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Retrieved from: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
A woman receives an Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine at a COVID-19 vaccination centre at Cwmbran Stadium in Cwmbran, South Wales, Britain February 17, 2021. Geoff Caddick/Pool via REUTERS
Future pandemics could be even more lethal than COVID-19 so the lessons learned from the outbreak must not be squandered and the world should ensure it is prepared for the next viral onslaught, one of the creators of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine said.
The novel coronavirus has killed 5.26 million people across the world, according to Johns Hopkins University, wiped out trillions of dollars in economic output and turned life upside down for billions of people.
"The truth is, the next one could be worse. It could be more contagious, or more lethal, or both," Sarah Gilbert said in the Richard Dimbleby Lecture, the BBC reported. "This will not be the last time a virus threatens our lives and our livelihoods."
Gilbert, a professor of vaccinology at the University of Oxford, said the world should make sure it is better prepared for the next virus.
"The advances we have made, and the knowledge we have gained, must not be lost," she said.
Efforts to end the COVID-19 pandemic have been uneven and fragmented, marked by limited access to vaccines in low-income countries while the "healthy and wealthy" in rich countries get boosters, health experts say.
A panel of health experts set up by the World Health Organisation to review the handling of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has called for permanent funding and for greater ability to investigate pandemics through a new treaty.
One proposal was for new financing of at least $10 billion a year for pandemic preparedness.
The COVID-19 outbreak was first detected in China in late 2019. Vaccines were developed against the virus in record time.
Gilbert said the Omicron variant's spike protein contained mutations known to increase the transmissibility of the virus.
"There are additional changes that may mean antibodies induced by the vaccines, or by infection with other variants, may be less effective at preventing infection with Omicron," Gilbert said.
"Until we know more, we should be cautious, and take steps to slow down the spread of this new variant."
Retrieved from: https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/next-pandemic-could-be-more-lethal-than-covid-oxford-vaccine-creator-says-2021-12-06/
By Pushkala Aripaka and Lucy Marks
A major British study into mixing COVID-19 vaccines has found that people had a better immune response when they received a first dose of AstraZeneca or Pfizer-BioNTech shots followed by Moderna nine weeks later, according to the results on Monday.
"We found a really good immune response across the board..., in fact, higher than the threshold set by Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine two doses," Matthew Snape, the Oxford professor behind the trial dubbed Com-COV2, told Reuters.
The findings supporting flexible dosing will offer some hope to poor and middle income countries which may need to combine different brands between first and second shots if supplies run low or become unstable.
"I think the data from this study will be especially interesting and valuable to low- and middle-income countries where they're still rolling out the first two doses of vaccines," Snape said.
"We're showing...you don't have to stick rigidly to receiving the same vaccine for a second dose...and that if the programme will be delivered more quickly by using multiple vaccines, then it is okay to do so."
If the AstraZeneca-Oxford (AZN.L) vaccine is followed by a Moderna (MRNA.O)or Novavax (NVAX.O) shot, higher antibodies and T-cell responses were induced versus two doses of AstraZeneca-Oxford, according to researchers at the University of Oxford.
The study of 1,070 volunteers also found that a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech (PFE.N), (22UAy.DE) vaccine followed by a Moderna (MRNA.O) shot was better than two doses of the standard Pfizer-BioNTech course.
Pfizer-BioNTech followed by Novavax induced higher antibodies than the two-dose Oxford-AstraZeneca schedule, although this schedule induced lower antibody and T-cell responses than the two-dose Pfizer-BioNTech schedule.
No safety concerns were raised, according to the Oxford University study published in the Lancet medical journal.
Many countries have been deploying a mix and match well before robust data was available as nations were faced with soaring infection numbers, low supplies and slow immunisation over some safety concerns.
Longevity of protection offered by vaccines has been under scrutiny, with booster doses being considered as well amid surging cases. New variants, including Delta and Omicron, have now increased the pressure to speed up vaccination campaigns.
Blood samples from participants were tested against the Wild-Type, Beta and Delta variants, researchers of the Com-COV2 study said, adding that vaccines' efficacy against the variants had waned, but this was consistent across mixed courses.
Deploying vaccines using technology from different platforms - like Pfizer and Moderna's mRNA, AstraZeneca's viral vector and Novavax's protein-based shot - and within the same schedule is new.
The results may inform new approaches to immunisation against other diseases, he said.
The study also found that a first dose of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine followed by any of the other candidates in the study generated a particularly robust response, consistent with findings in June.
The study was designed as a so-called "non-inferiority" study – the intent is to demonstrate that mixing is not substantially worse than the standard schedules - and compares the immune system responses to the gold-standard responses reported in previous clinical trials of each vaccine.
Retrieved from: https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/mixing-pfizer-astraz-covid-19-shots-with-moderna-gives-better-immune-response-uk-2021-12-06/
By Maria Caspani and Tom Hals
The Norwegian Breakaway cruise ship is seen at Marine Facade passenger port in St. Petersburg, Russia June 2, 2018. REUTERS/Anton Vaganov
A South African crew member suspected of having the Omicron variant of COVID-19 is among the 17 cases of the virus detected on a cruise ship that disembarked in New Orleans over the weekend, the cruise line said on Monday.
U.S. officials are closely monitoring the latest variant, which has been detected in at least a third of states, to try to ascertain its severity amid a rise in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH.N) said the crew member on the Norwegian Breakaway vessel was in isolation for the entirety of the cruise that departed New Orleans on Nov. 28 carrying more than 3,200 individuals and made stops in Belize, Honduras and Mexico.
Louisiana health officials said all passengers were tested for COVID-19 before leaving the ship, and those who tested positive would either travel to their residence in a personal vehicle or self-isolate in accommodations provided by Norwegian Cruise Line.
As they disembarked on Sunday, some passengers said they were not alerted about the outbreak while on board.
"I mean, they tested everybody yesterday, but they didn't tell us," passenger Frank Sousla told NBC. "I found out on Facebook, and I think it's extremely irresponsible."
At the start of the pandemic, outbreaks on ships prompted U.S. health officials to suspend cruising, leading to billion-dollar losses. The rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, combined with pent-up demand for leisure travel, have helped the industry rebound since sailing resumed this summer.
Last month, Norwegian Cruise Line forecast a return to profitability in the second half of 2022. Shares of Norwegian rose 12% on Monday, the highest percentage gain in more than a year. read more
All major cruise operators departing from U.S. ports, including Norwegian Cruise Lines, require guests and crew to be fully vaccinated. Norwegian also requires all guests with cruise embarkation dates through Jan. 16, 2022 to take a COVID-19 antigen test prior to boarding.
Passengers agree to accept the risks including death from traveling during the pandemic, according to Norwegian's ticket, which recommends guests seek the advice of a doctor before boarding. The contract also specifically says passengers accept the risks of new COVID variants.
For the cruise line to be liable for any injuries caused by the outbreak, plaintiffs would have to prove Norwegian did not take reasonable care to protect passengers, said Martin Davies, the director of the Maritime Law Center at Tulane University in New Orleans.
"I’m not sure what else they could have done," said Davies, pointing to Norwegian's vaccination and testing requirements for passengers and staff.
The cruise line said in its statement on Monday that passengers who sailed on the Breakaway's next trip that left on Sunday "must wear masks while indoors except while actively eating or drinking and will be tested twice during the cruise."
Fully vaccinated guests are not required to wear masks, except on European cruises, according to Norwegian policy.
The Breakaway outbreak is smaller than others recorded in recent months by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which said an increase in cruise travel has led to COVID-19 cases among passengers and crew members despite high vaccination rates in both groups.
From June 26 to Oct. 21, there were 1,359 confirmed coronavirus cases reported to the CDC by cruise ships, including several large outbreaks.
There have been instances of passengers who denied being symptomatic or waited several days to report symptoms, the health agency said. One fully vaccinated passenger who was symptomatic for COVID-19 but denied having symptoms died three days after boarding for reasons related to the virus, according to the CDC.
Retrieved from: https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/least-17-covid-cases-found-aboard-cruise-ship-new-orleans-2021-12-06/
By Lynsey Chutel, Richard Pérez-Peña and Emily Anthes
Waiting for a vaccination at a government clinic in Johannesburg.Credit...Kim Ludbrook/EPA, via Shutterstock
JOHANNESBURG — The Covid-19 virus is spreading faster than ever in South Africa, the country’s president said Monday, an indication of how the new Omicron variant is driving the pandemic, but there are early indications that Omicron may cause less serious illness than other forms of the virus.
Researchers at a major hospital complex in Pretoria reported that their patients with the coronavirus are much less sick than those they have treated before, and that other hospitals are seeing the same trends. In fact, they said, most of their infected patients were admitted for other reasons and have no Covid symptoms.
But scientists cautioned against placing too much stock in either the potential good news of less severity, or bad news like early evidence that prior coronavirus infection offers little immunity to Omicron. The variant was discovered just last month, and more study is needed before experts can say much about it with confidence.
Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/12/06/world/omicron-variant-covid/early-reports-suggest-omicron-is-fast-moving-but-perhaps-less-severe
By Megan Specia and Isabella Kwai
A booster dose could be necessary to keep your green Covid-19 vaccination tick in the future, the health department secretary Brendan Murphy says.
Booster shots are being rolled out across Australia amid warnings that immunisation from the initial vaccinations wanes with time.
The federal government distinguishes these “booster” doses from the third vaccine dose some immunocompromised people need to get a standard level of protection.
In a Senate select committee inquiry into the government’s handling of the Covid pandemic on Tuesday, Labor senator Katy Gallagher asked what would constitute “fully vaccinated” in the future.
Murphy said, for now, any third dose would be recorded and those with two doses would retain their tick – but that could change.
He said the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (Atagi) has so far “felt there’s not sufficient evidence to say that someone who’s had two doses needs a third to maintain their fully vaccinated status”.
“So at the moment we’re regarding everyone with two doses as fully vaccinated,” he said.
“If in the future the data suggests that immunity from the primary course wanes so much that people do really need a third dose, that could change.”
Much of Tuesday’s hearing was taken up with discussing misinformation being spread about Covid, the vaccines, and the extension of the rollout to children.
It also heard that there were now 37 cases of the Omicron variant in Australia. The chief medical officer, Prof Paul Kelly, has confirmed only 10 of those cases were associated with overseas travel.
None of them had a severe illness or had been hospitalised, he said, except for one child who was under observation.
There were “no definite signals” that Omicron is more severe than other variants, Kelly said.
He also said that, as the pandemic continues and new variants emerge, they would run out of Greek alphabet letters to name them after, and would turn to stars and constellations instead.
In June the World Health Organization started the naming convention with the Greek alphabet to avoid stigmatising countries in which variants were found. There are still nine letters left.
Lt Gen John Frewen, the head of Australia’s vaccine rollout, said there would be no issues with supply when it came to booster shots as more people become eligible for them – six months after their second dose.
He also defended a wastage rate increase, with 4.32% of vaccines now being wasted compared to 1.2% earlier in the rollout.
Frewen said that was often because when vaccines were scarce doctors would wait until they had enough patients before opening a multi-dose vial, whereas now they would open them for anyone who wanted one, and the remainder then has to be discarded.
He said there was still a vaccination gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians of about 15%. That gap varies between states and communities but overall Indigenous Australians are disproportionately forced to live with Covid, a Guardian Australia investigation found.
Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/dec/07/booster-shots-may-be-needed-to-keep-fully-vaccinated-status-in-australia-in-future
Here’s a round-up of the day’s leading Covid stories:
· All international arrivals to the UK are now required to take a pre-departure Covid-19 test to tackle the new Omicron variant.
· Thailand is hoping to forge a more sustainable model of tourism as the country reopens to visitors.
· New York City has expanded its array of Covid-19 mandates on Monday, setting vaccine requirements for children as young as 5 years old. This is on top of the mandates required for all private employees.
· In France, a combination of vaccination booster shots and more rigorous social distancing is hoped to avoid renewed lockdowns or curfews. Nightclubs will be shut for four weeks and requirements for mask-wearing in schools will be tightened.
· The Netherlands is drafting in soldiers to support hospitals as Covid cases surge.
· India has reported another 6,822 new coronavirus cases, the lowest figures in 558 days.
· A leading infectious diseases specialist who monitors variants for a research collaboration led by Harvard Medical School believes the world is seeing “what appears to be a signal of exponential increase of Omicron over Delta” where Omicron is “likely to become the dominant strain in the coming weeks and months”.
Medicine
