The COVID-2019 Thread

[S Landreth]

Doctor's unlikely Omicron theory: 'You might want it to spread'

About the author/doctor - NICK COATSWORTH: COVID-19 is definitely not an airborne pathogen.

[misskit]

Japan bans entry of foreign visitors as omicron spreads

TOKYO (AP) — Japan announced Monday it will suspend entry of all foreign visitors from around the world as a new coronavirus variant spreads, prompting an increasing number of countries to tighten their borders.


“We are taking the step as an emergency precaution to prevent a worst-case scenario in Japan,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said. He said the measure will take effect Tuesday.


The decision means Japan will restore border controls that it eased earlier this month for short-term business visitors, foreign students and workers.


Kishida urged people to continue with mask wearing and other basic anti-virus measures until further details of the new omicron variant are known.

MORE Japan bans entry of foreign visitors as omicron spreads | Thai PBS World : The latest Thai news in English, News Headlines, World News and News Broadcasts in both Thai and English. We bring Thailand to the world

[misskit]

Philippines suspends decision to allow vaccinated tourists entry

Manila (AFP) – The Philippines has temporarily suspended a decision to allow fully vaccinated tourists entry in a bid to prevent a new, heavily mutated coronavirus variant taking off in the country where most of the population remains unvaccinated.


It comes as the Southeast Asian nation on Monday launched a three-day vaccination drive targeting nine million people as young as 12 in an effort to accelerate the roll-out of jabs.

MORE https://www.thaipbsworld.com/philipp...ourists-entry/

[Bonecollector]

So my partner bought the two Moderna jabs but typical of the way things always turn out in LOS, she has gotten her first Moderna free of charge off the government this morning. She will get a 2nd Moderna jab at the end of December. At first she was told she would get a free course of Astra and then pfizer but last night she got a message saying it would now be Moderna. Very happy for her! Just so typically Thailand 5555

Kindly, she will be giving her 1st paid for Moderna to me as my 3rd booster when/ if I fucking get back.

[harrybarracuda]

Surely a pre-flight PCR test should be mandatory around the world now?

After all, it's not the virus that travels, it's people that carry it.

Now 14 people with omikron variant in the Netherlands

There are now 14 people in the Netherlands who have been diagnosed with the new omikron variant. This also concerns someone who flew back from South Africa at the weekend and had to undergo a test at Schiphol, reports outgoing minister De Jonge.

Further analysis has shown that the people who have tested positive so far have probably contracted the virus in several places. "At least not during the flight," De Jonge wrote to the House of Representatives.


The minister said earlier that it is not inconceivable that there are already more infections with the new corona variant in the Netherlands under the radar. Scientists still have many questions about the omikron variant.

Tot nu toe 33 omikronbesmettingen in Europese Unie • RIVM: 21.552 positieve tests gemeld | NOS

[harrybarracuda]

LISBON, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Portugal detected 13 cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant on Monday, all involving players and staff of top division soccer club Belenenses SAD, one of whose players recently returned from South Africa, health authority DGS said.
The diagnoses were made after the Lisbon club played a Primeira Liga match against Benfica on Saturday that started with only nine Belenenses players on the pitch because of a COVID-19 outbreak.

Only seven players returned to the field after halftime, and the match was abandoned two minutes into the second half with Benfica leading 7-0. read more
Belenenses defender Cafu Phete tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from international duty in South Africa on Nov. 17, and he and 12 others at the club were confirmed on Monday to be infected with the Omicron variant, which was first detected last week in southern Africa.

Portugal finds 13 cases of Omicron variant at Lisbon soccer club | Reuters

[harrybarracuda]

Frankly it is c u n t s like this that make life difficult for everyone. I'm sure everyone would like to quarantine at home, but these assholes show why it just won't work.

AMSTERDAM, Nov 29 (Reuters) - A couple caught trying to escape from COVID-19 quarantine in the Netherlands after testing positive for the coronavirus have been transferred to a hospital where they were being held in isolation, an official said on Monday.
The pair, a Spanish man and Portuguese woman, left the hotel where travellers who tested positive for the virus were staying after arriving at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport from South Africa.

"They have now been transferred to a hospital elsewhere in the Netherlands to ensure they are in isolation. They are now in so-called forced isolation," said Petra Faber, spokesperson for Haarlemmermeer municipality, where Schiphol is located just outside of the capital.
"We don't know who tested positive for the new variant and we wouldn't say because of privacy," Faber said.

The couple fled the hotel on Sunday and had boarded a plane to Spain when they were detained by military police at the airport, said Faber. They were among 61 out of the more than 600 passengers who arrived on two flights from Johannesburg and Cape Town on Friday and tested positive for COVID-19.
At least 13 of those infected have the newly identified Omicron variant of the virus, Dutch health authorities said on Sunday.

Security at the hotel has in the meantime been increased to ensure the quarantined guests stay in their rooms. It is being guarded by regular police and military police.

Couple caught fleeing Dutch COVID-19 quarantine moved to "forced isolation" | Reuters

[harrybarracuda]

‘Patience is crucial’: Why we won’t know for weeks how dangerous Omicron is

Lab tests and patterns of spread will show whether the new SARS-CoV-2 variant’s many mutations are a serious threat

At 7.30 a.m. on Wednesday, Kristian Andersen, an infectious disease researcher at Scripps Research in San Diego, received a message on Slack: “This variant is completely insane.” Andrew Rambaut of the University of Edinburgh was reacting to a new SARS-CoV-2 genome sequence found in three samples collected in Botswana on 11 November and one picked up a week later in a traveler from South Africa to Hong Kong.

Andersen looked at the data and then replied: “Holy shit—that is quite something. The length of that branch...” A few minutes later he added: “Just had a look at the list of mutations—so nuts.”

They were talking about what is now called Omicron, a new variant of concern, and the long branch Andersen noticed refers to its distance to every other known virus on SARS-CoV-2’s evolutionary tree. The variant seemed to have picked up dozens of mutations, many of them known to be important in evading immunity or increasing transmissibility, with no intermediate sequences in the database of millions of viral genomes. On Tuesday, after spotting the odd sequences in a global database, Tom Peacock, a virologist at Imperial College London, had already posted his own verdict on GitHub: “This could be of real concern.”

Now, once again, the world is watching as researchers work nights and weekends to learn what a new variant has in store for humanity. Is Omicron more infectious? More deadly? Is it better at re-infecting recovered people? How well does it evade vaccine-induced immunity? And where did it come from? Finding out will take time, warns Jeremy Farrar, the head of the Wellcome Trust: “I'm afraid patience is crucial.”

Researchers in South Africa were already on the trail of this new variant. Several teams were independently trying to figure out why cases were spiking in Gauteng, a northern province that includes Johannesburg and Pretoria. And a private lab called Lancet had noticed that routine PCR tests for SARS-CoV-2 were failing to detect a key target, the S gene, in many samples, a phenomenon previously seen with Alpha, another variant of concern. When Lancet sequenced eight of these viruses, they found out why: The genome was so heavily mutated that the test missed the gene.

Lancet shared the genomes with the Network for Genomics Surveillance in South Africa (NGS-SA), which called an urgent meeting on Tuesday. “We were shocked by the number of mutations," says Tulio de Oliveira, a virologist at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and NGS-SA 's principal investigator. After the meeting, de Oliveira says, he called South Africa's Director General of Health and "asked him to inform the minister and president that a potential new variant was emerging." The team sequenced another 100 randomly selected sequences from Gauteng in the next 24 hours. All showed the same pattern. After informing the government, de Oliveira and his colleagues presented their evidence at a press conference on Thursday morning. On Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO) designated the virus a “variant of concern” and christened it Omicron. (Variant names follow the Greek alphabet but WHO skipped the letters Nu and Xi, it said, “because Nu is too easily confounded with 'new' and Xi was not used because it is a common surname.“)

One reason for concern about Omicron is that sequenced samples indicate it has rapidly replaced other variants in South Africa. But that picture might be skewed. For one, sequencing might have been focused on possible cases of the new variant in recent days, which could make it appear more frequent than it is. PCR data provide broader coverage and a less biased view, but there too, samples with the S gene failure indicate a rapid rise of Omicron.

But the rising frequency could still be due in part to chance. In San Diego, a series of superspreading events at a university resulted in an explosion of one particular strain of SARS-CoV-2 earlier this year, Andersen says: "It was thousands of cases and they were all the same virus.” But the virus wasn't notably more infectious. South Africa has seen relatively few cases recently, so a series of superspreading events could have led to the rapid increase of Omicron. “I suspect that a lot of that signal is explained by that and I desperately hope so,” Andersen says. Based on a comparison of different Omicron genomes, Andersen estimates that the virus emerged sometime around late September or early October, which suggests it might be spreading more slowly than it appears to have.

The other reason to be concerned is Omicron's confusing genome. Its spike protein, which latches on to cells on human receptors, has 30 amino acid differences from that of the original Wuhan virus. In addition, amino acids have disappeared in three places and new ones appeared in one place. (Other proteins too, have undergone changes.) Many of the changes in spike are around the receptor binding domain, the part of the protein that makes contact with the human cell. “That is very troubling,” Farrar says. Structural biology mapping last year showed that some of these changes made the virus bind to the receptor much better.

It’s hard to tell how infectious a virus is based on mutations alone, says Aris Katzourakis, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Oxford. “But if we were looking out for mutations that do affect transmissibility, it's got all of them,” he says.

The sequence also suggests the virus could excel at evading human antibodies, says Jesse Bloom, an evolutionary biologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. The human immune system produces a host of different antibodies that can neutralize SARS-CoV-2, but many of the most important ones fall into three categories that each target a slightly different site on the spike protein of the virus, simply called 1, 2 and 3. A mutation called E484K has long been worrying because it changes the shape of the site that class 2 antibodies recognize, making them less potent. Omicron carries a mutation called E484A in this site and similar changes in the sites for the other two classes of antibodies.

Bloom thinks people who recovered from COVID or were vaccinated are unlikely to completely lose their ability to neutralize the virus. “But I would expect, based on this particular combination of mutations, that the drop in neutralization is larger than for all the other major variants.”

Experiments in the laboratory will have to show whether he is right. Alex Sigal, an infectious disease researcher at the Africa Health Research Institute, says he received swabs with Omicron on Wednesday and has started to grow the virus. Producing enough of it to test against sera from vaccinated and recovered individuals will take a week or two, he says. Other researchers will test viruses genetically engineered to carry just the spike protein of Omicron, a process that is faster than growing the variant itself but a bit further removed from what happens in real life.

As such studies take place, it's crucial to closely monitor any shifts in the pandemic, Farrar says. “Do you see cases increasing not just in South Africa but the broader South African region?” The virus has already been picked up in Belgium, the United Kingdom, and Israel, Farrar points out, and will probably be found elsewhere as well. “Do you see transmission increasing in other parts of the world around presumed index cases?”

Epidemiologists will also watch for changes in disease severity—how many people are hospitalized and die. All that will take time.

In the meantime, the European Union, the United States, and many other countries have restricted travel to and from southern Africa in a bid to protect themselves. Travel restrictions are unlikely to stop the variant, Farrar says, but they can buy some time. “The question is what you then do with the time.”

Travel restrictions come with an economic and social cost, which could be a disincentive to report new variants. “I've heard through the grapevine that countries didn't push sequences out very quickly [in the past] because they were worried about travel bans,” says Emma Hodcroft, a virologist at the University of Bern. “This is the opposite of what we want.”

Such considerations did not stop South African researchers, de Oliveira says. “We do risk a massive backlash in case [Omicron] does not cause a massive wave of infection and can be controlled,“ he wrote in a message. "But this is a risk that I am comfortable to live with as the pandemic has caused so many deaths and suffering. [Our] hope is that our early identification will help the world.“

AAAS

[harrybarracuda]

You can't fix stupid.

MUMBAI: About 40 passengers bound for Dubai
were stopped at Mumbai airport recently for
having submitted fake rapid RT-PCR test reports.
The incident occurred on November 12. Dubai-
bound passengers from India have to undergo
two RT-PCR tests, one within 48 hours of
departure and the other, a rapid RT-PCR test,
which needs to be done within six hours of
departure. While the regular RT-PCR test costs
less than Rs 1,000, the rapid RT-PCR test which
uses a technology that gives a report within 13
minutes, costs Rs 4,500 each.
“For international travel, passengers have to
submit test reports with QR codes that are clear
enough to be scanned. When the QR code on
the rapid PCR test reports submitted by these
passengers was scanned, it revealed information
that did not match with that of the passenger
concerned,” said an airport source, adding the
passengers were stopped from boarding the
flight.

40 Dubai-bound pax at Mumbai airport stopped for fake Covid reports | Mumbai News - Times of India

[Troy]

^ Having to do a test 6 hours before departure is indeed stupid. The one 48 hours before is surely enough.

[harrybarracuda]

^ Having to do a test 6 hours before departure is indeed stupid. The one 48 hours before is surely enough.

And what if you got infected four days before travelling?

It's all about minimising the risk.

[malmomike77]

I wonder how many new variants it will be before Govts stop pressing the panic button. Most vaccinated people are very likely assured of surviving COVID infection no matter which mutant strain. Unfortunately many in third world countries have yet to receive 2 jabs as is the case with South Africa, that is where the morbidity problem lies now. There will have to come a time where we acknowledge new variants and just get on with things.

[harrybarracuda]

I wonder how many new variants it will be before Govts stop pressing the panic button. Most vaccinated people are very likely assured of surviving COVID infection no matter which mutant strain. Unfortunately many in third world countries have yet to receive 2 jabs as is the case with South Africa, that is where the morbidity problem lies now. There will have to come a time where we acknowledge new variants and just get on with things.

As the POTUS said, it is simply to buy time. They don't know enough about this variant yet.

It may turn out that it is so transmissible but mild or asymptomatic that it could become the dominant strain. If that's the case, and it doesn't put pressure on healthcare services, everybody would open the fuck up.

The problem being, as always, the c u n t s that won't get vaccinated.

[malmomike77]

I agree but the rates variants are emreging we can simply cannot keep yoyoing, its not sustainable

[harrybarracuda]

I agree but the rates variants are emreging we can simply cannot keep yoyoing, its not sustainable

This is only the second variant they've considered this significant in two years, and it may come to nothing. A bit of pause to buy time to check isn't really "yoyoing" is it?

[malmomike77]

Ok, as you were

[panama hat]

I wonder how many new variants it will be before Govts stop pressing the panic button

Seems like you're the one who keeps panicking about these things.
If this variant isn't as harmful as it could be then good . . . if it is then be prepared with new vaccine development, or is that beyond you?

[S Landreth]

Moderna chief predicts existing vaccines will struggle with omicron

The chief executive of Moderna has predicted that existing vaccines will be much less effective at tackling omicron than earlier strains of Covid-19 and warned it would take months before pharmaceutical companies can manufacture new variant-specific jabs at scale.

Stephane Bancel said the high number of omicron mutations on the spike protein, which the virus uses to infect human cells, and the rapid spread of the variant in South Africa, suggested the current crop of vaccines may need to be modified next year.

"There is no world, I think, where [the effectiveness] is the same level ... we had with delta," Bancel told the Financial Times in an interview at the company's headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

He added: "I think it's going to be a material drop. I just don't know how much because we need to wait for the data. But all the scientists I've talked to ... are like 'this is not going to be good'."

Yada, yada, yada

Bancel also said there was a surplus of jabs earmarked for Africa and that 70m Moderna vaccines were sitting in warehouses because Covax - an international body tasked with inoculating low income nations - or individual governments had not taken delivery of them.

He said: "We are running out of space. It's because either they don't have customs documents, or they don't have fridge space, or because the ability to get doses in arms is a challenge."

[Troy]

That needs to come from a source without a vested interest to be believed.

On the more optimistic side, an easily transmitted strain with mild symptoms would be a natural way to turn Covid into a hasbeen.

[Bonecollector]

Moderna chief predicts existing vaccines will struggle with omicron

The chief executive of Moderna has predicted that existing vaccines will be much less effective at tackling omicron than earlier strains of Covid-19 and warned it would take months before pharmaceutical companies can manufacture new variant-specific jabs at scale.

Stephane Bancel said the high number of omicron mutations on the spike protein, which the virus uses to infect human cells, and the rapid spread of the variant in South Africa, suggested the current crop of vaccines may need to be modified next year.

"There is no world, I think, where [the effectiveness] is the same level ... we had with delta," Bancel told the Financial Times in an interview at the company's headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

He added: "I think it's going to be a material drop. I just don't know how much because we need to wait for the data. But all the scientists I've talked to ... are like 'this is not going to be good'."

Yada, yada, yada

Bancel also said there was a surplus of jabs earmarked for Africa and that 70m Moderna vaccines were sitting in warehouses because Covax - an international body tasked with inoculating low income nations - or individual governments had not taken delivery of them.

He said: "We are running out of space. It's because either they don't have customs documents, or they don't have fridge space, or because the ability to get doses in arms is a challenge."

This is probably a case of covering their/ his own backs. As far as the data shows, no one is getting any sicker and people who are double jabbed appear to not even know they had it. A sequencing came back just now dated 19th and 23rd November in The Netherlands. So it would appear it is here already and that there was no significant rise in sickness to cause immediate concern. That's my take on it anyways, I'm not Dr.

[harrybarracuda]

As far as the data shows, no one is getting any sicker and people who are double jabbed appear to not even know they had it.

Show us the data.

[russellsimpson]

Yada, yada, yada

Indeed.

Mr. Bancel knows dam well his comments are going to immediately affect the financial markets. Very irresponsible imo.

[harrybarracuda]

Still waiting for that imaginary data.

[harrybarracuda]

Well fuck.

All nine cases of the Omicron variant in Scotland trace back to a “single private event” held on 20 November, Nicola Sturgeon has told the Holyrood parliament in her weekly Covid update.
The first minister told MSPs that all nine were tested on or around 23 November and that none had so far required hospital care, nor had they any recent travel history to the countries in southern Africa where the variant was originally detected.
Earlier on Tuesday, Scotland’s health minister, Humza Yousaf, confirmed three more cases of the Omicron variant had been identified, raising the total to five in Lanarkshire and four in Greater Glasgow and Clyde health boards, as questions continued to be raised about how the variant came to Scotland, with particular scrutiny around the climate summit held in Glasgow over the first fortnight in November and the Scotland v South Africa rugby match at Murrayfield on 13 November.

Scottish Omicron cases all linked to one ‘private event’, says Sturgeon | Scotland | The Guardian

[Joe 90]