7 anti-vaccine physicians who attended a “summit” in Florida touting ivermectin and other different “treatments” for Covid-19 have contracted the condition.
The doctors gathered for the party on 6 November to discuss “natural immunity”, thriving outpatient regimens for the remedy of Covid and obtaining spiritual and professional medical exemptions from vaccines, according to the occasion description.
“I have been on ivermectin for 16 months, my wife and I,” Bruce Boros claimed at the party which was held at the Earth Equestrian Centre in Ocala.
“I have hardly ever felt more healthy in my lifestyle.”
The 71-12 months-outdated cardiologist and vaccine critic contracted Covid two times later, the event’s guide organiser John Litten told the Day by day Beast information outlet.
Dr Littell reported six other medical practitioners from the function, that experienced 800-900 contributors, also analyzed positive for the virus following establishing signs “within times of the conference”.
“People are looking at if it was a superspreader party,” Dr Littell claimed, but turned down the consideration suitable just after he built the comments, in accordance to the news outlet.
Dr Littell said the attendees had caught the virus in advance of the party, wherever there have been no masks or social distancing amid the hundreds of contributors.
“I imagine they experienced gotten it from New York or Michigan or wherever they ended up from,” he said. “It was genuinely the people today who flew in from other destinations.”
In accordance to the persons shut to Dr Boros, the cardiologist has turn into significantly unwell at his Crucial West household. Dr Littell, having said that, claimed that “Bruce is executing well”.
Ivermectin is a widely used anti-parasitic drug and it is predominantly employed in livestock aside from its some use in people.
The drug has been controversially touted as a potential procedure for Covid because the earliest stages of the pandemic, even as gurus have claimed it was hazardous to eat in massive quantities. The US Food and Drug Administration has explained it has no confirmed use against the disorder. Government officers have not authorised the drug for Covid remedy.
Dr Boros experienced stated in a 2020 Facebook publish that he hoped to carry on “with my ivermectin observational analyze quickly” and claimed it was doing work for people today and that it was employed close to the planet.
“Fauci is a fraud—big pharma is actively playing us for suckers,” he said in the exact put up, condemning Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Conditions.
“It breaks my heart that a city like this has manufactured something so political and hateful. What is mistaken with persons? I just want to support individuals and continue to keep them from dying,” Dr Boros told neighborhood newspaper Florida Keys Weekly in an interview about the criticism that his Facebook put up had captivated.
As nations around the world close to the globe scrambled to comprise a new Covid-19 variant called omicron, experts have mentioned they are unsurprised at its emergence and repeated calls for bigger globally vaccination efforts.
On Sunday, the New South Wales well being section declared the variant had been verified in two individuals who traveled to Sydney, Australia, on Saturday night.
The two passengers were being amongst 14 folks from southern Africa who arrived on Qatar Airways flight QR908 from Doha and are in isolation. Both of those ended up thoroughly vaccinated and asymptomatic, officers explained.
The remaining 12 passengers from southern Africa are underneath resort quarantine. About 260 passengers and air crew are regarded as shut contacts and have been explained to to isolate, the overall health division said.
Two instances of the variant have been identified in the U.K., Health Secretary Sajid Javid explained Saturday. He additional that the people today involved had been linked to every other and to vacation to southern Africa, in which omicron was 1st detected before this week.
Key Minister Boris Johnson stated Saturday everyone arriving in the U.K. will be questioned to consider a PCR check for Covid-19 on the second day and have to self-isolate right up until they present a damaging check result. He also stated the principles on face coverings in outlets and on general public transportation will be tightened.
A circumstance of the new variant has also been detected in Italy, the Nationwide Health Institute reported Saturday.
The wellness ministry in the German point out of Bavaria also announced two verified instances of the variant in vacationers who entered the nation at the Munich airport Wednesday.
In Israel, which confirmed one situation of the variant and has numerous suspected conditions, officials made the decision Saturday to bar overseas vacationers from all nations, other than in some accredited circumstances.
Returning citizens will have to take a PCR examination and enter quarantine for various quantities of time depending on vaccination standing and the place they traveled from, officers explained. The ban, pending approval, is expected to previous for 14 times.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the Countrywide Institute of Allergy and Infectious Conditions, advised NBC News’ “Weekend These days” he “would not be stunned” if it had created its way to the U.S.
“We have not detected it however,” Fauci stated, “but when you have a virus that is demonstrating this diploma of transmissibility and you’re currently acquiring journey-linked scenarios that they’ve famous in Israel and Belgium and other spots, when you have a virus like this, it nearly invariably is in the long run heading to go primarily all over.”
Discovered as a “variant of concern” by the Environment Wellness Organization on Friday, the physique claimed proof suggested there was “an greater risk of reinfection” with the variant.
It was nicely regarded that viruses mutated and prevalent vaccination was a single of the most very important strategies of stopping this, many scientists explained to NBC News.
Covid “is even now circulating really thoroughly worldwide,” Rowland Kao, an epidemiologist at the University of Edinburgh, told NBC Information Saturday, introducing that he was “not seriously” amazed by the emergence of a new variant of problem. It was essential for the earth to workout warning, but it was continue to unclear what influence omicron may have, he stated.
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“We have been declaring all along that there was no reason to consider that delta was the final king of the variants,” Michael Osterholm, an epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota, explained in a different interview Friday.
He extra that seeking to contain the new variant could be like “seeking to include the wind,” as conditions experienced currently been identified in Belgium, Israel and Hong Kong.
The U.S. has followed the lead of several other international locations in ushering in new vacation limitations from South Africa and seven other countries starting up Monday.
But Osterholm warned omicron currently appeared to be “out of the barn.”
‘As extensive as it replicates, it will mutate’
All viruses, like SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, evolve about time, and as a virus replicates, or will make copies of itself, compact modifications, or “mutations,” can happen, according to Deepti Gurdasani, a scientific epidemiologist at the U.K.’s Queen Mary College of London.
When a virus spreads commonly all through a inhabitants, the odds of it mutating turn into bigger, she included.
“As prolonged as it replicates, it will mutate,” she stated. “It’s like if you get a single lottery ticket, your chances of successful are low, but if you obtain a million lottery tickets, it is quite likely you are going to get, and it is the very same with a virus.”
Most mutations are not a trigger for problem, but if they have an affect on a virus’s potential to distribute or its virulence, which means its capability to lead to harm, the results can be dire, she included.
People wait in front of an appointment desk for quarantine and Covid-19 test appointments inside Schiphol Airport, immediately after Dutch wellbeing authorities said 61 folks who arrived in Amsterdam on flights from South Africa tested beneficial.Eva Plevier / Reuters
Around the globe entry to vaccines ‘best hope’
Due to the fact the early days of the pandemic, the WHO and researchers all-around the environment have identified as on the global community to do what it can to assure all countries have obtain to vaccines to suppress world-wide unfold of the virus and avert the enhancement of new variants.
Globally accessibility “provides the finest hope for slowing the coronavirus pandemic, saving lives, and securing a international economic recovery,” the WHO’s web-site stated. “There are enough doses of vaccines globally to generate down transmission and help you save lots of lives, if they go to the persons who will need them most all around the globe,” it included.
Previously this month, WHO Director-Standard Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reported countries that experienced immunized more than 40 p.c of their populations need to begin focusing on donating doses to building countries in need of vaccines.
“No much more boosters ought to be administered except to immunocompromised men and women,” he explained.
He also named on vaccine-makers to prioritize supplying jabs to COVAX, the WHO- and United Nations-backed hard work to distribute vaccines globally.
It aims to distribute adequate vaccines to present safety to at the very least 20 {fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of the population in 92 minimal- to medium-revenue nations around the world, which include South Africa, the place omicron was to start with discovered.
The WHO has explained it will choose at least 11 billion doses to see at least 70 {fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of the world’s populace vaccinated.
But the software has observed just about 548 million doses shipped to 144 international locations, with a whole of 5.59 billion doses secured, optioned or obtained, according to information printed by the United Nations.
Comparatively, extra than 454 million doses have been administered in the U.S., in which about 37.5 million men and women have previously obtained a booster shot, according to details from the Centers for Sickness Command and Avoidance.
“Preferably, what you want is to have most people vaccinated at the exact time,” Kao stated.
“The for a longer period you drag that out, the much more possibilities you have for mixing of vaccinated and unvaccinated people,” he explained, adding that this would possible aid even more the unfold of the virus and develop extra prospects for mutations.
In September, the Biden administration declared the U.S. would be obtaining 500 million a lot more doses of Pfizer’s Covid vaccine for the COVAX software, bringing the full amount of pictures the U.S. planned to donate to 1.1 billion.
President Joe Biden reiterated this concept Friday.
“The news about this new variant should make clearer than ever why this pandemic will not close till we have international vaccinations,” he reported in a assertion.
The U.S. experienced previously confronted criticism from planet leaders for rolling out booster shots right before billions of some others all around the world could get their to start with doses.
Even so, the govt has argued it can stability both of those, providing booster photographs to its very own populace whilst also wanting to aid shut the vaccine gap.
A COVID-19 variant first discovered in South Africa was dubbed “omicron” and classified a “variant of concern” by the World Health Organization on Friday, as the U.S. and other nations reacted to the newly discovered variant with travel restrictions.
Experts with the World Health Organization met Friday to assess the variant, which appears to have a high number of mutations in the virus’ spike protein, prompting worries about how easily it will spread. While good data on the risks of omicron is likely weeks away, the organization cited early evidence suggesting an increased risk of reinfection.
The U.S. said it will restrict travel from South Africa, as well as Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi, according to a statement from senior officials from the Biden administration.
The policy will take effect Monday, and President Joe Biden said the new rules mean “no travel” to or from the designated countries, except for returning U.S. citizens and permanent residents who test negative.
Infection rates in South Africa have “increased steeply,” coinciding with the detection of the variant, according to a Friday statement from the WHO. The first omicron case was reported to the agency from South Africa on Nov. 24, and the number of cases of the variant are increasing in almost all South African provinces, the WHO said.
While omicron is now in the same category as the delta variant, the extent of the public health threat the new variant will pose is unclear. The beta variant was classified a variant of concern but did not spread as far as initially expected.
The WHO urged countries to increase surveillance of omicron cases and genome sequencing efforts to better understand its potential impact.
Biden said the emergence of omicron emphasizes the importance of vaccinations and urged Americans to get their booster shots as soon as possible.
The new variant has also been found in Botswana and Hong Kong in travelers from South Africa, according to Joe Phaahla, the nation’s health minister. Phaahla said the variant has seen rapid spread in Gauteng, the country’s most populous province.
Several nations, including Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Japan, have responded to news of the variant by moving Friday to restrict air travel from several southern African countries. The European Union, which is made up of 27 nations, is also recommending a ban on flights from southern African countries, despite WHO officials warning against rash decisions.
►Israel announced Friday it detected the country’s first case of the newly discovered omicron variant in a traveler returning from Malawi. The traveler and two other people who are suspected to be infected with the variant have been placed in isolation.
►Stocks sank Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly falling more than 1,000 points, as a new coronavirus variant first detected in South Africa appeared to be spreading across the globe. Investors were uncertain whether the variant could potentially reverse months of progress at getting the COVID-19 pandemic under control.
►Czech President Milos Zeman was admitted to a hospital late Thursday after testing positive for COVID-19.
►The number of air travelers this week is expected to approach or even exceed pre-pandemic levels, and auto club AAA predicts 48.3 million people will travel at least 50 miles from home over the holiday period.
📈Today’s numbers: The U.S. has recorded more than 48 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 776,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Global totals: More than 260 million cases and more than 5.1 million deaths. More than 196 million Americans — roughly 59.1{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of the population — are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.
Health experts have said it will likely be weeks before the world has good data about how omicron may reduce the effectiveness of current vaccines, but Moderna has already announced a three-point strategy to combat the new variant.
Omicron’s mutations could possibly reduce current vaccines’ effectiveness, but are unlikely to eliminate their benefit, according to Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health.
“There are a series of mutations in key regions that may impact effectiveness of our vaccines,” tweeted Jha on Friday. “Render vaccines useless? No. Super unlikely.”
Moderna’s strategy involves three options for boosting COVID-19 vaccination, should omicron prove problematic for current vaccines.
The three options, according to a Friday release from the company: A higher dose booster, shots currently being studied that are designed to “anticipate mutations such as those that have emerged in the Omicron variant” and an omicron-specific booster — which is already in the works.
Andy Slavitt, who previously served as President Joe Biden’s White House senior adviser for COVID response, said in a tweet that both Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech have estimated a vaccine to combat a new variant could be developed in about 3 months, with regulatory and logistical hurtles to follow.
“If we start in early December, new vaccines could be available by summer in much of the world,” Slavitt tweeted.
Multiple media organizations on Friday reported Pfizer-BioNTech is studying the new variant and expects data within weeks. If warranted, a targeted vaccine could be developed within 6 weeks and ship within 100 days, the reports say.
Johnson & Johnson is also testing its current vaccine against omicron, according to CNBC.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Friday announced an executive order intended to boost hospital capacity and address staffing shortages, a move that comes amid growing concerns about hospital beds and staffing.
Hospitalizations have already risen sharply recently in much of the state and could soar higher if omicron proves to be as highly transmissible as some fear. The variant has not yet been detected in New York.
“It’s coming,” Hochul said in a statement Friday.
Her order allows the state health department to limit non-essential surgeries, if needed, to ensure capacity. The governor said the order also will allow the state to acquire critical supplies more quickly.
Hospitals in other areas of the country are already stretched thin amid a spike in cases.
On Wednesday, the federal government said it would send 44 military medical staffers to Michigan to help beleaguered hospitals treat COVID-19 patients amid a fourth surge that is the worst in the country.
Facing hospitals filling up with COVID patients needing lengthy stays, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said Tuesday any hospital or hospital system facing limited capacity to care for patients will be required to reduce non-essential, non-urgent scheduled procedures beginning Monday.
Federal health regulators say an experimental COVID-19 pill from Merck is effective against the virus, but they will seek input from outside experts on risks of birth defects and other potential problems during pregnancy.
The Food and Drug Administration posted its analysis of the pill ahead of a public meeting next week where academic and other experts will weigh in on its safety and effectiveness. The agency isn’t required to follow the group’s advice.
The FDA scientists said their review identified several potential risks, including possible toxicity and birth defects. Given those risks the FDA will ask its advisers whether the drug should never be given during pregnancy or whether it could be made available in certain cases. Under that scenario, the FDA said the drug would carry warnings about risks during pregnancy, but doctors would still have the option to prescribe it in certain cases where its benefits could outweigh its risks for patients.
Given the safety concerns, FDA said Merck agreed the drug would not be used in children.
Additionally, the FDA flagged a concern that Merck’s drug led to small changes in the coronavirus’ signature spike protein, which it uses to penetrate human cells. Theoretically, FDA cautioned, those changes could lead to dangerous new variants. Regulators also noted that Merck collected far less safety data overall on its drug than was gathered for other COVID-19 therapies.
FDA will ask its independent advisers to discuss all those issues and then vote on whether the drug’s overall benefits outweigh its risks.
Despite early signs that suggested the U.S. may have avoided another winter surge, COVID-19 cases are on the way up.
The country reported 665,420 cases in the week ending Monday, more than a 30{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} increase from the pace of cases reported about a month ago, according to a USA TODAY analysis of Johns Hopkins data.
As cases rise in 39 states, U.S. Health and Human Services data show hospitals in 32 states admitted more patients in the latest week than the week before.
“Quite frankly, I’m really concerned,” said Danielle Ompad, associate professor of epidemiology at New York University’s School of Global Public Health. “I would say we are better off than we were last year, but cases are starting to tick up and that is something that we really need to keep an eye on.” Read more here.
Buoyed by solid hiring, healthy pay gains and substantial savings, shoppers are returning to stores and splurging on all types of items.
But the big question is: How much will supply shortages, higher prices and staffing issues dampen their mood this holiday season?
Americans, already fatigued with pandemic-induced social distancing policies, may get grumpy if they can’t check off items on their holiday wish lists, or they may feel disappointed by the skimpy holiday discounts. Exacerbating their foul moods is the fact that many frustrated workers called it quits ahead of the holidays, leaving businesses short-handed during their busiest time of the year.
Shoppers are expected to pay on average of between 5{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} to 17{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} more for toys, clothing, appliances, TVs and others purchases on Black Friday this year compared with last year, according to Aurelien Duthoit, senior sector advisor at Allianz Research. TVs will see the highest price spikes on average, up 17{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} from a year ago, according to the research firm. That’s because whatever discounts available will be applied to goods that are already expensive.
Such frustrations could mute sales for the holiday season that are supposed to break records.
MANILA, Philippines––In Quiapo, where thousands of Filipinos flock, especially on Fridays, 60-year-old Josie Dela Cruz sits beside a cart filled with plants which she said can heal illnesses.
She told INQUIRER.net that since the year 2000, she’s been one of the dealers who sell plants which the Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Medicine considered as “medicinal”.
This November, the Philippines celebrates the existence of these plants through the Traditional and Alternative Health Care Month which promotes effective and inexpensive ways to prevent and heal diseases.
Signed by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2004, Proclamation No. 698 backs the Traditional and Alternative Medicine Act which recognizes the value of traditional and alternative health care.
The law intended to provide inexpensive, accessible and effective traditional and alternative health care options for Filipinos to choose from by integrating these into the national health care system.
Dela Cruz, 60, sits beside the ‘medicinal plants’ she’s selling in Quiapo, Manila. Photo by Kurt Dela Peña/INQUIRER.net
Signed in 1997, the law said the Philippines has over 2,000 medicinal plants and that there’s a need to advance research and development as these could be used medically. A BioMed Central research said that 120 have been scientifically validated for safety and efficacy.
Graphic by Ed Lustan
The Department of Health (DOH), in 1993, promoted 10 medicinal plants: akapulko, ampalaya, bawang, bayabas, lagundi, niyog-niyogan, sambong, tsaang gubat, ulasimang bato, and yerba buena.
For over 20 years, Dela Cruz said she knew these plants could heal illnesses so when the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) said plants could help ease COVID-19 symptoms, she jumped in joy.
Easing pain
In 2020 Science and Technology Secretary Fortunato Dela Peña said researchers were studying the possible benefits of plants, specifically lagundi, tawa-tawa, and coconut, to ease symptoms of COVID-19.
The Department of Science and Technology (DOST), in April 2020, initiated research on virgin coconut oil (VCO) as a way to fight SARS Cov-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
Graphic by Ed Lustan
In October 2020, the DOST said VCO, which is readily available in the Philippines, decreases viral load by 60 to 90 percent in mild COVID cases.
In August 2021, the DOST invested P8.4 million to explore the possible benefits of VCO as an “adjunctive therapy” for COVID-19 patients in hospitals to complement primary treatment.
The investment involved a P4.8 million research study with 74 eligible patients at the Philippine General Hospital and a P3.6 million project led by DOST’s Food and Nutrition Research Institute.
READ: DOST allots P8.4M for virgin coco oil research
In October 2021, Science and Technology Undersecretary Rowena Guevarra said when VCO was mixed with the food of COVID-19 patients, the symptoms eased and there were signs that severe progression of the disease could be prevented.
The DOST, in June 2020, initiated research on lagundi, which treats cough, and tawa-tawa, which is used to treat symptoms of dengue. At a Laging Handa briefing, Guevarra said lagundi was proven safe for patients with mild COVID and without comorbidity.
Graphic by Ed Lustan
The efficacy of two doses of lagundi products were assessed among mild to moderate COVID patients. The standard dose is 600 mg three times a day while the high dose is 1.2 g three times a day for 10 days.
It was found that 600 mg of lagundi was as safe as 1.2 g. The DOST, saying that lagundi is safe and efficacious, recommended the 600 mg dose of lagundi for adults three times a day for 10 days.
READ: DOST: Study on lagundi as COVID-19 supplemental treatment shows positive results
Lagundi, Guevarra said, helps in preventing symptoms, specifically loss of smell. It also provided “overall relief” from discomfort. There was no significant adverse effect observed in lagundi use.
Graphic by Ed Lustan
Two 1,950 mg capsules of tawa-tawa (Euphorbia hirta) extract were also given as “food supplement” three times a day for 10 days to 172 mild to moderate COVID-19 patients.
Several kinds of plant leaves are displayed on a cart in Quiapo, Manila. Photo by Kurt Dela Peña/INQUIRER.net
The DOST found that COVID-19 symptoms—like fever, chills, body pain, and cough—disappeared between the third day and fifth day of using tawa-tawa on patients.
Guevarra, however, said to have these as treatments for COVID-19, the DOST still needed to conduct research “where we test VCO, lagundi, and tawa-tawa against the live virus.”
This was to meet the DOH requirement for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to first verify efficacies before treatments are indicated on labels as effective against COVID.
Last October, Guevarra told CNN Philippines that the DOST was planning to register lagundi and tawa-tawa with the FDA as an “added indication” for COVID-19 in three months.
They matter
When the clinical trials were held, there were only few medicines given “emergency use permits” for patients with severe to critical symptoms of COVID-19. The DOST said shortage was inevitable because of heavy demand.
The shortage, however, was not the only problem as Filipinos, especially the poor, had to deal with how expensive these medicines were. DOH Circular No. 2021-0441 said remdesivir (100 mg vial) costs P4,390, baricitinib (2 mg tablet) costs P1,560, and tocilizumab (200 mg and 400 mg) costs P13,006 to P25,741.
RELATED STORY: Surviving COVID-19: A costly struggle
The DOST said the heavy expenses could be prevented by early treatment, though. “By treating symptoms at the onset, hospitalizations could be averted and further spread could be prevented by limiting the duration of infectiousness,” it said.
The high cost of approved medicines for COVID is likely to bring bigger challenges to Filipinos who are already suffering from income loss.
In September 2021, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said the Philippines could have a 17.5 percent poverty incidence rate in 2021. This translates to 19 million poor Filipinos.
This would make less expensive options in prevention essential. As Proclamation No. 698 said, there is a need for people to have a healthy lifestyle and be aware of the existence of traditional and alternative medicine which are effective and inexpensive.
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The World Health Organization is monitoring a new variant with numerous mutations to the spike protein, scheduling a special meeting Friday to discuss what it may mean for vaccines and treatments, officials said Thursday.
The variant, called B.1.1.529, has been detected in South Africa in small numbers, according to the WHO.
“We don’t know very much about this yet. What we do know is that this variant has a large number of mutations. And the concern is that when you have so many mutations, it can have an impact on how the virus behaves,” Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s technical lead on Covid-19, said in a Q&A that was livestreamed on the organization’s social media channels.
The monitoring of the new variant comes as Covid cases surge around the world heading into the holiday season, with the WHO reporting hot spots in all regions and particularly in Europe.
The U.K. announced it would ban flights from six African countries, including South Africa, starting midday Friday.
The UK Health Security Agency “is investigating a new variant,” Health Secretary Sajid Javid said Thursday in a tweet announcing the travel restrictions. “More data is needed but we’re taking precautions now.”
South African scientists have detected more than 30 mutations to the spike protein, the part of the virus that binds to cells in the body, South African scientist Tulio de Oliveira said in a media briefing hosted by the South Africa Department of Health on Thursday.
The B.1.1.529 variant contains multiple mutations associated with increased antibody resistance, which may reduce the effectiveness of vaccines, along with mutations that generally make it more contagious, according to slides he presented at the briefing. Other mutations in the new variant haven’t been seen until now, so scientists don’t yet know whether they are significant or will change how the virus behaves, according to the presentation.
The variant has spread rapidly through the Gauteng province, which contains the country’s largest city of Johannesburg.
“Especially when the spike happens in Gauteng, everybody travels in and out of Gauteng from all corners of South Africa. So it’s a given that in the next few days, the beginning of rising positivity rate and numbers is going to be happening. It’s a matter of days and weeks before we see that,” South Africa Minister of Health Joe Phaahla said during the briefing.
The variant has also been detected in Botswana and Hong Kong, Phaahla said.
“Right now, researchers are getting together to understand where these mutations are in the spike protein and the furin cleavage site, and what that potentially may mean for our diagnostics or therapeutics and our vaccines,” Van Kerkhove said. She said there are fewer than 100 full genome sequences of the new mutation.
The virus evolution working group will decide if B.1.1.529 will become a variant of interest or a variant of concern, after which the WHO would assign the variant a Greek name, Van Kerkhove said.
“It’s really important that there are no knee-jerk responses here, especially with relation to South Africa,” Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO’s emergencies program, said.
Thousands of people traveling for the holidays this week will first test themselves for COVID-19 without a doctor, lab or any medical oversight.
While quick home tests are hailed as a major convenience and a smart way to protect loved ones, they’ve also raised a significant challenge for public health officials. How can agencies comprehensively track cases and trends when many consumers don’t report home test results?
Federal and state health officials have worked since March 2020 to build capacity to test, report and keep tabs on COVID-19 cases. Public health officials say reporting cases is critical for spotting trends and detecting surges so hotspot communities can lessen risk and prepare hospitals for a rush of people seeking care.
But it’s unclear how often customers report results from the dozen authorized home coronavirus tests that typically deliver results in 15 minutes outside a lab or doctor’s office. And public health’s data blind spot is poised to grow larger.
Private test manufacturers already make more home antigen tests than standard laboratory tests — and the gap could nearly double next month as new home tests flood the market.
— Ken Alltucker, USA TODAY
Also in the news:
►Beginning Monday, Massachusetts hospitals will have to cut back on non-urgent scheduled procedures due to staffing shortages and longer patient stays, according to the state’s health authorities.
►The number of air travelers this week is expected to approach or even exceed pre-pandemic levels, and auto club AAA predicts48.3 million people will travel at least 50 miles from home over the holiday period.
►More than 100 children at a vaccination event in Iowa on Saturday were given the incorrect dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, according to a statement from the hospital. A MercyOne spokesperson said there are no significant health risks associated with the larger dose, just a likelihood the children will have more severe versions of the common vaccine side effects.
►France has launched a plan Thursday to give COVID-19 booster shots to all adults, as it opted against a further lockdown or curfew to help combat a worrying uptick in infections in the country.
📈Today’s numbers: The U.S. has recorded more than 48 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 775,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Global totals: More than 259 million cases and 5.1 million deaths. More than 196 million Americans — 59.1{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of the population — are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.
A new coronavirus variant has been detected in South Africa that scientists say is a concern because of its high number of mutations and rapid spread among young people in Gauteng, the country’s most populous province, Health Minister Joe Phaahla announced Thursday.
The coronavirus evolves as it spreads and many new variants, including those with worrying mutations, often just die out. Scientists monitor for possible changes that could be more transmissible or deadly, but sorting out whether new variants will have a public health impact can take time.
South Africa has seen a dramatic rise in new infections, Phaahla said at an online press briefing.
“Over the last four or five days, there has been more of an exponential rise,” he said, adding that the new variant appears to be driving the spike in cases. Scientists in South Africa are working to determine what percentage of the new cases have been caused by the new variant.
Currently identified as B.1.1.529, the new variant has also been found in Botswana and Hong Kong in travelers from South Africa, he said.
The WHO’s technical working group is to meet Friday to assess the new variant and may decide whether or not to give it a name from the Greek alphabet.
Just over nine out of ten federal employees have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by the required deadline, the Biden administration announced Wednesday when releasing agency-by-agency vaccination rates.
Those rates were as high as 97.8{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} at the Agency for International Development. Workers at the Agriculture Department had the lowest rate: 86.1{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}.
Federal employees had until the end of Monday to get vaccinated or request a medical or religious exemption. Unlike a rule the Biden administration wants to impose on private employers, federal workers are not allowed to opt out of the vaccine requirement if they agree to weekly testing.
Workers who are not in the process of getting vaccinated or seeking an exemption will begin a “period of education and counseling, followed by additional enforcement steps,” according to the White House.
— Maureen Groppe and Michael Collins, USA TODAY
European Unions’ drug regulator approves Pfizer vaccine for young children
The European Union’s drug regulator cleared the way for children ages 5 to 11 to begin receiving the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine on Thursday amid a new wave of infections across the continent.
The European Medicines Agency’s human medicines committee, an EU agency in charge of the evaluation and supervision of medicinal products, concluded that the benefits of vaccinating children outweigh the risks. The European committee will send its recommendation to the European Commission next, which will issue a final decision.
Germany has been facing its worst surge of COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic, reporting more than 333,000 cases the week of Nov. 15, according to the World Health Organization. That’s nearly double the weekly rate reported during a prior surge in December 2020.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel labeled Thursday “a very sad day” and backed calls for more restrictions, as her country became the latest to surpass 100,000 deaths from COVID-19 since the pandemic began.
The national disease control agency said it recorded 351 deaths in connection with the coronavirus over the past 24 hours, taking the total toll to 100,119. In Europe, Germany is the fifth country to pass that mark, after Russia, the United Kingdom, Italy and France.
The longtime German leader, who is currently in office as caretaker until her successor is sworn in, warned that hundreds more deaths were already looming.
“(The deaths) correlate very clearly with the number of infections that are occurring,” she said. “We know how many people on average do not survive this disease.”
The Robert Koch Institute, a federal agency that collects data from some 400 regional health offices, said Germany set a record for daily confirmed cases — 75,961 — in the past 24-hour period. Since the start of the outbreak, Germany has had more than 5.57 million confirmed cases of COVID-19.
The country reported 665,420 cases in the week ending Monday, more than a 30{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} increase from the pace of cases reported about a month ago, according to a USA TODAY analysis of Johns Hopkins data.
As cases rise in 39 states, U.S. Health and Human Services data show hospitals in 32 states admitted more patients in the latest week than the week before.
“Quite frankly, I’m really concerned,” said Danielle Ompad, associate professor of epidemiology at New York University’s School of Global Public Health. “I would say we are better off than we were last year, but cases are starting to tick up and that is something that we really need to keep an eye on.”
After nearly two years of combating COVID-19, health experts thought the U.S. would have been in a better position to control the pandemic. Instead, many people remain unvaccinated and ignore mitigation measures, slowing the pace of progress and burning out health care professionals.
