Category: England
The new SARS-CoV-2 variant is growing rapidly, is more transmissible, and affecting a greater proportion of under 20s
Greater transmission : The new variant has a transmission advantage of 0.4 to 0.7 in reproduction number compared to the previously observed strain. More...
UK approves AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine
Britain on Wednesday became the first country in the world to approve a coronavirus vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca as it battles a major winter surge driven by a new, highly contagious variant of the virus. More...
Investigation of novel SARS-CoV-2 variant – Variant of Concern 202012/01
“Preliminary results from the cohort study found no statistically significant difference in hospitalisation and 28-day case fatality between cases with the variant (VOC-201212/01) and wild-type comparator cases. More...
Independent Sage: Place all regions of England in Tier 4 to suppress spread of coronavirus
Independent Sage:
#We believe that the government must immediately:
- Rescind a relaxation of the rules and ban household mixing on Christmas Day (apart from exemptions and pre-existing bubbles)
- Place all regions of England in Tier 4 to suppress spread of the virus as far as possible while scientists continue to learn more about the new variant.
SAGE: Keep UK secondary schools closed in January
SAGE scientists have urged Boris Johnson, the UK’s prime minister, to keep secondary schools closed in January because of concerns about a new, more virulent strain of coronavirus. More...
Estimated transmissibility and severity of novel SARS-CoV-2 Variant of Concern 202012/01 in England
“..the increase in transmissibility is likely to lead to a large increase in incidence, with COVID-19 hospitalisations and deaths projected to reach higher levels in 2021 than were observed in 2020, even if regional tiered restrictions implemented before 19 December are maintained”. More...
B.1.1.7 Coronavirus mutation also reported in Iceland, Denmark, Belgium, Australia, Italy & Netherlands
“The governments of Australia, Italy and the Netherlands say they detected cases of the new strain. More...
Coronavirus mutation B.1.1.7 has probably long been in Germany. The problem is laboratories don’t look closely enough.
“Richard Neher, who heads the Research Center Evolution of Bacteria and Viruses at the University of Basel, explains: The increase in the infectivity of the variant is “primarily estimated from the rate at which it displaces other variants”. More...
Professor Devi Sridhar: “The UK situation with this new variant is not good”
More...From everything I can gather, the UK situation with this new variant is not good.
New UK coronavirus mutation N501Y ‘identified in September’. Also seen in Denmark and Australia
A World Health Organisation (WHO) official has said a new strain of coronavirus in the South East was identified in September. More...