Coronavirus outbreak

[-Vintage Canuck-]

B.C. COVID-19 pandemic update:

 

As of Monday, Nov. 22, 2021, 90.9% (4,213,371) of eligible people 12 and older in B.C. have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine and 87.3% (4,047,568) have received their second dose.

 

In addition, 91.3% (3,949,189) of all eligible adults in B.C. have received their first dose and 87.9% (3,800,763) have received their second dose.

 

Over a three-day period, B.C. is reporting 1,052 new cases of COVID-19, including three epi-linked cases, for a total of 215,688 cases in the province:

• Nov. 19-20: 390 new cases
• Nov. 20-21: 332 new cases
• Nov. 21-22: 330 new cases

There are 3,132 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 210,070 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 337 individuals are in hospital and 115 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.

 

The new/active cases include:

• 345 new cases in Fraser Health
  • Total active cases: 1,148
• 125 new cases in Vancouver Coastal Health
  • Total active cases: 436
• 227 new cases in Interior Health
  • Total active cases: 589
• 196 new cases in Northern Health
  • Total active cases: 528
• 159 new cases in Island Health
  • Total active cases: 436
• no new cases of people who reside outside of Canada
  • Total active cases: 0

In the last 72 hours, 10 new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 2,303.

 

The new deaths include:

• Fraser Health: two
• Vancouver Coastal Health: two
• Northern Health: four
• Island Health: two

There have been no new health-care facility outbreaks. The outbreaks at Cascade Gardens, The Cedars, Harrison Pointe, Revera Parkwood Manor, Burnaby Hospital (Fraser Health), Amica Edgemont (Vancouver Coastal Health), Brocklehurst Gemstone Care Centre (Interior Health), Chartwell Malaspina Care Residence and Nanaimo Regional General Hospital (Island Health) have been declared over, for a total of 12 facilities with ongoing outbreaks, including:

 

long-term care:

• Queens Park Care Centre, Tabor Home, Maplewood House, George Derby Centre, Dufferin Care Centre (Fraser Health);
• Village by the Station, Sun Pointe Village (Interior Health); and
• Peace Villa (Northern Health)

acute care:

• Abbotsford Regional Hospital, Ridge Meadows Hospital (Fraser Health); and
• Royal Inland Hospital (Interior Health)

assisted or independent living:

• Laurier Manor (Northern Health)

The outbreaks at Millar College of the Bible, Vernon Christian school and King's Christian school (Interior Health) have been declared over.

 

From Nov. 12-18, people not fully vaccinated accounted for 59.8% of cases.

From Nov. 5-18, they accounted for 69.9% of hospitalizations.

 

Past week cases (Nov. 12-18) – Total 2,845

• Not vaccinated: 1,580 (55.5%)
• Partially vaccinated: 123 (4.3%)
• Fully vaccinated: 1,142 (40.1%)

Past two weeks cases hospitalized (Nov. 5-18) – Total 313

• Not vaccinated: 191 (61.0%)
• Partially vaccinated: 28 (8.9%)
• Fully vaccinated: 94 (30.0%)

Past week, cases per 100,000 population after adjusting for age (Nov. 12-18)

• Not vaccinated: 209.7
• Partially vaccinated: 50.9
• Fully vaccinated: 25.9

Past two weeks, cases hospitalized per 100,000 population after adjusting for age (Nov. 5-18)

• Not vaccinated: 39.6
• Partially vaccinated: 18.0
• Fully vaccinated: 2.1

Since December 2020, the Province has administered 8,551,866 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines.

 

https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2021HLTH0073-002236

[Steven Stamkos]

20 hours ago, RUPERTKBD said:

No-one who's ever been to Edson would be surprised by this news....

I played in the big softball tournament there a couple times. Definitely par for the course here. 

[RUPERTKBD]

1 hour ago, Steven Stamkos said:

I played in the big softball tournament there a couple times. Definitely par for the course here. 

I used to be a traveling musician in a previous life....Edmonton - Edson - Hinton - Jasper - PG was a standard tour for us. We always looked forward to three of those gigs and you only get one guess as to which two we didn't look forward to....

[Gurn]

9 hours ago, -Vintage Canuck- said:

Past week, cases per 100,000 population after adjusting for age (Nov. 12-18)

• Not vaccinated: 209.7
• Partially vaccinated: 50.9
• Fully vaccinated: 25.9

Past two weeks, cases hospitalized per 100,000 population after adjusting for age (Nov. 5-18)

• Not vaccinated: 39.6
• Partially vaccinated: 18.0
• Fully vaccinated: 2.1

Population of  B.C. is  about 5,214,805 

knock off the people under 15 yrs old and  you get about 4,493,336 people

If 83.3 % of people over 12 have received their second dose, that leaves 750,387 people not vaxxed, and 3,742,949 that are second dosed.

 

We are a long ways from done with this.

 

[Jaimito]

Another good updated presentation and Q and A by Dr Offit, debunks a lot misinformation with easy to understand language. 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 24, 2021 by Jaimito

[-Vintage Canuck-]

B.C. COVID-19 pandemic update:

 

As of Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2021, 90.9% (4,214,774) of eligible people 12 and older in B.C. have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine and 87.4% (4,050,134) have received their second dose.

 

In addition, 91.3% (3,950,456) of all eligible adults in B.C. have received their first dose and 87.9% (3,803,087) have received their second dose.

 

B.C. is reporting 324 new cases of COVID-19, including four epi-linked cases, for a total of 216,012 cases in the province.

 

There are 3,047 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 210,478 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 345 individuals are in hospital and 115 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.

 

The new/active cases include:

• 102 new cases in Fraser Health
  • Total active cases: 1,115
• 38 new cases in Vancouver Coastal Health
  • Total active cases: 472
• 77 new cases in Interior Health
  • Total active cases: 595
• 60 new cases in Northern Health
  • Total active cases: 444
• 36 new cases in Island Health
  • Total active cases: 415
• 11 new cases of people who reside outside of Canada (Note: These are historical cases that were removed due to data correction and are now being correctly re-assigned as out-of-country.)
  • Total active cases: 6

In the past 24 hours, one new death (Northern Health) has been reported, for an overall total of 2,304.

 

There have been no new health-care facility outbreaks, for a total of 12 facilities with ongoing outbreaks, including:

 

long-term care:

• Queens Park Care Centre, Tabor Home, Maplewood House, George Derby Centre, Dufferin Care Centre (Fraser Health);
• Village by the Station, Sun Pointe Village (Interior Health); and
• Peace Villa (Northern Health)

acute care:

• Abbotsford Regional Hospital, Ridge Meadows Hospital (Fraser Health); and
• Royal Inland Hospital (Interior Health)

assisted or independent living:

• Laurier Manor (Northern Health)

From Nov. 15-21, people not fully vaccinated accounted for 58.4% of cases.

From Nov. 8-21, they accounted for 69.0% of hospitalizations.

 

Past week cases (Nov. 15-21) – Total 2,618

• Not vaccinated: 1,422 (54.3%)
• Partially vaccinated: 108 (4.1%)
• Fully vaccinated: 1,088 (41.6%)

Past two weeks cases hospitalized (Nov. 8-21) – Total 248

• Not vaccinated: 153 (61.7%)
• Partially vaccinated: 18 (7.3%)
• Fully vaccinated: 77 (31.0%)

Past week, cases per 100,000 population after adjusting for age (Nov. 15-21)    

• Not vaccinated: 188.8
• Partially vaccinated: 47.5
• Fully vaccinated: 24.5

Past two weeks, cases hospitalized per 100,000 population after adjusting for age (Nov. 8-21)

• Not vaccinated: 32.0
• Partially vaccinated: 12.3
• Fully vaccinated: 1.7

Since December 2020, the Province has administered 8,568,132 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines.

 

https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2021HLTH0073-002247

[Gurn]

42 minutes ago, -Vintage Canuck- said:

345 individuals are in hospital

 

43 minutes ago, -Vintage Canuck- said:

• Not vaccinated: 153 (61.7%)
• Partially vaccinated: 18 (7.3%)
• Fully vaccinated: 77 (31.0%)

So if people were all double vaxxed we would have106 people in hospital with covid.

Leaving 238 beds for patients dealing with all the normal medical issues.

-Note the two quotes don't add up, but gives a really good picture of how much better it could be;  if the people that can get jabbed, do get jabbed.

[StanleyCupOneDay]

7 hours ago, gurn said:

 

So if people were all double vaxxed we would have106 people in hospital with covid.

Leaving 238 beds for patients dealing with all the normal medical issues.

-Note the two quotes don't add up, but gives a really good picture of how much better it could be;  if the people that can get jabbed, do get jabbed.

I don’t think we’ll ever get past about 92%, too many people stuck in the freedumb to die line of thinking. This level of vaccination should probably be enough to keep our hospitals from being overwhelmed though and that’s the important part. We have 139 hospitals in BC and space for 11,571 people including the pandemic surge beds. Almost all are in use, but for other reasons then COVID. Unfortunately there’s always going to be idiots doing stupid things getting preventable injuries/sickness that take up unnecessary space in our hospitals. The next problem phase of the pandemic is likely in smaller communities with small hospitals and lower vaxx rates.

 

Seriously though and maybe it’s the inner optimist in me coming out, but: I’m indescribably grateful to be in a part of the world that’s nearing/passing 90% of eligible people willing to protect themselves and others. Amidst an array of differing views on numerous issues in our country, 9 in 10 of us decided this was the right thing to do. When do we ever get 90% of people agreeing on anything? Especially with the misinformation and disinformation bombardment rabbit hole only 1 quick google search away. It’s a truly remarkable achievement and speaks volumes about us as a nation. We could be in so much worse shape if not for our commitment to protect one another regardless of our differences.

 

Makes me proud to be a Canadian.

[thedestroyerofworlds]

Joins Pfizer and Moderna's vaccines.  Full approval for 18 and over.  

 

 

https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/canada-gives-full-approval-jjs-single-shot-covid-19-vaccine-2021-11-24/?utm_source=reddit.com

Canada gives full approval to J&J's single-shot COVID-19 vaccine

Nov 24 (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) said on Wednesday Canada gave full approval to its single-shot COVID-19 vaccine for people aged 18 years and older, making it the first full approval for the vaccine globally.

The vaccine was previously authorised by the country under an interim order.

Canada, which is reporting 2,563 infections on average each day and has administered at least 60,101,058 doses of COVID-19 vaccines so far, gave full approval to Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) and Pfizer Inc's (PFE.N) coronavirus vaccines in September.

The country authorised the use of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 and a booster dose for people aged 18 years and older this month. read more

J&J's coronavirus vaccine has been authorised for emergency use in many countries, including the United States.

[RUPERTKBD]

Just talked to my mom, who turned 88 yesterday.....she is booked for shot number 3 shortly.

 

Fingers crossed we can make it to Kelowna for a visit this summer....

[-Vintage Canuck-]

B.C. COVID-19 pandemic update:

 

As of Wednesday, Nov. 24, 2021, 91% (4,216,384) of eligible people 12 and older in B.C. have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine and 87.4% (4,053,088) have received their second dose.

 

In addition, 91.4% (3,951,940) of all eligible adults in B.C. have received their first dose and 88% (3,805,799) have received their second dose.

 

B.C. is reporting 322 new cases of COVID-19, including two epi-linked cases, for a total of 216,334 cases in the province.

 

There are 3,015 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 210,828 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 318 individuals are in hospital and 109 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.

 

The new/active cases include:

• 100 new cases in Fraser Health
  • Total active cases: 1,095
• 50 new cases in Vancouver Coastal Health
  • Total active cases: 472
• 86 new cases in Interior Health
  • Total active cases: 606
• 44 new cases in Northern Health
  • Total active cases: 415
• 42 new cases in Island Health
  • Total active cases: 421
• no new cases of people who reside outside of Canada
  • Total active cases: six

In the last 24 hours, nine new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 2,313.

 

The new deaths include:

• Vancouver Coastal Health: three
• Interior Health: one
• Northern Health: five

There have been no new health-care facility outbreaks. The outbreaks at Village by the Station and Sun Pointe Village (Interior Health) have been declared over, for a total of 10 facilities with ongoing outbreaks, including:

 

long-term care:

• Queens Park Care Centre, Tabor Home, Maplewood House, George Derby Centre, Dufferin Care Centre (Fraser Health); and
• Peace Villa (Northern Health)

acute care:

• Abbotsford Regional Hospital, Ridge Meadows Hospital (Fraser Health); and
• Royal Inland Hospital (Interior Health)

assisted or independent living:

• Laurier Manor (Northern Health)

There has been one new outbreak at St. Ann's Catholic School (Northern Health).

 

From Nov. 16-22, people not fully vaccinated accounted for 58.1% of cases.

From Nov. 9-22, they accounted for 69.2% of hospitalizations.

 

Past week cases (Nov. 16-22) – Total 2,663

• Not vaccinated: 1,438 (54%)
• Partially vaccinated: 109 (4.1%)
• Fully vaccinated: 1,116 (41.9%)

Past two weeks cases hospitalized (Nov. 9-22) – Total 299

• Not vaccinated: 184 (61.5%)
• Partially vaccinated: 23 (7.7%)
• Fully vaccinated: 92 (30.8%)

Past week, cases per 100,000 population after adjusting for age (Nov. 16-22)    

• Not vaccinated: 193.8
• Partially vaccinated: 48.1
• Fully vaccinated: 25.1

Past two weeks, cases hospitalized per 100,000 population after adjusting for age (Nov. 9-22)

• Not vaccinated: 38.4
• Partially vaccinated: 15.8
• Fully vaccinated: 2.0

Since December 2020, the Province has administered 8,587,520 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines.

 

https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2021HLTH0075-002257

[Alflives]

Hospitalization is 54-2.

Those antivaxxers are winning by some big numbers.  

[bishopshodan]

Just now, Alflives said:

Hospitalization is 54-2.

Those antivaxxers are winning by some big numbers.  

and  no Mercy rule...

[JM_]

3 minutes ago, Alflives said:

Hospitalization is 54-2.

Those antivaxxers are winning by some big numbers.  

maybe Kid Rock can play at their funeral 

 

[-Vintage Canuck-]

B.C. COVID-19 pandemic update:

 

As of Thursday, Nov. 25, 2021, 91.0% (4,218,099) of eligible people 12 and older in B.C. have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine and 87.5% (4,056,728) received their second dose.

 

In addition, 91.4% (3,953,383) of all eligible adults in B.C. have received their first dose and 88.1% (3,808,967) received their second dose.

 

B.C. is reporting 424 new cases of COVID-19, including one epi-linked case, for a total of 216,758 cases in the province.

 

There are currently 3,061 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 211,202 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 295 individuals are in hospital and 112 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.

 

The new/active cases include:

• 140 new cases in Fraser Health
  • Total active cases: 1,092
• 62 new cases in Vancouver Coastal Health
  • Total active cases: 512
• 93 new cases in Interior Health
  • Total active cases: 608
• 66 new cases in Northern Health
  • Total active cases: 414
• 63 new cases in Island Health
  • Total active cases: 429
• no new cases of people who reside outside of Canada
  • Total active cases: six

In the past 24 hours, three new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 2,316.

 

The new deaths include:

• Fraser Health: two
• Interior Health: one

There have been two new health-care facility outbreaks at Ridge Meadows Hospital (Fraser Health) and St. Paul's Hospital (Vancouver Coastal Health). The outbreaks at Royal Inland Hospital (Interior Health) have been declared over, for a total of 10 facilities with ongoing outbreaks, including:

 

long-term care:

• Queens Park Care Centre, Tabor Home, Maplewood House, George Derby Centre, Dufferin Care Centre (Fraser Health); and
• Peace Villa (Northern Health)

acute care:

• Abbotsford Regional Hospital, Ridge Meadows Hospital (Fraser Health); and
• St. Paul's Hospital (Vancouver Coastal Health)

assisted or independent living:

• Laurier Manor (Northern Health)

The outbreaks at Mar Jok Elementary and M.V. Beattie Elementary School (Interior Health) have been declared over.

 

From Nov. 17-23, people not fully vaccinated accounted for 58.9% of cases and from Nov. 10- 23 they accounted for 68.5% of hospitalizations.

 

Past week cases (Nov. 17-23) – Total 2,650

• Not vaccinated: 1,461 (55.1%)
• Partially vaccinated: 101 (3.8%)
• Fully vaccinated: 1,088 (41.1%)

Past two weeks cases hospitalized (Nov. 10-23) – Total 301

• Not vaccinated: 188 (62.5%)
• Partially vaccinated: 18 (6.0%)
• Fully vaccinated: 95 (31.6%)

Past week, cases per 100,000 population after adjusting for age (Nov. 17-23)    

• Not vaccinated: 197.7
• Partially vaccinated: 44.6
• Fully vaccinated: 24.4

Past two weeks, cases hospitalized per 100,000 population after adjusting for age (Nov. 10-23)

• Not vaccinated: 39.3
• Partially vaccinated: 11.6
• Fully vaccinated: 2.1

Since December 2020, the Province has administered 8,609,643 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines.

 

https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2021HLTH0075-002263

[Alflives]

50-2 for hospitalizations/100,000. Way to go antivaxxers!  You continue to dominate. 

Edited November 26, 2021 by Alflives

[Ghostsof1915]

On 11/24/2021 at 3:55 PM, bishopshodan said:

and  no Mercy rule...

SWEEP THE LEG! 

[Alflives]

15 minutes ago, Ghostsof1915 said:

SWEEP THE LEG! 

The antivaxxers filling our hospital beds, and thus forcing other peoples’ Surgeries to be postponed (like my now deceased brother-in-law’s fistula surgery) are definitely winning.  I’m at the point, and have been for some time (since the funeral really) that we need to stop all healthcare benefits for the antivaxxers.  If I had legs I’d definitely be confronting these protesting antivaxxers and doing some serious face punching too.  (Sadly I do believe I would kill)  These are selfish sons of ******* who can’t see the world beyond their ugly antivaxxer noses.  Yup.  I hate these ********* and wish them dead.  

Sorry, it’s a sad day for Alf.  

[nuckin_futz]

WHO calls special meeting to discuss new Covid variant found in South Africa with ‘a large number of mutations’

• WHO is monitoring a new Covid variant, scheduling a special meeting Friday to discuss what it may mean for vaccines and treatments, officials said.
• The variant, called B.1.1.529, has been detected in South Africa in small numbers.
• South African scientists have detected 30 mutations to the spike protein, the part of the virus that binds to cells in the body, which could have implications for vaccine efficacy and transmissibility.

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.

[Alflives]

6 minutes ago, nuckin_futz said:

WHO calls special meeting to discuss new Covid variant found in South Africa with ‘a large number of mutations’

• WHO is monitoring a new Covid variant, scheduling a special meeting Friday to discuss what it may mean for vaccines and treatments, officials said.
• The variant, called B.1.1.529, has been detected in South Africa in small numbers.
• South African scientists have detected 30 mutations to the spike protein, the part of the virus that binds to cells in the body, which could have implications for vaccine efficacy and transmissibility.

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.

Get vaccinated and get the booster you stupid antivaxxers.  It’s your fault we are still in a pandemic!  Stupid selfish **********.