Scientists sound alarm over new 'worst-ever' super-mutant Covid variant

hollydolly

hollydolly

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.....that will make vaccines at least 40 per cent less effective !
....forcing flights to be banned from South Africa and five other countries.

Experts explained earlier how the B.1.1.529 variant has more than 30 mutations – the most ever recorded in a variant and twice as many as Delta – that suggest it could be more jab-resistant and transmissible than any version before it.

The variant - which could be named 'Nu' by the World Health Organization in the coming days - has caused an 'exponential' rise in infections in South Africa and has already spread to three countries – including Hong Kong and Botswana, where it is believed to have emerged.

In response, Health Secretary Sajid Javid announced that flights from South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Botswana, Eswatini and Zimbabwe will be suspended from midday Friday and all six countries will be added to the red list.

No cases have been detected in the UK so far but everyone who has returned from South Africa in the past 10 days will be contacted and asked to take a test.
At the moment, around 500 and 700 people are travelling to the UK from South Africa each day, but it is expected this figure could increase as the festive period begins.

Mr Javid said: 'The early indication we have of this variant is it may be more transmissible than the Delta variant and the vaccines that we currently have may be less effective against it.

'Now to be clear, we have not detected any of this new variant in the UK at this point in time. But we've always been clear that we will take action to protect the progress that we have made.

'So what we will be doing is from midday tomorrow we will be suspending all flights from six, southern African countries and we will add in those countries to the travel red list.

'Those countries are South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Botswana. We will be requiring anyone that arrives from those countries from 4am on Sunday to quarantine in hotels.

'If anyone arrives before then they should self-isolate at home and take a PCR test on day two and day eight. If anyone has arrived from any of those countries over the last 10 days, we would ask them to take PCR tests.'

The minister added: 'Our scientists are deeply concerned about this variant. I'm concerned, of course, that's one of the reasons we have taken this action today.'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...-list-early-TOMORROW-fears-mutant-strain.html
 

'The early indication we have of this variant is it may be more transmissible than the Delta variant and the vaccines that we currently have may be less effective against it."

Maybe maybe.. There are always lots of maybe's. I read about this early this morning in another news outlet and it started out the same as this one but near the end stated that more research was needed and it may be found to be less dangerous the Delta.
 
Whatever you think about this news, either hype or true,
there has to be something happening to get the European
Parliament to agree with the UK, they are also banning all
flight from Southern Africa.

This sounds serious, very serious, I, for one, didn't really think
very much about previous warnings and just carried on in my
usual fashion and wore a mask when out, but the report I got
from the radio this morning got to me, so either they, whoever
they are, have re-written the script, or it is true.

Mike.
 
hollydolly said:
I agree in many ways with the last 3 posts but I fear that if it's fact, then we're all in for a much rougher ride than the last 2 years
Click to expand...
Holly, I heard about the Nu variant late last summer and wondered why nothing ever came of it. Africa has low vaccination rates except in South Africa where people have been vaxxed and where this is coming from. Africa has done well compared to many European countries regarding covid, perhaps because of all the other anti virals they take over there.

I think the media is trying to scare people into panic so they will get vaccinated voluntarily and then countries like Austria won't look so bad forcing vaxx mandates on all citizens or else. Europe is undergoing some of the most intense anti vaxx mandate protests I've seen and everyone has a negative view of countries who want to force the vaxx on their entire populations. Since you're fully vaxxed, you should be okay.

Peace from chic.
 
chic said:
Holly, I heard about the Nu variant late last summer and wondered why nothing ever came of it. Africa has low vaccination rates except in South Africa where people have been vaxxed and where this is coming from. Africa has done well compared to many European countries regarding covid, perhaps because of all the other anti virals they take over there.

I think the media is trying to scare people into panic so they will get vaccinated voluntarily and then countries like Austria won't look so bad forcing vaxx mandates on all citizens or else. Europe is undergoing some of the most intense anti vaxx mandate protests I've seen and everyone has a negative view of countries who want to force the vaxx on their entire populations. Since you're fully vaxxed, you should be okay.

Peace from chic.
Click to expand...
Yep everything is possible, Chic. We'll just have to wait and see and hope this is all an exaggeration... I sincerely hope it is but I fear otherwise... :(
 
The latest that I heard Lewkat, is that it probably started
in China!

Everybody seems to be afraid of China, I think and won't
say for definite, if it is them.

Mike.
 
Sajid Javid today warned the pandemic is 'far from over' after No10's experts admitted the new super-mutant, vaccine-evading Botswana Covid variant could already be in the UK and threaten another Christmas lockdown.

In a sombre statement to MPs in the House of Commons this morning, the Health Secretary said the new B.1.1.529 strain — which has been spotted in Europe — posed a 'substantial risk to public health' and described its ultra-transmissibility and vaccine-dodging abilities as of 'huge international concern'.

Professor Adam Finn, a member of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), earlier raised the prospect of lockdown curbs being reintroduced, warning that people must be braced for a 'change in restrictions' if the variant spreads to the UK.

Dr Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser of the UK's Health and Security Agency (UKHSA), warned it was 'possible' the strain has already entered Britain.

She said 'people are arriving every day' to the UK from Belgium, South Africa, Botswana, Hong Kong and Israel where the variant has been officially detected.

Around 10,000 people have arrived from South Africa alone in the last two weeks since it the strain was first detected.

Mr Javid insisted no cases of the strain have been confirmed in the UK but warned the Government is working quickly but with a 'high degree of uncertainty' and boosters could not be more important now.
 
50924331-10242493-image-a-39_1637852457833.jpg
 
The new 'worst ever' Botswana Covid variant causing international alarm has been detected in Israel today, as the ultra-infectious and vaccine resistant strain spreads to four countries in two weeks.

Israel's health ministry said the patient tested positive for B.1.1.529 after returning from Malawi, suggesting it is already widespread on continental Africa. There are two other suspected cases in Israel.

There are also two suspected cases in Belgium, but these are yet to be confirmed. A public health doctor from the country says the strain is 'likely already in Europe' but in small numbers.

The World Health Organization is holding an emergency meeting today to discuss the variant, and could name it 'Nu' which is the next letter available in the Greek alphabet.

Germany and Italy joined the UK in suspending travel from South Africa today and, in a sign of growing alarm, the European Union is also proposing prohibiting travel from the country and its neighbours.

Britain's Health Secretary Sajid Javid has raised the prospect of travel being suspended from more countries, saying the variant is a clear sign the pandemic is 'far from over'. He called on everyone to get their booster jabs.

South Africa's infection rate spiked 93 per cent in a day yesterday amid fears the strain is driving the surge with local scientists saying it is likely already in all the country's nine provinces. There is yet to be a surge in hospitalisations at the epicentre Johannesburg.

The new case is the third outside of Africa after two were spotted in Hong Kong. The first was in a traveller who had recently returned from South Africa and a second has now been detected in the same quarantine hotel.

Britain's Health Secretary Sajid Javid said it was 'highly likely' that the variant was already in other countries, adding that it poses a 'substantial risk to public health'.

Countries are restricting travel from South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Botswana, Eswatini and Zimbabwe. No measures have been announced for arrivals from Malawi.
 
Lewkat said:
So, has any of our medical geniuses out there traced the origin of these viruses? Are we in the midst of germ warfare?
Click to expand...

I just watched an analysis that seemed to be supportive of the conclusion that the first case came from wet markets in Wuhan, China.

You might be able to tune in here - Planet America 26 November - ABC News
Tune in at 38 mins from start of video.
 
Mike said:
Whatever you think about this news, either hype or true,
there has to be something happening to get the European
Parliament to agree with the UK, they are also banning all
flight from Southern Africa.

This sounds serious, very serious, I, for one, didn't really think
very much about previous warnings and just carried on in my
usual fashion and wore a mask when out, but the report I got
from the radio this morning got to me, so either they, whoever
they are, have re-written the script, or it is true.

Mike.
Click to expand...
Or ....... they are laying it on a-bit thicker, because we are becoming more blas'e about the previous strains/warnings ..... ?
 
hollydolly said:
There is yet to be a surge in hospitalisations at the epicentre Johannesburg.
Click to expand...
This is good news. ^^^ Perhaps the Nu variant will prove to be more virulent but less deadly than original or Delta strains.

Early 2020, immediately after Covid-19 was determined to be a great threat to human health, virologists explained that the nature of viruses is to replicate in their hosts, sometimes imperfectly. Those errors result in mutations which then spread to the next host. Just as even the most skillful typist makes errors here and there while copying a long report, so do viruses make little errors when replicating.

Sometimes those imperfectly replicated viruses are more deadly or virulent, sometimes less. RNA viruses are more prone to making errors because of the nature of their replicative process.

We were warned that Covid-19 was almost certainly going to follow that pattern, and that people with immunocompromising illnesses like HIV/AIDS were at high risk of being incubators of those new variants. (The immunocompromised have difficulty fighting off the virus which allows it to stay in their systems longer, giving it more opportunity to mutate, make mistakes and then replicate those mistakes.)

News reports that virus is mutating isn't media hype, scare tactics or a grand conspiracy. Truth is, new variants were not only completely predictable, they were, in fact, widely predicted. This from May 2020:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/10/will-covid-19-mutate-into-a-more-dangerous-virus
 
Welcome to our future. This virus is going to be around, in various forms, for the foreseeable future. It will continue to mutate, as the populations fail to get vaccinated, and continue to mingle.

There are no shortages of conspiracy theories, and conflicting reports about this virus, and the vast majority of people have NO recourse but to try to follow the suggestions from the doctors and scientists...and Hope that those people are correct.
 
Jeez. I heard about this last night on the BBC and didn't give it a thought. Now the Dow is down 900 plus points and we're in panic mode again.
 

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