Israel: “85-90% of the hospitalizations are in fully vaccinated people”
Dr Kobi Haviv, Herzog Hospital, Jerusalem: “95% of the severe patients are vaccinated”. “85-90% of the hospitalizations are in fully vaccinated people.” “The effectiveness of the vaccine is waning/fading out”
Iceland: 70% vaccine breakthrough – 1,565 infections of which 1,091 are fully vaccinated
Iceland’s Covid dashboard confirms the vaccine breakthrough rate in that country is about 70% for infections, as per the information given below.
Israel: National lockdown if booster jabs don’t work
An official in the high-level coronavirus cabinet, speaking on the condition of anonymity, tells the Kan public broadcaster that the government will wait and see what the effects of the third vaccine booster shot are before declaring a nationwide lockdown.
USA, Maryland: “I went to a party with 14 other vaccinated people; 11 of us got COVID”
I’m an epidemiologist at a major medical research university. I had gone to a house party in Montgomery County. There were 15 adults there, all of us fully vaccinated. The next day, our host started to feel sick. The day after that, she tested positive for COVID-19. At this point, 11 of the 15 have tested positive for COVID.
Shi Zhengli: We need to learn to live with the virus
Shi Zhengli, China’s ‘Bat Woman’, has said that new variants of Sars-Cov-2 will continue to emerge, but that vaccines are ‘effective’. “We shouldn’t panic, but we need to prepare to co-exist with the virus in the long term,” Shi told media on Wednesday.
UK: 52% vaccine breakthrough for hospitalized over-50s
The Covid-19 Actuaries Response Group have recently issued a report on Covid-19 hospitalizations by age and vaccine status, based on data from the UK government’s own reports.
USA: Washington State Vaccine Breakthroughs by Variant up to 4th August 2021
This week’s update from Washington State showing vaccine breakthrough cases and which Sars-CoV-2 variant is causing them up to 4th August 2021. Of note this week is another big jump for Delta B.1.617.2 vaccine breakthrough cases, which have increased from 254 to 405 in one week. Delta is now responsible for more breakthrough cases in Washington State than any other variant. There are also further small increases in vaccine breakthrough cases for the Alpha and Gamma variants.
Bangladesh: the unvaccinated aren’t allowed on the streets
The Bangladeshi government will not allow any unvaccinated people aged 18 or above on the streets from August 11, the day it will relax the ongoing lockdown. “Anyone above 18 years will not be allowed on streets and on any mode of transport unless they are vaccinated,” Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque, who presided over the meeting, told reporters.
Preprint: C.37 Lambda variant exhibits higher infectivity and immune resistance
“In this study, we demonstrated that three mutations, the RSYLTPGD246-253N, L452Q and F490S mutations, respectively confer resistance to the vaccine-induced antiviral immunity. Additionally, the T76I and L452Q mutations contribute to enhanced viral infectivity. Our data suggest that there are at least two virological features on the Lambda variant: increasing viral infectivity (by the T76I and L452Q mutations) and exhibiting resistance to antiviral immunity (by the RSYLTPGD246-253N, L452Q and F490S mutations).”
Covid-19 patients resting heart rate affected for more than 2 months after infection
Individuals with COVID-19 took longer to return to their resting heart rate (RHR), sleep and activity baselines compared with symptomatic individuals who were COVID-19 negative. This difference was most marked for RHR, with COVID-19–positive individuals initially experiencing a transient bradycardia followed by a prolonged relative tachycardia that did not return to baseline, on average, until 79 days after symptom onset. A small subset of COVID-19–positive participants maintained an RHR more than 5 beats per minute greater than their baseline RHR that did not return to their normal for more than 133 days.
Alzheimers Association: COVID-19 associated with acceleration of Alzheimer’s symptoms
Key results: Biological markers of brain injury, neuroinflammation and Alzheimer’s correlate strongly with the presence of neurological symptoms in COVID-19 patients. Individuals experiencing cognitive decline post-COVID-19 infection were more likely to have low blood oxygen following brief physical exertion as well as poor overall physical condition.
China: Sars-CoV-2 returns to Wuhan
Authorities in the Chinese city of Wuhan will begin testing its entire population, after a handful of positive coronavirus cases were detected there. Wuhan has recorded seven locally transmitted cases – the first local infections in more than a year.
USA: Sars-CoV-2 association with PM2.5 particles during wildfire smoke events
We found that a 10 µg/m3 increase in the 7-day average PM2.5 concentration was associated with a 6.3% relative increase in the SARS-CoV-2 test positivity rate, with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 2.5 to 10.3%. This corresponded to an estimated 17.7% (CI: 14.4–20.1%) increase in the number of cases during the time period most affected by wildfire smoke, from 16 Aug to 10 Oct 2020.
Japan: Covid-19 hospitalizations could be limited to severe cases
Hospitalizations in areas of Japan with many coronavirus infections could in principle be limited to patients with severe symptoms and those at high risk of developing them, while people not hospitalized would basically be required to recover at home, the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare announced on Aug. 2.