UK: AstraZeneca #coronavirus vaccine blood clot cases double to 168 in two weeks, 32 deaths reported
The risk of a serious blood clot from AstraZeneca jab has doubled in a fortnight, new data show. Cases have gone up from 79 to 168 and deaths from 19 to 32. The chance of having a clot following vaccination has gone from one in 250,000 to one in 126,582.
UK #coronavirus variant B.1.1.7 may not have evolved spontaneously in the UK or within human populations
“Here we analyzed 454,443 SARS-CoV-2 spike genes/proteins and 14,427 whole-genome sequences. We demonstrated that the early variant B.1.1.7 may not have evolved spontaneously in the United Kingdom or within human populations. Our extensive analyses suggested that Canidae, Mustelidae or Felidae, especially the Canidae family (for example, dog) could be a possible host of the direct progenitor of variant B.1.1.7.”
Thailand: seven medical staff suffered partial paralysis after receiving Sinovac #coronavirus vaccine
Seven people suffered from partial paralysis after receiving the Sinovac vaccine, a doctor from Chulalongkorn University said. Six of them were in Rayong and one at the Queen Savang Vadhana Memorial Hospital in Chon Buri’s Sri Racha district. Their conditions improved after doctors administered medication to dissolve blood clots.
NEJM: In two #coronavirus vaccine breakthrough cases “examination of the SARS-CoV-2 sequences revealed that both patients were infected with variant viruses” .. “neither sequence precisely fit any known clade”
Examination of the SARS-CoV-2 sequences revealed that both patients were infected with variant viruses. Rapid identification of sequence variants by targeted PCR amplification showed that neither sequence precisely fit any known clade. Some of the substitutions in Patient 1 (T95I, del144, E484K, A570D, D614G, P681H, and D796H) were shared with B.1.526 (T95I, E484K, and D614G6), and three substitutions were shared with Patient 2 (in whom the variants T95I, G142V and del144, F220I, R190T, R237K, R246T, and D614G were detected).
India: Doctors discuss the diagnosis and treatment of B.1.617 double mutant #coronavirus patients
“Death of fully vaccinated people”, “Increased incidence of reinfections”, “Very infectious. Almost all near contacts are positive if traced”, “RT-PCR reports are 67-70% positive and RAT around 89%”, “RT-PCR was positive around 60% of cases”
Brazil: First confirmed death from #coronavirus REINFECTION reported
A 39-year-old Brazilian man who died of COVID-19 last month was suffering from a second bout of the illness, researchers said on Tuesday, making it the country’s first confirmed death from coronavirus reinfection. Both episodes involved variants with the E484K mutation.
Bioaerosols generated in public toilets may pose a concern for the transmission of #coronavirus COVID-19
To quantify the extent of aerosolization, we measure the size and number of droplets generated by flushing toilets and urinals in a public restroom. The results indicate that the particular designs tested in the study generate a large number of droplets in the size range 0.3 μm–3 μm, which can reach heights of at least 1.52 m. Covering the toilet reduced aerosol levels but did not eliminate them completely, suggesting that aerosolized droplets escaped through small gaps between the cover and the seat.
SARS-CoV-2 #coronavirus spike protein gene variants with N501T and G142D mutation dominated infections in US minks
We analyzed all animal-derived (977), all Canadian (19,529) and US (173,277) SARS-CoV-2 sequences deposited in GISAID from December 2019 to March 12, 2021, and identified 2 dominant novel variants, the N501T-G142D variant and N501T-G142D-F486L variant, in the US mink-derived SARS-CoV-2 sequences. These variants were not found in mink-derived SARS-CoV-2 spike protein gene sequences from other countries. The Y453F mutation was not identified in the US and Canadian mink-derive sequences.
Hong Kong: 51 #coronavirus infections on single flight from India
A genetic study of viral samples from infected passengers on a flight into Hong Kong later found to have a record number of Covid-19 cases will be undertaken to determine whether in-flight transmission or quarantine facilities were to blame, with implications on tighter protocols required to contain such spikes.
Hong Kong: #coronavirus transmission linked to quarantine hotel door hooks used for meal deliveries
Hong Kong’s first community infection of a mutant Covid-19 strain involved the South African variant, officials revealed on Tuesday, with transmission likely to have taken place at a quarantine hotel via door hooks used by staff to deliver meal boxes to guests.
India: B.1.617 now at 61% of #coronavirus genome samples in Maharashtra – was ~20% just one month ago
The National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, has shared data with laboratories in Maharashtra showing that of 361 Covid-19 samples taken in Maharashtra from January to March and genome sequenced, 61% or 220 had the double mutation E484Q and L452R, now classified as B.1.617 lineage.
India: New Indian #coronavirus variant B.1.618 with added E484K
E484K has been found in a new Sars-Cov-2 variant labelled as B.1.618, which has been reported in West Bengal, India.
New Zealand: fully vaccinated airport worker tests positive for #coronavirus
The Auckland Airport worker who has tested positive for Covid-19 cleans planes from high risk Covid-19 ‘red-zone countries’, and had been fully vaccinated, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says. They were fully vaccinated early on in the campaign and were last tested on 12 and 19 April, she said. Yesterday’s test returned a positive result today.
USA: CDC is recommending that people who experience certain new symptoms after receiving Johnson & Johnson’s #coronavirus vaccine seek immediate medical treatment
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending that people who experience certain new symptoms after receiving Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine seek immediate medical treatment. The symptoms include sudden, severe headache, backache, new neurological symptoms, severe abdominal pain, shortness of breath, leg swelling, tiny red spots on the skin, and new or easy bruising.