Did new variant SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 spread during English lockdown?
Did the new SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 lineage spread during the English national lockdown? More...
S-variant SARS-CoV-2 associated with significantly higher viral loads
“This analysis suggests that patients whose samples exhibit the S-dropout profile in the TaqPath test are more likely to have high viral loads at the time of sampling. More...
Mink infected with coronavirus escapes Oregon fur farm
A mink caught outside a farm in Oregon in mid-December has tested positive for low-levels of the coronavirus. More...
Study demonstrates that Raccoon dogs are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection
“Our experimental study demonstrates that raccoon dogs are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection and can transmit the virus to direct in-contact animals.” More...
Experimental Infection of cattle with SARS-CoV-2 – “we demonstrated viral replication in two of the inoculated animals”
“We inoculated 6 cattle with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and kept them together with 3 uninoculated cattle. More...
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...
Little evidence of SARS-CoV-2 reinfection in study of 12,500 health workers
Antibody Status and Incidence of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Health Care Workers
“A total of 12,541 health care workers participated and had anti-spike IgG measured; 11,364 were followed up after negative antibody results and 1265 after positive results, including 88 in whom seroconversion occurred during follow-up. 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.