Category: UK
BMJ: cerebral venous thrombosis about 20 times more common after AstraZeneca vaccine
The risk of thrombosis at 11 excess events per 100 000 vaccinations are higher than estimated by the European Medicines Agency. The EMA estimates the risk of thrombosis to be between 1 and 2 per 100 000 people, depending on age. Among the venous thromboembolic events, the most notable was cerebral venous thrombosis, which was about 20 times more common after the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine than expected with an excess risk of 2.5 per 100 000 vaccinations. Venous thromboembolic events were more common in women than in men and were also more common in people aged 18-44 than in those aged 45-65. Thrombocytopenia and bleeding were mildly increased after vaccination, but not significantly.
BMJ Opinion – Thrombosis and bleeding after the Oxford-AstraZeneca covid-19 vaccination
Study Paper here: Arterial events, venous thromboembolism, thrombocytopenia, and bleeding after vaccination with Oxford-AstraZeneca ChAdOx1-S in Denmark and Norway: population based cohort study
UK: AstraZeneca #coronavirus vaccine blood clot cases double to 168 in two weeks, 32 deaths reported
India: B1617 twice as infectious as UK #coronavirus variant B117
Early indications from an analysis of the growth of the B.1.617 variant of the Covid-19 virus has shown it to be at least twice as infectious as the UK variant and thrice as infectious as the variant behind last year’s Covid-19 wave.
Scientists involved in the whole genome sequencing as part of the Centre’s Covid-19 genomic surveillance exercise told The New Indian Express that this conclusion is based on the growth of this mutant, as compared to others, in districts where B.1.617 has been identified along with other variants in samples collected from infected individuals.
“We have been examining this data carefully and the way this lineage of virus, also called the double mutant, is growing as compared to others is remarkable,” said a senior scientist involved in the INSACOG project, a consortium of several institutions under the National Centre for Disease Control that carry out an extensive genomic surveillance. “For the public, what needs to be communicated very clearly is that there is a greater need to double mask and maintain social distancing as this virus is highly infectious.
** Update ** Tom Wenseleers: “Based on this data, the new variant from India has a very big transmission or growth advantage,” even over B.1.1.7, he says. “It’s kind of like the U.K. variant squared.”
UK: Indian #coronavirus variant B.1.617.2 already outcompeting B.1.1.7 in some areas of Britain
India: The stunning rise of the B.1.617.2 #coronavirus variant
UK government poised to declare Indian #coronavirus B.1.617 a Variant of Concern or VOC
Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay
UK: Indian #coronavirus variant B.1.617.2 already outcompeting B.1.1.7 in some areas of Britain
UK GOV: “B.1.617.2 has spread rapidly in India based on available data. There have been multiple importations to the UK and onwards transmission within the UK. In some regions, S gene target data suggests that this variant may be more frequent than is indicated by the current sequence data, due to the lag in sequencing, and may have replaced B.1.1.7 to some extent. Modelled growth estimates suggest that the variant is at least as transmissible as B.1.1.7. Further analyses are required with targeted comparator groups and improved correction for importation to refine the position on transmissibility. Some early laboratory data suggest limited antigenic change. There are insufficient data as yet to assess reinfection or vaccine effectiveness through national surveillance.”
UK.GOV: SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern and variants under investigation in England, Technical briefing 10 (PDF download)
India: The stunning rise of the B.1.617.2 #coronavirus variant
UK: India is added to travel “red list” three weeks too late
Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay
UK: surge testing for Indian #coronavirus VOC B.1.617.2 begins in Bolton as some areas see 500% increase in cases
Mobile Covid-19 testing units are being rolled out in Bolton as surge testing gets underway in the borough’s coronavirus hotspots. People in Rumworth, Deane or Great Lever are being urged to get tested at the units. Infection rates in those areas have increased, with Rumworth South seeing cases rocket by 500 per cent, with an infection rate of 359.3 per 100,000 people. In Lever Edge, part of Great Lever, cases have increased by 40 per cent.
Bolton currently has the second highest infection rate in the UK.
UK: B.1.617 found in 24% of #coronavirus sequences in Bolton, mostly new VOC B.1.617.2
India: The stunning rise of the B.1.617.2 #coronavirus variant
Image by David Reed from Pixabay
UK: B.1.617 found in 24% of #coronavirus sequences in Bolton, mostly new VOC B.1.617.2
Following a rise in cases in the UK and evidence of community transmission, PHE has reclassified B.1.617.2 as a Variant of Concern (VOC). 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). The other characteristics of this variant are still being investigated.
Cases of B.1.617.2 have increased to 520 from 202 over the last week and almost half the cases are related to travel or contact with a traveller. The cases are spread across the country, however, the majority of the cases are in 2 areas – the North West (predominantly Bolton) and London – and this is where we are seeing the greatest transmission.
PHE Document – Confirmed cases of COVID-19 variants identified in UK
India: The stunning rise of the B.1.617.2 #coronavirus variant
UK government poised to declare Indian #coronavirus B.1.617 a Variant of Concern or VOC
India: double mutant coronavirus variant B.1.617 outcompeting B.1.1.7 UK variant
Image by David Mark from Pixabay
UK government poised to declare Indian #coronavirus B.1.617 a Variant of Concern or VOC
The UK government is thought to have detected more than 40 clusters of the Indian Covid variant B.1.617 in the UK, and is on the verge of declaring it a “variant of concern”. The mutant strain is thought to be driving the massive surge of infections in India.
India: The stunning rise of the B.1.617.2 #coronavirus variant
India: double mutant coronavirus variant B.1.617 outcompeting B.1.1.7 UK variant
Image by Adam Derewecki from Pixabay
Nepal: new #coronavirus daily case rate still closely tied to India’s outbreak
Nepal’s daily coronavirus case is still closely tracking that of its neighbour India, Nepal may also be in need of assistance with medical supplies and equipment to alleviate suffering within the next 7 days.
“Nepal Health Ministry says situation unmanageable as hospitals run out of beds The country’s health system cracks as coronavirus cases surge, crossing the 5,000 mark.” Kathmandu Post Report
See aso:
Nepal: rise in #coronavirus cases has similar trajectory to India driven by B117 and B1617
Scotland: severe reaction to Astrazeneca #coronavirus vaccine turned woman’s legs into ‘giant blisters’
A Scottish mother feared she would lose her legs after suffering a severe reaction to the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine. Sarah Beuckmann received her first dose of the jag on March 18 and initially developed the common flu-like symptoms side effect. But the 34-year-old began to experience a tingling sensation in her legs around seven days later and spotted a rash appearing around her ankles.
UK SAGE: Lab studies suggest that the N501Y spike protein mutation increases binding to rat and mouse ACE2 leading to viral replication
A report issued by the UK government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) found the likelihood that a variant of concern (VOC) that has arisen in humans could infect a rodent and then spread among the animals is high. Researchers say lab evidence indicates that while rats and mice appear unable to contract the most common forms of coronavirus COVID-19, the N501Y spike protein mutation “has an increased affinity” for rodents.
The report said: “There is a plausible pathway for infection of rodents with new variants of concern from infected humans following contamination of an environment. “Experimental evidence has shown SARS-CoV-2 with N501Y has increased affinity for lab rodents and there is nothing to suggest the same would not be true for wild rodents.
SAGE: Coronavirus (COVID-19) response, 8 April 2021
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.
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
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.”
Biorxiv preprint: Potential transmission chains of variant B.1.1.7 and co-mutations of SARS-CoV-2
UK: India is added to travel “red list” three weeks too late
India has been added to a “red list” of countries from which most travel to the UK is banned over fears of a new Covid variant [B.1.617], the health secretary has said. From 04:00 BST on Friday, most people who have travelled from India in the last 10 days will be refused entry. British or Irish passport holders, or people with UK residence rights, will be allowed in but must quarantine in a government-approved hotel for 10 days.
Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay
UK: #coronavirus vaccine breakthrough cases reported with B.1.351 and B.1.1.7 variants
People in the UK have been infected with Covid-19 more than once thanks to catching different variants of the coronavirus. Dr Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser for NHS Test and Trace, said there had been cases where people had become reinfected by different strains of the coronavirus. “We have seen some people who have had their first dose of vaccine who have had the South African variant and the variant that arose in Kent,” she told BBC’s the Andrew Marr show. “You can see that they’re not as good against the South African variant as they are against our own (variant) B117 at preventing infection and transmission.”
Image by Nico Callens from Pixabay
UK: Cases of B.1.617 Indian “double mutant” #coronavirus variant double in one week to 160
Professor Paul Hunter, an epidemiologist at the University of East Anglia, analysed publicly available information on new variant numbers last Saturday and again yesterday and found that the number of genetically-confirmed Indian strain cases had risen in a week from 79 to 160. ‘That’s a big jump,’ he said.
Because only around a quarter of identified Covid cases undergo genomic sequencing to identify the strain, he feared the true figure was at least 400.
Image by Rachel Moore from Pixabay