It may be hard to grasp the current scale of the pandemic from the US, which has so far managed to fully vaccinate at least one-third of its population while seeing precipitous drops in new cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. ![]() The World Health Organization (WHO) is now tracking 10 SARS-CoV-2 variants internationally. Other variants have already arisen independently in different parts of the world and have rapidly gained ground, too. And it’s one reason countries are now imposing travel restrictions on flights from India. The SARS-CoV-2 variant first identified in India last year, called B.1.617, has already become the dominant version of the virus in some parts of the country and could be a driver, among others, of the current outbreak. Sign up to receive our newsletter each Friday. Please contact us for subscription options.Vox’s German Lopez is here to guide you through the Biden administration’s burst of policymaking. Vaccines are currently administered in two doses 12 weeks apart.Īnadolu Agency website contains only a portion of the news stories offered to subscribers in the AA News Broadcasting System (HAS), and in summarized form. Over 35 million people were administered their first doses of vaccines by the end of May 6 with over 16 million people now having received the second. Fifteen deaths were reported within 28 days of testing positive for the virus on Friday, adding this week’s total to 81. ![]() On Friday 2,490 people had a confirmed positive test of the virus, adding this week’s total to 14,420. The vaccine programme is estimated to have prevented over 10,000 deaths by the end of March.” “Over 35 million people have received a first dose so far. The vaccines are also said to be effective against the various mutations of the virus. The JCVI, however, reassured the public that coronavirus vaccines are highly effective and substantially reduce the risk of death by the virus as well as severe disease and the transmission of infection. The updated recommendation was made following investigations in March from the UK’s MHRA and the EU’s European Medicines Agency that saw a link between blood clots and the Oxford jab. “This has been considered alongside the latest advice from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) on extremely rare cases of concurrent thrombosis (blood clots) and thrombocytopenia (low platelet count) following the first dose of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine,” it added. “The JCVI has advised a preference for adults aged 30 to 39 without underlying health conditions to receive an alternative to the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine – where available and only if this does not cause substantial delays in being vaccinated,” the committee said in a statement. On Friday, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recommended that people under the age of 40 be offered an alternative vaccine to the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab following concerns over a link between it and a rare form of blood clots. ![]() ![]() Under 40s to be offered alternative to Oxford jab “We’re doing a huge amount, obviously, to make sure that when we do find outbreaks of the Indian variant that we do surge testing, that we do door-to-door testing,” Johnson said in a statement.ĭespite its high transmissibility, the PHE said that there is “insufficient evidence” that shows the Indian variant causes more severe diseases or renders coronavirus vaccines any less effective. Johnson said the door-to-door and surge testing will increase to stay ahead and contain any such outbreak. The other characteristics of this variant are still being investigated,” it added.īritish Prime Minister Boris Johnson also acknowledged the seriousness of the new variant spread, calling on the government to carefully handle new outbreaks. “This is based on evidence which suggests this variant, first detected in India, is at least as transmissible as B.1.1.7 (the Kent variant). “Following a rise in cases in the UK and evidence of community transmission, PHE has reclassified VUI-21APR-02 as a Variant of Concern (VOC), now known as VOC-21APR-02,” the Public Health England (PHE) said in a statement. However, as the number of cases linked to the mutation increase, public health officials are moving fast to contain its spread. The mutation, also known as VOC-21APR-02, had been earlier classified as a “variant under investigation” when it was first discovered in March. The highly transmissible Indian variant of coronavirus has been upgraded to a “variant of concern” in the UK following an increase in the number of mutated cases.
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