Tag Archives: the covid-19 variant

uk

The first case of the UK variant of COVID-19 was identified in Central Virginia | Instant News


RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) – The Virginia Department of Health announced the UK’s first case of the COVID-19 variant identified in an adult resident in Central Virginia.

The VDH says people who test positive for the variant have no travel history during the period of exposure to the virus.

VDH said the SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 variant first appeared in the UK in late 2020. VDH said this variant did not show any more severe disease than other variants, but that it was causing an increase in person-to-person transmission of COVID-19.

That the variant’s first case was identified in Virginia at the end of January. It was found in a resident of Northern Virginia with no recent travel history reported.

VDH says eleven other cases of variant B.1.1.7 and three cases of variants SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.351, first identified in South Africa, has been identified in Virginia, on February 24.

The health department says while scientists are still working to better understand the vaccine, preliminary data suggest that it is currently approved The COVID-19 vaccine is effective against this new variant.

VDH added that when the virus spreads from person to person, it makes copies of itself and sometimes makes small genetic changes, or mutations. Because of this, viral variations are expected to occur over time. The CDC has documented various variants of the virus in the US, but variant B.1.1.7 contains “an unusually large number of mutations.”

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Brazil

Center Issues New Guidelines for International Arrivals From UK, Brazil and South Africa | Instant News


New Delhi: The government on Wednesday issued new guidelines for international arrivals amid the spread of the mutant variant of the coronavirus in many countries, making testing mandatory on arrival for those traveling from the UK, Europe and the Middle East.

The new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) will take effect from 23:59 on February 22.

In the context of the spread of the mutant variant SARS-CoV-2 in many countries, the civil aviation ministry in consultation with the ministry of health and family welfare has issued new guidelines for international arrivals, according to an official release.

Three variants, B.1.1.7 originating from the UK, B.1.135 originating from South Africa and variant P.1 originating from Brazil, have so far been detected in 86, 44 and 15 countries, respectively. This variant has shown increased transmissibility, raising fears of a spike in other cases.

The latest guide covers all international travelers arriving / transiting via flights originating from the UK, Europe and the Middle East. Although no new strains have been detected in the Middle East, travelers from Brazil and South Africa are transiting through the region to reach India. India does not have direct flights with Brazil and South Africa.

The government has suspended international scheduled flights until February 28. Overseas flights to and from India are currently operated under air bubble agreements with various countries.

All international travelers arriving in India must show a negative RT-PCR test, which is carried out no more than 72 hours prior to travel. For travelers arriving from destinations other than the UK, Europe and the Middle East, this provision will be lifted if they travel due to urgent circumstances, such as the death of a family member.

Airlines were also asked to segregate passengers originating from the UK, Europe and the Middle East to facilitate the authorities in following the appropriate protocol. Those arriving from these countries are required to undergo a self-paid confirmation molecular test.

If anyone arriving from these countries tests positive for COVID-19, advisers say their samples will be taken for the genome sequence of the strain. If they are found to be infected with a variant strain, their treatment will be carried out in separate isolation.

India has so far reported about 11 million coronavirus cases and more than 156,000 deaths. Cases have fallen sharply since the mid-September peak of nearly 100,000 per day.

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uk

The first case of the COVID-19 variant from the UK, the second case from South Africa reported in East Virginia | Instant News


RICHMOND, Va. – Virginia Department of Health (VDH) announced Friday that cases of SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.1.7 have been identified in a sample from an adult East Virginia population with no history of travel outside Virginia.

Variant B.1.1.7, which first appeared in the UK in late 2020, is associated with increased person-to-person transmission of COVID-19. Preliminary reports from British experts suggest that this variant causes more severe disease than the other variants, but more research is needed to confirm these findings.

In addition, a second case of variant B.1.351 COVID-19, which was first identified in South Africa, was also identified in an adult in East Virginia. These variants are was first identified in East Virginia on February 5. There is currently no evidence to suggest that these variants have an impact on disease severity.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have worked with state public health, academic and commercial laboratories to increase domestic strain surveillance capacity to sequence thousands of specimens each week. These efforts have greatly expanded VDH’s ability to detect and characterize the SARS-CoV-2 variant emerging in the United States.

The CDC notified the Commonwealth of both cases identified through this effort in commercial laboratories. To date, Virginia has identified a total of six cases of variant B.1.1.7 and two cases of variant B.1.351. With the scrutiny of state health officials, they say it is likely that more cases will continue to be identified.

Viruses change over time, and VDH predicts it will see new strains as the disease spreads. As state public health officials closely monitor the emergence of variant B.1.1.7 and other variants in Virginia, they say it is important that all Virginia residents now comply with mitigation measures. This means wearing a mask, keeping a distance of at least six feet from other people, washing your hands frequently, getting a COVID-19 vaccination when it is your turn and staying at home if you have COVID-19 or if you have close contact with someone who has it. COVID-19.

For more information on the COVID-19 variant, visit the COVID-19 VDH Testing website and the CDC’s New COVID-19 Variant website. For more information on DCLS and the use of next generation sequencing, Click here.

Click here for full coverage of the coronavirus.

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uk

Local experts say the UK variant of COVID-19 is more contagious than the original virus | Instant News


TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) – Florida leads the country in terms of the dangerous variant of COVID-19 first discovered in the UK, with at least 186 confirmed cases of the virus in the state.

The Leon County Health Department said at least there was two cases of the British variant in Leon County.

Experts at Big Bend who have been studying the virus for months say this is perfectly normal.

Currently the health department says it is working with epidemiologists to carry out contact tracing so they can monitor who has had close contact with the two positive cases.

Dr. Zacai Suo is a leading professor at Florida State University who runs a research laboratory that tracks virus mutations.

He said the British variant in particular was more contagious than the original virus because it entered the immune system more quickly and without much effort.

“Most of us don’t have antibodies because we haven’t been immunized so the virus basically has a way of attacking our immune system and that’s what’s a concern right now,” said Suo.

While the coronavirus vaccine helps increase antibodies against the virus, variants can make it less effective.

FSU Professor of Biological Sciences Dr. Qian Yin said the symptoms were almost the same as COVID-19 but warned it could infect a person sooner.

“The more contagious it will infect more people and even with the same death rate we will see a higher number of severe disease or even death,” said Dr. Yin.

That’s one reason why Department of Health officer Leon Claudia Blackburn is asking people to continue to follow the COVID-19 protocol.

It said that while more COVID-19 vaccines were in the process, supplies were still very limited.

Both Moderna and Pfizer say their vaccines have proven effective against this variant.

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Brazil

The Brazilian variant of the coronavirus was detected in the US for the first time | Instant News


Related video above: White House press secretary says there is no time to ‘lift’ travel restrictions While all viruses mutate over time, several variants of the new coronavirus worry scientists. Some types of viruses appear to be more transmissible than other variants, scientists say. Brazil was recently discovered in a US patient, officials in Minnesota said. They said the person had traveled from Brazil. This is the first known case of the P.1 variant to reach the United States. “The emergence of this variant raises concerns about the potential for increased transmission or a tendency for SARS-CoV-2 reinfection in individuals,” the CDC said. This is the most common variant of the virus detected in the wave of cases seen in and around Manaus, the largest city in the Brazilian Amazon region. However, there is no evidence that the virus causes more severe disease. Another strain, first discovered in Britain, is also more contagious. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned that the country could see “rapid growth” in its spread as early as 2021. Type B.1.1.7 has been detected in more than 20 US states. And there is a “realistic possibility” that B.1.1.7 could be more lethal than other variants, a British report said. Another strain, first detected in South Africa, is worrying because scientists say the current COVID-19 vaccine may not be like that. effective against it. The strain has been found in more than 20 other countries, although it has not been detected in the US. Two doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine “are expected to protect against the new strains detected to date,” said the vaccine maker. there was no significant impact on the effectiveness of the vaccine against the strains first seen in the UK. But there may be less effectiveness against strains first detected in South Africa. “The efficacy may be somewhat reduced, but it may still be very effective,” said David Montefiori, a virologist at Duke University Medical Center. “Hopefully, this vaccine is still 70-80% effective.” Moderna said it was developing a new COVID-19 booster vaccine to protect against the variant first discovered in South Africa. The company plans to test the vaccine first in the laboratory and in small Phase 1 clinical trials in the US Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine candidate being tested in Brazil, South Africa and the United States and the results may provide insight into how well it works against. a new variant appears, one of its developers told CNN Senior Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta on the Coronavirus Fact vs Fiction podcast. The company has said they can share Phase 3 trial data as early as this week. insight not only into whether this vaccine candidate is effective or not, but will also give us insight into whether a variant circulating in South Africa might be a problem for vaccines, “said Dr. Dan Barouch, who is director of the Center for Virology and Vaccines Research at Beth Israel Deaconess. Medical Center and Harvard Medical School.

Video linked above: White House press secretary says there is no time to ‘lift’ travel restrictions

While all viruses mutate over time, several variants of the new coronavirus concern scientists.

Some strains appear to be more easily transmitted than other variants, say the scientists.

One from Brazil was recently found in a US patient, officials in Minnesota said. They said the person had traveled from Brazil. This is the first known case of the P.1 variant to reach the United States.

“The emergence of this variant raises concerns about the potential for increased transmission or likelihood of SARS-CoV-2 reinfection in individuals,” the CDC says on its website.

It is the most common variant of the virus detected in the wave of cases seen in and around Manaus, the largest city in Brazil’s Amazon region.

However, there is no evidence that it causes more severe disease.

Another strain, first discovered in England, is also more contagious.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned the country may see “rapid growth” in its spread as early as 2021. Type B.1.1.7 has been detected in more than 20 US states.

And there is a “realistic possibility” that B.1.1.7 could be more lethal than other variants, says a British report.

Another strain, which was first detected in South Africa, is worrying because scientists say it is currently COVID-19 vaccines may not be effective against it.

The strain has been found in more than 20 other countries, although it has not been detected in the US

Two doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine “are expected to protect against the emerging strains detected to date,” said the vaccine maker.

There was no “significant impact” on the effectiveness of the vaccine against the strains first seen in the UK. But there may be somewhat less effectiveness against strains first detected in South Africa.

“The efficacy may be slightly reduced, but it may still be very effective,” said David Montefiori, a virologist at Duke University Medical Center. “Hopefully this vaccine is still 70-80% effective.”

Moderna said it was developing a new COVID-19 booster vaccine to protect against the variant first seen in South Africa. The company plans to test the vaccine in the laboratory and in a small Phase 1 clinical trial in the US

The Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine candidate is being tested in Brazil, South Africa and the United States and the results may provide insight into how well it works against emerging variants, one of its developers told CNN Senior Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta at Corona Virus vs Fiction Facts Podcast.

Companies have said they can share Phase 3 trial data as early as this week.

“This will give us insight not only whether this vaccine candidate is effective or not, but will also give us insight into whether a variant circulating in South Africa might be a problem for the vaccine,” he said. Dr. Dan Barouch |, who is the director of the Virology and Vaccine Research Center at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School.

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