Opinion | Covid's Increasing Spread Is a Global Threat - The New York Times

Opinion | Covid's Increasing Spread Is a Global Threat - The New York Times an opinion piece argues that the US needs to assist with global vaccination in order to quell the new variants, and that re-infection may be possible.

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A variant with higher transmissibility is a huge danger to people without immunity either from vaccination or prior infection, even if the variant is no more deadly than previous versions of the virus. Residents of countries like Taiwan or Vietnam that had almost completely kept out the pandemic, and countries like India and Nepal that had fared relatively well until recently, have fairly little immunity, and are largely unvaccinated. A more transmissible variant can burn through such an immunologically naïve population very fast.

Vietnam Detects New Highly Transmissible Coronavirus Variant : Coronavirus Updates : NPR

Vietnam Detects New Highly Transmissible Coronavirus Variant : Coronavirus Updates : NPR: Since the pandemic began, Vietnam has reported 6,713 cases and 47 deaths as of Saturday. A little more than half of the cases and 12 of the deaths were reported in the last month, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. Only 47 deaths. I had no idea.

Vietnam Detects New Highly Transmissible Coronavirus Variant : Coronavirus Updates : NPR

Vietnam Detects New Highly Transmissible Coronavirus Variant : Coronavirus Updates : NPR Almost the same headline as the previous story from The Hill. Not sure what is up with that.

India’s Covid Surge Hit Young Patients Hard and Fast

India’s Covid Surge Hit Young Patients Hard and Fast This is worrisome. A number of Indian doctors said those hospitalized in the surge have required more oxygen than Covid-19 patients previously needed. They described seeing faster-spreading lung damage and faster-dropping oxygen levels among relatively young patients, and longer recovery times. Covid-19 patients at all age levels have had increased oxygen needs, doctors said, but they were especially surprised to see this in younger patients.

New Variant Posing Threat, as Global Vaccine Drive Falters - The New York Times

New Variant Posing Threat, as Global Vaccine Drive Falters - The New York Times The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine offered 88 percent protection against the variant first sampled in India, only a slight drop from the 93 percent protection given against the variant from Britain, Public Health England said. The AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine was 60 percent effective against the variant from India, compared to 66 percent effective against the one first seen in Britain. Those are not great odds.

Coronavirus variant B.1.617 first seen in India now in US what to know

Coronavirus variant B.1.617 first seen in India now in US what to know It's here. Nobody seems that worried. It's sometimes called a "double mutant" because it has double the number of mutations as some earlier variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19. The concern at firstwas that might make it doubly dangerous. "The good news is, this doesn't appear to be the case. Having both mutations was no worse than having just one," said Dr. Charles Chiu, a professor and expert in viral genomics at the University of California, San Francisco.

Covid variant from India could become dominant in the UK

Covid variant from India could become dominant in the UK: It's arrive in the UK, so I guess we'll soon see what happens to the numbers. When it hits the US I think people will be hesitant to put their masks back on. The realy question I'm pondering is whether B.1.617 will influence the mask-and-vaccine hesitant to change their behavior. Then again, people still smoke.

India’s Scientists Know the Way Out of This Disaster. We Need Modi to Listen.

India’s Scientists Know the Way Out of This Disaster. We Need Modi to Listen. The immediate need is to reduce spread by increased testing and isolation of people who test positive. Several Indian states are under lockdown. This would “flatten the curve,” allowing health care facilities and supplies to regroup. Rapidly enhancing the health care infrastructure will also save lives. India should increase available hospital beds by setting up temporary facilities, mobilize retired doctors and nurses, and strengthen the supply chain for critical medicines and oxygen. At the same time, India cannot allow the pace of vaccinations to slow. It must vaccinate at scale now, aiming to deliver 7.5 million to 10 million doses every day. This will require enhancing vaccine supplies and doubling delivery points. There are only about 50,000 sites where Indians can get vaccines right now; we need many more. Since only 3 percent of these delivery points are in the private sector, this is where capacity can be added. This is a really useful piece that discusses which variants are at large in India. The most prominent variant is now mutating: Global data shows the B.1.617 variant to be diversifying into three sub-lineages. In a preliminary report posted on Sunday, British and Indian scientists found the B.1.617.2 variant in vaccine breakthrough infections in a Delhi hospital.

Black fungus India: COVID patients face rare, deadly fungal infection

Black fungus India: COVID patients face rare, deadly fungal infection: This type of mucormycosis occurs more frequently among patients with diabetes, which is why health experts say cases are spiking in India where one in six people have the chronic disease, according to the International Diabetes Federation Diabetes Atlas published in 2019. “Diabetes is the No. 1 risk factor for this,” Hansoti said. Up to 75% of mucormycosis cases occur among COVID-19 patients with diabetes, she added, with as many as 45% undiagnosed until they show up to the hospital.

Mystery shrouds growth in Covid cases in young people in Brazil

Mystery shrouds growth in Covid cases in young people Some distressing news about the Brazil variant: "A recent study from the Brazilian Intensive Medicine Association showed that patients aged under 40 now make up the majority of those hospitalised in the country's ICUs. Furthermore, a third of all individuals in Covid-19 intensive care beds in March had no prior health conditions, up from 25 per cent in February."

Coronavirus Strain Found in India Is a ‘Variant of Concern,’ WHO Says

Coronavirus Strain Found in India Is a ‘Variant of Concern,’ WHO Says "The variant, known as B.1.617, is being studied by scientists around the world as they try to figure out its role in the fast growing Covid-19 surge in India, which reported more than 366,000 new daily cases on Monday. The variant has already spread to more than 30 countries, according to the WHO, including the U.S., the U.K., France and Japan." Well that didn't take long--the variation has graduated to an area of concern, and it has already made its way to 30 countries. I feel a definite sense of impending doom.

A 'more rapidly spreading virus' is fueling India's mega COVID-19 surge, WHO chief scientist says

A 'more rapidly spreading virus' is fueling India's mega COVID-19 surge, WHO chief scientist says A lot of scare reporting, but the India variant is classified as a variant of "interest" and not yet a "concern" so let's quit freaking out.

Containment as an alternative to herd immunity

https://twitter.com/OhDionne/status/1389392983078825986 keep in mind that all of this is happening DESPITE variants circulating. why? because not a single current variant is resistant to the vaccines. the ones that challenge vaccine efficacy still aren't vaccine resistant or evasive. don't believe the clickbait!

Israel’s Covid Deaths Hit Zero With Almost 60% Of Population Vaccinated

Israel’s Covid Deaths Hit Zero With Almost 60% Of Population Vaccinated So do we get herd immunity at 60 percent or not? The New York Times is writing that we'll never get herd immunity.

Why the world’s most vaccinated country is seeing an unprecedented spike in coronavirus cases

Why the world’s most vaccinated country is seeing an unprecedented spike in coronavirus cases "On a per capita basis, the Seychelles outbreak is worse than India’s raging surge." Why are Israel's rates so relatively low? Do we know which variants are affecting each country?

Herd immunity: How the US could reach a post-pandemic normal with 60 partial vaccination - Vox

Herd immunity: How the US could reach a post-pandemic normal with 60 partial vaccination - Vox Israel is having very good results with a 60 percent immunity rate. Of course, India is at 10 percent, and my state in the US is at 23 percent, and immunization centers where I live are now taking walkins.

Indian Prime Minister Modi loses state election amid criticism over pandemic response

Indian Prime Minister Modi loses state election amid criticism over pandemic response I don't know anything about politics in India but this seems like a big deal. I live in a conservative state in the US and I'm wondering if the dropping of mask mandates will lead to similar political consequences.

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Why India is seeing higher deaths despite coronavirus variant not being more fatal

Why India is seeing higher deaths despite coronavirus variant not being more fatal

This image of a funeral pyre in India dates back to 2012 but has been cropping up attacked to images of Modi.

New, antibody-resistant coronavirus variant discovered in Texas

New, antibody-resistant coronavirus variant discovered in Texas “This variant combines genetic markers separately associated with rapid spread, severe disease and high resistance to neutralizing antibodies.” Researchers said the student tested positive for the virus for about a month, “indicating the variant may cause a longer lasting infection than is typical of COVID-19 for adults ages 18-24.” Deep in the heart of Texas.

India to face COVID-19 vaccine shortage till July-end, current supply level not good enough: ISB

India to face COVID-19 vaccine shortage till July-end, current supply level not good enough: ISB The current vaccination rate is around ten percent, and soccer pitches are being used for crematoriums. Why is the world not stepping up to help? In Ministry for the Future by Kim Robinson a terrible heat wave kills millions in India, leading the world to finally get serious about climate change. In real life I don't know if those deaths would move world governments. The US has banned flights from India. If the variants hit the US, then who knows what will happen to the 77 percent unvaccinated in my state. I'm teaching 60 students. How many of them will die?

India in Covid's grip: 'If there is an apocalypse, this has to be one'

India in Covid's grip: If there is an apocalypse, this has to be one "The merciless spread of Covid-19 is driving families to extreme limits. People with the means to do so are shelling out on the black market as much as 10 times the cost of a single vial of remdesivir. Others, many of whom are being pushed to bankruptcy, resign themselves to destiny."