoverished people will go without. The BJP government has also left vaccine production and a significant portion of vaccine distribution to private companies, which are raking in huge profits thanks to the exorbitant costs the government has allowed them to charge. In addition to further enriching India’s fabulously wealthy elite, the Modi government took the decision to rely on private companies so as to showcase the prowess of Indian capitalist enterprise to the world. The result of this policy is that India has one of the highest prices in the world for COVID-19 vaccines. Covishield, which is based on the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, costs $12 per dose, while Covaxin, produced by Bharat Biotech, is priced at $17 per dose. Both vaccines require two doses. To put this into perspective, a recent report noted that the pandemic has pushed a further 235 million Indians below the government “poverty line,” which is a set at an income of 375 rupees or about $5 per day. Thus, for a substantial section of the population, the vaccines are effectively out of reach.
Charging Indians for COVID Vaccines is Bad, Letting Vaccine Producers Charge What They Like is Unconscionable –Countries around the world are racing against time to vaccinate their populations against the coronavirus. But India has thus far been a poor performer, with only 9.6% of its population receiving a vaccine so far (compared to 51.8% in the UK, 45% in the US, 32.1% in Germany and 14.9% in Brazil).While there are a few issues plaguing the vaccine roll out, the most egregious is the fact most Indians, many of whom live in poverty, are being made to pay for their shots. And the government is allowing vaccine producers to charge whatever they like. The reason appears to be a belief – based on zero evidence – that the two “Made in India” vaccines would be sufficient to meet India’s domestic needs and international commitments.However, the same standards did not appear to have been applied to the other two vaccines – Covishield was given approval in January, even though its immunogenicity data were not yet available. Trial data from the UK, South Africa and Brazil published in The Lancet was considered adequate at the time.Similarly, Pfizer was compelled to withdraw its application for emergency approval because the drug regulator insisted conducting a local bridging study would be necessary. However, Covaxin was given approval in January even when its Phase 3 data on efficacy were not available.Second, the vaccine business is risky, given the amount of money that has to go into research, development, and testing, and many won’t end up being effective. Early public investments reduce risk exposure for vaccine companies and help raise their production capacities. Countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany made large at-risk investments in vaccine companies for research and capacity expansion. India failed to do so.Third, India failed to place advance purchase orders for adequate quantities of vaccines. The first purchase order wasn’t placed until January this year. By this time, capacities of vaccine producers were already locked into other supply commitments elsewhere.As a result, vaccination centres are being closed, and people are being turned away. In most cities, the mobile application – CoWin – used to book appointments for vaccination, isn’t allowingpeople to register. And even if people manage to register, appointments are not available formany months.There is enormous public anger against the government of India for this, as well as for the serious flaws in its public health system which have been exposed by the sharp rise of infections in the second wave. This includes a lack of oxygen in hospitals and even a lack of space for funerals in crematoriums.
COVID-19 mutations trigger new outbreaks across Southeast Asia – The COVID-19 catastrophe in India is threatening to spread to Southeast and East Asia, including in locations such as Vietnam, Singapore and Taiwan, where lockdowns and other safety restrictions had previously kept infections low. The outbreaks across the region are another stark warning of how quickly new waves of the pandemic, driven by more infectious variants like B.1.617, first identified in India, can get out of control and overwhelm chronically-underfunded and inadequate hospital and quarantine systems. In the past month, B.1.617 has appeared in Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, accelerating infections and deaths. In some countries, especially Cambodia, the British variant, known as B.1.1.7, has also taken hold. This has been aided by the refusal of governments worldwide to implement effective lockdown and containment measures because that would affect corporate profits. The emerging crisis has been worsened by “vaccine nationalism.” Unconscionable delays in global vaccination programs, particularly for the billions of people living in the most impoverished parts of the world, caused by the mercenary interests of the wealthiest Western powers and the pharmaceutical giants, have allowed more transmissible and deadly mutations to develop. With the exception of Singapore and Cambodia, less than 10 percent of the adult population in each country across the region has received a single vaccine dose. Even according to official statistics, the regional toll is soaring, and it is almost certainly much higher, especially in rural areas, as reported recently by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, which calculated that COVID-19 deaths globally are twice the recorded figures. * New reported cases in Malaysia have more than tripled in the past month, hitting 4,765 on May 12. This forced the government to introduce a four-week partial national shutdown, but it is still allowing factories and businesses to operate. Malaysia had recorded over 470,000 cases with 1,902 deaths as of Sunday. It has the third highest infection rate in the region, behind Indonesia and the Philippines, despite Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin declaring a state of emergency in January, ostensibly to contain the pandemic.
All about new COVID-19 strain which is infecting children in Singapore – The government of Singapore has announced a new strain of the COVID-19 virus that is affecting children, thus shutting down schools. The government also issued a warning saying that the new virus variant first found in India was affecting children. Singapore’s education minister Chan Chun said that “mutations are much more virulent, and they seem to attack the younger children”. The education minister added that the government is working on a plan to vaccinate all the students under the age of 16 in the country. Singapore had recorded 333 COVID-19 cases on Monday putting the authorities on high alert. Health Minister Ong Ye Kung also said that the B.1.617 strain is affecting the children more. “We know that this is a very difficult period for everyone. This is clearly a setback in our fight against COVID-19. But we are resolved to keep fellow Singaporeans safe and to see Singapore safely through this crisis.” Minister for Education of Singapore, Lawrence Wong Shyun Tsai added. As Singapore draws up plans to vaccinate its young, reports state that the children who have contracted the virus so far are not seriously ill and a few of them have mild symptoms of coronavirus. In view of this, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, on Tuesday, urged the Centre to suspend all air operations with the Southeast Asian country.
COVID is surging in the world’s most vaccinated country. Why? – The small archipelago nation of Seychelles, northeast of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean, has emerged as the world’s most vaccinated country for COVID-19.Around 71% of people have had at least one dose of a COVID vaccine, and 62% have been fully vaccinated. Of these, 57% have received the Sinopharm vaccine, and 43% AstraZeneca.Despite this, there has been a recent surge in cases, with 37% of new active cases and 20% of hospital cases being fully vaccinated. The country has had to reimpose some restrictions.How can this be happening? There are several possible explanations:
- the herd immunity threshold has not been reached – 62% vaccination is likely not adequate with the vaccines being used
- herd immunity is unreachable due to inadequate efficacy of the two vaccines being used
- variants that escape vaccine protection are dominant in Seychelles
- the B1617 Indian variant is spreading, which appears to be more infectious than other variants
- mass failures of the cold-chain logistics needed for transport and storage, which rendered the vaccines ineffective.
What does the country’s experience teach us about variants, vaccine efficacy and herd immunity?There are reports of the South African B.1.351 variant circulating in Seychelles. This variant shows the greatest ability to escape vaccine protection of all COVID variants so far.In South Africa, one study showed AstraZeneca has 0-10% efficacy against this variant, prompting the South African government to stop using that vaccine in February.The efficacy of the Sinopharm vaccine against this variant is unknown, but lab studies show some reduction in protection, based on blood tests, but probably some protection.However, no comprehensive surveillance exists in the country to know what proportion of cases are due to the South African variant.
COVID-19: Experts warn against coronavirus vaccine hesitancy amid threat of mutant strains – A leading epidemiologist expert has warned Australians not to hesitate getting thecoronavirus vaccines, saying delays could expose them to a higher chance of being infected by a mutant strain.New statistics published by Nine newspapers found a third of adults are ‘unlikely’ to get the jab, citing concerns over side effects and the belief there isn’t a rush so long as international borders remain closed.Professor Mary-Louise McLaws, one of Australia’s leading epidemiologists, says the results of the survey are “very damaging” to the nation’s recovery.”Yesterday we had an amazing day of 100,000 injections and that’s what we need every day for a year to be able to say that we are safe to open our borders,” Prof McLaws told Weekend Today.”When we do open our borders, we will have the ‘variants of concern’, those very, very transmissible infections.”I would be going for about 85 per cent of adults (vaccinated).”
Britons’ freedom to hug overshadowed by spread of Indian strain of coronavirus – Concerned about the spread of an Indian variant of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson called on the population to exercise “a heavy dose of caution” as restrictions ease further on Monday, with people allowed to be served indoors in bars and restaurants, attend movie theaters and hug family and friends.
- The new step in the government’s “road map” to ease the economy out of lockdown also allows mixing indoors, lifts restrictions on outdoor meetings for groups of fewer than 30 people, and removes mandatory mask-wearing in schools.
- A top scientific adviser to the government, however, cautioned on Monday that the restrictions could return if the spread of a highly transmissible variant detected in India leads to another wave of the pandemic.
- Health secretary Matt Hancock said there was “increased confidence” that vaccines worked against the variant. According to official numbers, 69% of the U.K. adult population has received at least one dose of the available shots, with 38% now fully vaccinated.
- A legal ban on travel abroad has also been lifted on Monday, but the government has cautioned against holidays outside its limited “green list” of 12 countries, mostly small islands, deemed safe for travel – with Portugal the only European Union member on the list.
Johnson has been criticized for delaying by two weeks a ban on travelers from India, out of a desire not to irk Prime Minister Narendra Modi just as Johnson was due to make a high-profile trip to New Delhi. The trip was later canceled.
India variant will be dominant UK Covid strain ‘in next few days’ – The Covid variant first detected in India is set to be the dominant strain in the UK within days, experts have said, with the government and health teams struggling to contain cases, which have risen by more than 75% since Thursday. With the rapid spread of the more transmissible B.1.617.2 variant threatening to reverse moves to ease lockdown, the government faced intense pressure to more fully explain the delay in adding India to the so-called red list of countries. Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnson’s former chief adviser, joined the criticism on Monday, calling the UK’s border policy a “joke”. Johnson is now set to delay plans to announce an end to social-distancing rules, postponing the conclusion of a review expected by the end of the month, casting significant doubt over the wider plan to relax most lockdown rules on 21 June. Speaking on the day indoor hospitality and other venues were allowed to reopen, Matt Hancock told MPs that 2,323 cases of the variant known as B.1.617.2 had been confirmed, up from 1,313 on Thursday, with 483 of those in the outbreaks in Bolton and Blackburn. There are now 86 local authorities with five or more confirmed cases, he said. Describing a “race between the virus and the vaccine”, the health secretary rejected calls from Labour to consider a push to vaccinate all adults in the most affected areas, saying that surge testing was the best remedy. Hancock said 35,000 more tests had been distributed or collected in Bolton and Blackburn, along with a push to target those eligible for vaccinations, with 6,200 jabs carried out in Bolton alone over the weekend. But new data from the the Wellcome Sanger Institute’s Covid-19 genomic surveillance, which excludes samples from recent travellers and surge testing, has shown how rapidly and widely the variant appears to be embedding. According to an analysis of the data by Prof Christina Pagel, the director of the Clinical Operational Research Unit at University College London and a member of the Independent Sage group of experts, the variant was detected in almost 30% of Covid samples collected in England in the week ending 8 May. Paul Hunter, a professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia, said the India variant seemed set to supplant that first detected in Kent, which was in turn notably more transmissible than earlier forms of coronavirus. “There is no evidence that the recent rapid rise in cases of the B.1.617.2 variant shows any signs in slowing,” he said. “This variant will overtake [the Kent variant] and become the dominant variant in the UK in the next few days, if it hasn’t already done so.”
Signs of rise in Covid infections in England amid variant warnings –Covid infection levels are showing early signs of an increase in England, data has revealed, as experts continue to warn the variant of concern first detected in India could grow exponentially in the UK. On Friday, Boris Johnson told broadcasters in Portsmouth he has seen nothing to suggest it will be necessary to “deviate from the roadmap”, indicating that the planned lifting of all coronavirus restrictions in England on 21 June may yet go ahead. However speaking at an online meeting of the Independent Sage group of experts, Prof Ravi Gupta of the University of Cambridge, a co-opted member of the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group, said that despite the UK’s vaccination programme, community spread of the India variant, B.1.617.2, will continue to rise. “We still have people under the age of 30 not vaccinated, we have many people with only one dose, so this virus has plenty of space to expand exponentially and reach very high levels of infection with quite high levels of morbidity overall,” he said. His comments came as data from the Office for National Statistics infection survey revealed early signs of a potential rise in the percentage of people testing positive for Covid in England. According to data for the week ending 15 May, about 49,000 people in England, or one in 1,110, were positive for the virus, up from 40,800 or one in 1,340 the week before – although overall rates remain low. “There were early signs of an increase in the percentage of people testing positive in the north-east, Yorkshire and the Humber and the south-east in the week ending 15 May 2021,” the ONS team noted. By contrast around one in 4,340 people in the community in Wales, one in 1,550 in Northern Ireland and one in 1,960 in Scotland are thought to have had Covid in the most recent week.
UK covid cases rise due to ending containment and spread of Indian variant – Coronavirus cases in England have begun to rise once more, after being in decline for weeks, due to the reopening of the economy and widespread circulation of the highly transmissible Indian variant (B.1.617.2). On Friday, the health ministry announced that the R (reproduction) rate in England has risen to between 0.9 and 1.1, meaning the virus is no longer in retreat, with every 10 people carrying the virus transmitting it to between nine and 11 other people. Public Health England (PHE) announced Thursday that 3,424 cases of B.1.617.2 had been confirmed in Britain – a 160 percent rise on the 1,313 cases confirmed a week earlier. The 3,424 cases marked an increase of 15 percent in just one day, with the figure standing at 2,967 Thursday. The seven worst Covid hotspots in England are all large ethnically diverse urban areas with a substantial working class and Indian sub-continent population – Bolton, Blackburn, Bedford, Kirklees, Burnley, Hounslow and Leicester. The spread of the variant nationwide is clear in that Hounslow is in west London, Bedford in south England Leicester in the East Midlands, Kirklees in West Yorkshire, and other areas in the north west of England. Bolton recorded 982 new B.1.617.2 cases in seven days, the equivalent of 341.5 cases per 100,000 people. The previous seven days saw a ratio of 189.2 per 100,000. As the spread of the variant escalated, local authorities are being forced to defy Covid vaccine regulations, which so far have been aimed at immunising the most vulnerable first with older age groups prioritised. On Friday, Manchester – the largest city of the north west and centre of the Greater Manchester region that contains Bolton – announced it would rollout the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to unvaccinated 16-year-olds in a “preventative vaccination plan” in target wards with a black, Asian and minority ethnic population above 50 percent. Bolton authorities already have a similar vaccination programme underway. The effectiveness of vaccination in combating the Indian variant is under review, with positive results indicated in India itself and elsewhere. But there is some evidence that the variant can infect those who have been vaccinated.
UK daily COVID cases highest in a month, Indian variant rising sharply (Reuters) – Britain reported its highest daily total of new coronavirus infections in a month while cases of a variant of concern first found in India continue to climb, official statistics showed on Thursday. The overall incidence of infections in Britain is still low, while the number of people in hospital with COVID-19 fell to its lowest level since September on Thursday. But clusters of the B.1.617.2 variant, believed to be more transmissible than the dominant Kent variant, are growing quickly, and could derail Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s plans to reopen England’s economy by the summer. British cases of the B.1.617.2 variant first found in India have risen to 3,424, up by 2,111 compared to comparable figures last week, Public Health England said. It also represents a steep rise compared to figures given on Wednesday, when Health Minister Matt Hancock said there had been 2,967 cases of the variant. “PHE will continue to monitor all variants closely, paying particular attention to the impact on hospitalisations and deaths which will help us to understand the protective effects of the vaccine,” said Meera Chand, COVID-19 Incident Director at PHE. Britain reported 2,874 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, the highest daily figure for new cases since April 19 The uptick comes as Johnson eases restrictions in England, and as a quick rollout of vaccines decouples the link between case numbers and hospitalisations and deaths. On Thursday, the total number of patients in hospital fell below 900 for the first time since September. Britain recorded another 7 deaths within 28 days of a positive COVID-19 test, and the statistics portal showed 37.25 million people had been given a first dose of vaccine.
Indian COVID variant: What are the symptoms to look out for? – Numbers of COVID cases in the UK have been reassuringly low over the past couple of months, but the emergence of a new Indian variant of the virus threatens to disrupt the progress. With suspicions that the variant could be far more transmissable than other versions of the virus, experts are urging caution as we edge close towards ‘normal’ life resuming. The Indian variant of coronavirus is now thought to be most prevalent in areas such as Bolton, Blackburn, and parts of London. As it continues to spread around the country, it’s vital we know what symptoms to look out for. We could probably all pass some sort of exam on the key symptoms of COVID-19, at this point, with the most common signs being a high temperature, a new, continuous cough, and a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste. But according to one doctor based in India, there’s another symptom that’s emerging, and may theoretically be linked to the Indian variant. Dr GB Sattur told a local newspaper in Bangalore about one patient, a 55-year-old man, who arrived at hospital with extreme dryness of the mouth. He also had conjunctivitis, which the GP knew to be a possible sign of the virus (it’s listed by the World Health Organisation as one of the “less common” symptoms), and so he did further investigations. “I had read that conjunctivitis can be one of the symptoms of COVID. Though he didn’t have a fever, he said that he was tired,” explained the doctor. “I suspected that it could be a symptom of COVID and asked him to take a PCR test which turned out to be positive. He was then admitted to hospital and then recovered.” The case has led the doctor to urge his fellow clinicians to pay attention to complaints of a dry mouth when assessing possible COVID cases. “Doctors should keep an eye on tongue complaints and not ignore them,” said Dr Sattur.
As Indian variant spreads in Europe, governments reopen across the continent — While scientists warn of the dangerous implications of the spread of the more contagious Indian variant of the coronavirus, governments across Europe are pushing ahead rapidly to reopen their economies fully and lifting any limited lockdown measures that have remained in place. The reopening is taking place amid a competition among the European states over which economy can most quickly restart, and particularly over access to tourism revenue for the Summer holiday season. The B.1.617 variant, first identified in India, may be up to 50 percent more contagious than even the so-called UK variant, according to a UK government advisory committee, though further studies are required. The B.1.17 variant had first been identified in the UK in September, but has since rapidly become the dominant strain and makes up the majority of cases across Europe. In the UK, the number of identified cases of the Indian variant has rapidly accelerated in the past 10 days to more than 2,300. By Tuesday, it had reached 2,300 in the UK, a rise of 75 percent from four days earlier. The strain now accounts for at least 20 percent of new infections, and scientists predict that it will become the dominant strain within days. However, yesterday the government admitted that the official count of cases of the new strain was already outdated by a week. The Johnson government’s own scientific advisors have made statements warning against the ending of lockdown measures that it is pushing through. The reopening in Europe, under conditions where only a small portion of the population has been vaccinated, poses clear dangers of a new catastrophic overwhelming of hospitals and mass deaths. It is being pursued as part of the European Union’s policy of placing corporate profits before lives, with case numbers already too high for any systematic testing, tracing and isolation system to be put in place. In France, cafes and restaurants opened for outdoor dining yesterday. Theaters, museums, public monuments and cinemas also reopened. The nightly curfew was pushed back from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Indoor and outdoor physical sports, except for contact sports, are again legally permitted. On June 9, restaurants are to reopen completely. Only slightly over 13 percent of the French population has been vaccinated, compared to scientific estimates that, to prevent the virus’ spread, a population immunity rate of between 80-90 percent would be required. The Indian variant has already been detected in France, though the number of daily cases remains unknown. More than 17,000 cases were reported on Tuesday in the country, while the seven-day average for deaths remains at almost 200.
Coronavirus: Germany declares UK a virus variant region – Germany’s Robert Koch Institute for public health declared Britain and Northern Ireland a virus variant region on Friday.The move, which will come into force on Sunday, will see significant travel restrictions introduced.Germany, where new coronavirus infections have been falling lately, adjusted the classification as cases of a worrying coronavirus variant first found in India continue to rise in Britain.Anyone entering Germany from the United Kingdom will be required quarantine for two weeks on arrival, even if they test negative for the coronavirus.Airlines, rail and bus companies will only be able to bring German citizens or people who reside in Germany into the country.”We want to play it safe,” a German government source told Reuters news agency. “In this important phase of the vaccination campaign, the entry of problematic mutations must be avoided as far as possible.”
Argentina’s gravediggers plead for vaccines as death toll climbs (Reuters) – Argentina’s gravediggers are threatening to strike over demands that cemetery workers burying the dead are vaccinated against COVID-19, a test for the South American country’s government which has faced hold-ups to its vaccine roll-out. “We face a daily war in this place,” Aguirre told Reuters. “The fear is real, that’s why we want the vaccine to arrive for everyone so that, at least, we can live a couple more years,” he said with a wry laugh. Argentina is seeing a sharp second wave of the pandemic, with the average daily death toll hitting a record at over 450 lives lost a day. The country has recorded over 70,000 deaths since the pandemic hit. Daily new cases now average just below 25,000, prompting calls for tighter restrictions. (Graphic on global cases and deaths) https://tmsnrt.rs/34pvUyi Meanwhile the country’s inoculation campaign has only fully inoculated 4.5% of the population and 18% has received at least one dose, according to a Reuters analysis. At an average of 132,000 doses given per day, it will take another 69 days to inoculate another 10% of the population. (Graphic on vaccinations) https://tmsnrt.rs/3tUM8ta Argentina’s union representing cemetery, crematorium and funeral workers has threatened a national strike if it does not reach a deal with the government on vaccines. The strike could start this week after a government-enforced conciliation period ends. The burial protocol for COVID-19 victims involves disinfecting and handling the coffin, where workers have to wear protective gear including body suits, face masks, goggles and gloves. Polig explained that beyond the physical risk of infection, workers had to deal with the emotional pain of consoling relatives and having to restrict how many family members can visit the grave due to COVID protocol measures. “It’s hugely sad and complicated,” he said.
Amid warnings of “catastrophic” COVID-19 third wave, Brazil’s state governors reopen economy -As deaths decrease in the immediate aftermath of April’s second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil, the number of new cases are already rising again since the beginning of May. The rolling average of new daily cases has increased from 56,533 on April 26 to 64,665 on May 19, well on its way to reaching the levels of the March surge that resulted in a historically unprecedented population decrease in April in many states, including heavily populated states in the south and southeast, as a direct result of COVID-19 deaths. Since April, the death toll has been decreasing, dropping to 1,901 on May 17. However, since March, both the death toll and the number of new cases have remained above the scale of the first wave of May-August of last year. A May 13 report from the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) pointed out that “The continuing high level observed, despite the slight reduction in the severity indicators, demands that all safety measures be maintained because a third wave now, with such high rates, could represent an even graver health crisis.” Brazil has registered a total of more than 15,800,000 cases and 440,000 deaths so far, ranking as the second country with most deaths for more than a year before India’s current deadly surge saw it surpass fatalities in both Brazil and the US on Thursday. Fiocruz warned that a new surge, given the current scenario of high incidence rates, “will be catastrophic.” It will also present an “opportunity for the emergence of new variants of the virus due to the intensity of transmission, as we have seen in other regions and countries.” These warnings have not stopped the drive to reopen the economies of every state in Brazil, covered up by lying claims that the stabilization of cases means that the pandemic is “under control.” The current number of occupied ICUs in São Paulo is above 10,000, much worse than during the first wave, when it reached a peak of 6,500. There are currently seven states with ICU beds filled to over 90 percent, and seven others reporting rates above 80 percent.
Delhi’s Covid-19 positivity rate drops below 5%, city sees 3,009 new cases and 252 deaths – According to the latest health department bulletin, issued on Friday, 63,190 samples were tested in the last 24 hours, thus giving a positivity rate of 4.76%.Delhi’s Covid-19 positivity has dipped below 5%, as the city recorded 3,009 new cases from 63,190 samples tested for the viral disease in the last 24 hours, a health department bulletin showed on Friday. The cumulative infection tally has reached 1,412,959, with a related death toll of 22,831, as 252 people succumbed to the infection in this time period, the bulletin further showed.According to Friday’s bulletin, the Capital’s positivity rate, which has undergone a decline in the last few days, stands at 4.76%. Positivity rate means the total number of samples returning a positive result out of every 100 samples tested for Covid-19 per day, and is different from the cumulative positivity rate, which is currently at 7.6%, as per the latest data. Previously, Delhi’s positivity rate was at 5.50%.The number of tests conducted in the preceding 24 hours were an increase from the corresponding figure from the 24-hour period before that — 58,744. Of the samples tested in the last 24 hours, 45,685 underwent RTPCR/CBNAAT/TueNat testing, while rapid antigen tests were conducted on the remaining 17,505 samples. Total 18,595,993 samples have been tested thus far and samples tested per million are at 978,736.The cumulative recoveries and active cases, meanwhile, are at 1,354,445 and 35,683 respectively. While there were 7,288 recoveries in the last 24 hours, active cases declined by 4,531 cases. Recoveries, active cases and deaths constitute 95.85%, 2.52% and 1.61 of the city’s infection tally, respectively. The national capital is currently under a lockdown, which is scheduled to be lifted at 5am on May 24, unless extended. The lockdown came into force at 10pm on April 19 and was scheduled to end at 5am on April 26. It has been extended four times since then.
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