#Coronavirus #コロナウイルス Vol.36 (Omicron XBB.1.5 Variant)

久々になりますが以下ご参考まで貼っておきます。

Excerpts are on our own.

What COVID-19 variants are going around in February 2023? (02/15/2023) | @nebraskamed
Coronavirus36 What COVID-19 variants are going around in February 2023 @nebraskamed

 

 

 

 

 

 

Living Evidence – SARS-CoV-2 variants | @nswaci

SARS-CoV-2 variant rapid risk assessment report: XBB.1.5 (01/18/2023) | @NewsroomGC
excerpts – parts of a table
Coronavirus36 SARS-CoV-2 variant rapid risk assessment report XBB.1.5 @NewsroomGC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Expert insight: FAQ on COVID-19 subvariant XBB.1.5 (01/17/2023) | @SameerElsayedMD,@ConversationCA,@westernu
How likely is XBB.1.5 to cause serious illness?

Nonetheless, XBB.1.5 is perceived as being equally capable of causing serious illness in elderly and immunocompromised persons compared to previous Omicron subvariants of concern.
Are current mRNA vaccines effective against XBB.1.5?
XBB.1.5 and XBB.1 are the Omicron subvariants with the greatest immune-evasive properties. Therefore, one of the most contentious issues surrounding XBB.1.5 relates to the degree of protection afforded by currently available mRNA vaccines, including the latest bivalent booster formulations.
Researchers from the University of Texas determined that first-generation and bivalent mRNA booster vaccines containing BA.5 result in lacklustre neutralizing antibody responses against XBB.1.5. A report (yet to be peer reviewed) from investigators at the Cleveland Clinic found that bivalent vaccines demonstrate only modest (30 per cent) effectiveness in otherwise healthy non-elderly people when the variants in the vaccine match those circulating in the community.
Furthermore, some experts believe the administration of bivalent boosters for the prevention of COVID-19 illness in otherwise healthy young individuals is not medically justified nor cost-effective.
In contrast, public health experts from Atlanta, Ga. and Stanford, Calif. reported that although the neutralizing antibody activity of bivalent booster vaccines against XBB.1.5 is 12 to 26 times less than antibody activity against the wild-type (original) SARS-CoV-2 virus, bivalent vaccines still perform better than monovalent vaccines against XBB.1.5.
However, investigators from Columbia University in New York found that neutralizing antibody levels following bivalent boosting were up to 155–fold lower against XBB.1.5 compared to levels against the wild-type virus following monovalent boosting.
This suggests that neither monovalent nor bivalent booster vaccines can be relied upon to provide adequate protection against XBB.1.5.
How can you protect yourself against XBB.1.5?
The rapid evolution of SARS-CoV-2 continues to pose a challenge for the management of COVID-19 illness using available preventive and therapeutic agents. Of note, all currently available monoclonal antibodies targeting the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 are deemed to be ineffective against XBB.1.5.
Antiviral medicines such as remdesivir and Paxlovid may be considered for the treatment of eligible infected patients at high risk of progressing to severe disease.
Standard infection control precautions including indoor masking, social distancing and frequent handwashing are effective measures that can be employed for personal and population protection against XBB.1.5 and other subvariants of concern.
Although bivalent boosters may be considered for elderly, immunocompromised and other risk-averse individuals, their effectiveness in preventing COVID-19 illness due to XBB.1.5 remains uncertain.
Why is XBB.1.5 nicknamed ‘Kraken’?

Kraken COVID variant: All you need to know about the UK’s XBB.1.5 coronavirus strain (09/02/2023) | @ThomasaLing,@sciencefocus

COVID-19 Variants XBB and XBB.1.5: What You Should Know (02/07/2023) | @ReeveFoundation
What is BA.2?
… BA.2 is a sub-lineage of Omicron’s BA.1 (BA.1.1.529, BA.1.1, and BA.3). …(CDC) COVID-19 Data Tracker reported that approximately 74% of new cases were linked to the BA.2 subvariant. During the height of BA.2 new cases, WHO stated that the BA.2 subvariant was easier to transmit from one person to another than its “sister” subvariant BA.1. …
The BA.2 subvariant is known as the stealth Omicron variant because its genetic mutations make distinguishing it from the Delta variant difficult. Doctors, public health, and infectious disease officials noted that while BA.2 is more transmissible than BA.1, its symptoms are not more severe.
XBB
While new cases of BA.5 – and its subvariants BQ.1, and BQ.1.1, an Omicron subvariant, were reported in Europe and America, cases of XBB were increasing in other parts of the world. … There is, however, early evidence pointing at a higher reinfection risk than other circulating Omicron sublineages.”
Infection Risk of XBB
… early findings show XBB may have a higher infection rate than previous Omicron subvariants. Experts continue to study XBB’s reinfection rate.
Transmission Risk of XBB.1.5
The risk of being infected by XBB.1.5 is approximately 40% higher than other Omicron subvariants. People infected have a higher chance of passing on the virus to others. Further affecting the risk of becoming infected with XBB.1.5 is its ability to slip past previous defense measures. … XBB.1 was 63 times less likely to be neutralized by antibodies found in vaccinated and infected people than the BA.2 subvariant and 49 times less likely to be neutralized when compared with BA.4 or BA.5. Meaning these subvariants can evade vaccines and antibodies built up in your body from a previous COVID-19 infection. …
Prevention
Despite the increased risk of infection from XBB.1.5, you can still take steps to reduce your risk of infection or the effects of XBB.1.5. The CDC recommends people wear masks when indoors, especially in poorly ventilated or crowded places. The agency also has vaccines and booster shots guidelines on its COVID-19 page.

COVID Behaviors Dashboard | @JohnsHopkinsCCP
XBB.1.5: What you need to know about COVID-19’s ‘Kraken’ variant (01/17/2023) | @UCDavisHealth
Omicron BQ and XBB subvariants most resistant viruses to monoclonal antibodies (02/13/2023) | @NewsMedical
XBB.1.5 Omicron subvariant: Questions patients may have (02/02/2023) | @SaraTheIceBerg,@AmerMedicalAssn
Covid-19: What do we know about XBB.1.5 and should we be worried? | @emahase_,@BMJ_latest
Early Estimates of Bivalent mRNA Booster Dose Vaccine Effectiveness in Preventing Symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infection Attributable to Omicron BA.5– and XBB/XBB.1.5–Related Sublineages Among Immunocompetent Adults (02/03/2023) | @CDCgov
Bivalent Covid-19 Vaccines — A Cautionary Tale | @DrPaulOffit,@NEJM

#Coronavirus #コロナウイルス Vol.35(BA.5 subvariant of Omicron)

All the below links are in English. Excerpts are on our own.

ご参考まで取り急ぎ以下貼っておきます。

If you were infected with the original Omicron, you don’t have ‘a lot of good protection against BA.4 and BA.5,’ Fauci says (07/13/2022) | @ErinMPrater,@FortuneMagazine

… “It’s very, very clear that immunity wanes, whether that’s immunity following infection or immunity following vaccine,” Fauci said at a White House COVID-19 press briefing. “We have good data now that if you were infected with BA.1, you really don’t have a lot of good protection against BA.4 and BA.5.”
… No significant new COVID variants have been seen since, with subvariants of Omicron—including so-called “stealth Omicron” BA.2, BA.2.12.1, and currently dominant BA.4 and BA.5 …

If you’ve had COVID in the past but haven’t had BA.5 or BA.4, coming down with one of the two is possible, if not likely—even if you’ve had another version of Omicron in the past, …
Fortune reported in May that you can expect to get COVID about once every year, based on modeling projections. At that time, the dominant variants in the U.S. were BA.2 and spin-off BA.2.12.1.
Just two months later, BA.2 has been all but banished by stealth Omicron spinoff BA.5 with help from its close sibling, BA.4. …
Those who had BA.1 were unlikely to get reinfected with BA.2 because they were enough alike, Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, recently told Fortune.
But someone who had a previous version of Omicron is “very likely” to get reinfected with BA.4 or BA.5, …

BA.5 takes some of Omicron’s worst traits—transmissibility and immune evasion—to a new level.
But it also combines them with a penchant for affecting the lungs reminiscent of the Delta variant that hit the U.S last summer and fall, according to two recent studies.
In the case of Delta, COVID tended to accumulate in and affect the lungs, potentially resulting in more severe disease. Until recently, a silver lining of Omicron has been its tendency to instead accumulate in the upper respiratory tract, causing symptoms more similar to a cold or the flu.
BA.5 is different, according to a study published June 10 on medRxiv, a Yale– and British Medical Journal–affiliated website that publishes studies not yet certified by peer review. Recent reports show BA.5 shifting back to the lower respiratory tract—at least in animal models—“with a potential increase in disease severity and infection within lung tissue,” researchers from Australia’s Kirby Institute wrote. They referenced another May preprint study that found BA.5 and close relative BA.4 replicate more efficiently in the alveoli of human lungs than so-called stealth Omicron, BA.2.
“BA.5 not only gives the virus greater antibody evasion potential, but concurrently has changed [where it tends to accumulate], along with an increased transmission potential in the community,” the Kirby Institute authors write.
The scenario calls to mind the term Deltacron, which referred to a Delta-Omicron hybrid identified in the U.S. this spring that never took off. …
“The ability to infect cells for BA.5 is more akin to Delta than the previous Omicron family of variants,” Topol wrote. …

Dr. Fauci explains why new BA.5 subvariant is concerning (Video; 07/13/2022) | @NewDay,@CNN

Here’s What You Should Know About BA.5 Symptoms and Severity as Cases Surge (07/13/2022) | @hannahsmothers_,@SELFmagazine
If you’re reaching for your mask again (or you never stopped wearing it in the first place), we don’t blame you. … Hotspots have emerged in the Northeast and Midwest, according to a New York Times analysis, but COVID-19 cases are on the rise nationwide.
… In short: yes. “BA.5 gets an A-plus for contagiousness,” William Shaffner, MD, a professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, tells SELF. “It’s more transmissible than its parent, omicron, which makes it about as transmissible as our most contagious viruses. There have been some of my colleagues who compared it to measles, to which we give the gold medal.”
… He likens COVID-19 reinfection to a “relatively minor illness, like a bad cold” for the average, healthy person—but the symptoms can greatly vary from person to person, and even reinfection can potentially cause severe illness. It’s not yet clear whether health issues compound with each COVID infection a person has, but a preliminary study suggests that people who’ve been infected more than twice are at increased risk of severe illness or death. And every COVID infection carries the risk of developing long COVID, per the CDC.
… some people have shared that recent symptoms mimic those of meningitis, such as stiff neck and a severe headache. …
Everyone is different. While one person may have a high fever and severe headache, another may have mild cold symptoms and no fever at all. It’s also not yet clear if BA.5 causes a loss of taste or smell…
The important takeaway: If you start feeling sick, assume it could be a COVID infection, especially because a new, highly infectious strain is circulating. Your first test could come back negative, but it’s important to keep testing. The CDC notes it often takes several days post-exposure for a COVID infection to return a positive test.

Is omicron subvariant BA.5 the ‘worst’ version of COVID yet? Here’s what we know (07/13/2022) | @julia_marnin,@newsobserver

… Dr. Eric Topol, founder and director of Scripps Research Translational Institute, described it as such in a report about the subvariant’s “takeover” in late June. “This version of the virus has caused a lot of trouble, more than other Omicron subvariants,”…

The subvariant was characterized as “a whole different animal” by UC Davis Health because it is “most easily transmissible” and has a capacity to “evade previous immunity from COVID infection and vaccination.”
It was found that BA.5 and another newer omicron subvariant, BA.4, were four times more resistant to antibody protection offered by COVID-19 vaccines compared to BA.2, according to research published July 5 in the journal Nature. …
In Topol’s report, he wrote that BA.5 and BA.4 are the “most immune-evasive variants,” based on recent studies, but BA.5 is the most transmissible of the omicron lineage.
He said BA.5 “takes immune escape, already extensive, to the next level, and, as a function of that, enhanced transmissibility, well beyond Omicron (BA.1) and other Omicron family variants that we’ve seen (including BA.1.1, BA.2, BA.2.12.1, and BA.4).”…
Dr. Nicole Van Groningen, of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, told KTLA that BA.5 “tends to have this capacity for reinfection”…

… Some symptoms of omicron, according to the CDC, include:
Cough; Fever; Fatigue; Breathing troubles; Runny nose; Congestion; Sore throat; Gastrointestinal issues; Body aches; Headache
… less likely to lose their senses of taste and smell, or to experience shortness of breath, …

… A preprint study published May 26 in BioRxiv found that BA.5 and BA.4 spread more rapidly in human lung cells compared to BA.2. …

The COVID Subvariant BA.5 – How to Protect Yourself From the Highly Infectious COVID-19 Variant (YouTube; 07/12/2022) | @UCDavisHealth

Does the COVID vaccine protect against BA.5 variant? A California doctor answers (07/13/2022) | @sacbee_news

… Dr. Eric Topol, founder and director of Scripps Research Translational Institute, called the new subvariant “the worst version of the virus that we’ve seen” in an online post in June. He cited its advanced ability to escape immunity and high transmission, in contrast to the original omicron and its family variants, including BA.2 and BA.4. …

According to a UC Davis Health news release, BA.5 is a “whole different animal.” It’s the most easily transmissible variant and can evade previous immunity from both infections and vaccinations. …

To prevent infection from BA.5, consider re-employing safety measures. Cohen said the practices from the beginning of the pandemic, including masking, not gathering in large groups and social distancing, likely still serve a significant purpose in preventing infection.

BA.5, Chapter 2 (07/11/2022) | @EricTopol
Coronavirus35 BA.5, Chapter 2 @EricTopol

With BA.5, are you more likely to lose your sense of smell? (07/14/2022) | @kaitsulliva,@NBCNews
… Dr. Lauren Roland, a rhinologist at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, said it’s too soon to say for sure if BA.5 is causing more cases of anosmia — complete loss of smell — than the original omicron variant. …

How worried should I be about BA.5, on a scale of 1 to 10? We asked 4 leading COVID experts for their rating (07/13/2022) | @Hilarx,@businessinsider

“If you were infected with BA.1, you really don’t have a lot of good protection against BA.4/5,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, …

“I can’t answer that,” Dr. Celine Gounder, an infectious-disease expert and the editor at large for public health at Kaiser Health News, said. “Because it depends on your vaccination status, your age, your health, your occupation, your living situation, etc., etc.” …

Dr. Preeti Malani, an infectious-disease physician at the University of Michigan, was willing to give a hard and fast number. “I’d say 3 out of 10,” she said, expressing mild concern about the new variant.
“BA.5 is everywhere, and if you haven’t gotten it yet, the odds are pretty” good you will,” Malani said, adding: “But if you are up to date on vaccines, the illness should be mild and without major medical consequences.”
While there’s a “high risk of exposure” to this variant, she said there were also “lots of reasons to be hopeful.” Early treatment with Paxlovid is now free for all Americans who may need it.
“With home testing and rapid connection to treatment (for those at risk of complicated infection), COVID is manageable,” Malani said.

… For those who aren’t up to date on shots, and who don’t have a COVID-19 action plan, outcomes could be bad. The European Union earlier this week released new recommendations for a second booster for all adults 60 and older, in line with what the US already recommends.
“We are currently seeing increasing COVID-19-case notification rates and an increasing trend in hospital and ICU admissions and occupancy in several countries, mainly driven by the BA.5 sublineage of Omicron,” Dr. Andrea Ammon, the director of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, said.

Katelyn Jetelina, a public-health expert who runs the popular Your Local Epidemiologist blog wasn’t willing to give a single number for the entire US. She said the risk was too variable right now, based on where you live. …

… But like all risk calculations, “the number is different based on who it is being applied to,” as Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said.
“If it is a fresh lung-transplant patient, the number would be 10. For a healthy 18-year-old, it would be 0,” he said. “Risk is not one-size-fits-all.”

Omicron subvariant BA.5 highly transmissible in US (YouTube; 07/12/2022) | @GMA,@ABC
What you need to know about new Omicron offshoot (YouTube; 07/12/2022) | @CNN

What to Know About BA.5, Omicron’s Newest Subvariant (07/13/2022) | @CNETNews
Omicron and BA.5: A Guide to What We Know (07/06/2022) | @YaleMedicine
SARS-CoV-2 Variant Classifications and Definitions | @CDCgov

Recent articles about Japan 日本関連英文記事 Vol.43


https://twitter.com/LionelFatton/status/1504105561259921413
 https://twitter.com/IdeallyaNews/status/1502177537551527942


https://twitter.com/SenatorCantwell/status/1502453610143272963
 https://twitter.com/mit_obe/status/1502523385183494144
https://twitter.com/visegrad24/status/1500827047362449408
https://twitter.com/visegrad24/status/1499146022400020493
 https://twitter.com/W7VOA/status/1502073014514503692
 https://twitter.com/DefenseNigeria/status/1502136648976728064


 https://twitter.com/VivekGRamaswamy/status/1501602391954706438


 https://twitter.com/HakeerK/status/1502607964485853184


https://twitter.com/RusEmbassyJ/status/1502119104429576195

Recent articles about Japan 日本関連英文記事 Vol.37(incl Omicron variant, Tonga eruption オミクロン株、トンガ噴火含む)


cf. World Vol.224 (Tonga eruption)


https://twitter.com/bernamaradio/status/1482555970564009987


https://twitter.com/SeismoSue/status/1482804929387454469


https://twitter.com/wef/status/1379071327043252226


https://twitter.com/la_resistensia_/status/1457736995912962051

#Coronavirus #コロナウイルス Vol.34(Omicron variant オミクロン株 – treatments, etc. 治療薬など)

All the below links are in English. Excerpts are on our own.

ご参考まで取り急ぎ以下貼っておきます。

cf.
World Vol.215 (coronavirus – Omicron variant)
UK Vol.189 (coronavirus – Omicron variant)

Pfizer Shares In Vitro Efficacy of Novel COVID-19 Oral Treatment Against Omicron Variant (01/18/2022) | @Pfizer
…the in vitro efficacy of nirmatrelvir, the active main protease (Mpro) inhibitor of PAXLOVID (nirmatrelvir [PF-07321332] tablets and ritonavir tablets), is maintained against the SARS-CoV-2 variant Omicron. …PAXLOVID has the potential to maintain plasma concentrations many-fold times higher than the amount required to prevent Omicron from replicating in cells. …
…PAXLOVID reduced risk of hospitalization or death by nearly 90% compared to placebo for high-risk patients when treated within five days of symptom onset…
Current VoCs * can be resistant to treatments that work by binding to the spike protein found on the surface of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. PAXLOVID, however, works intracellularly by binding to the highly conserved Mpro of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Previous data have also indicated that PAXLOVID maintains in vitro efficacy against earlier and current VoCs, including Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Lambda, and Mu.
PAXLOVID is currently authorized for conditional or emergency use in several countries across the globe. Pfizer has submitted applications for regulatory approval or authorization to multiple regulatory agencies and anticipates further regulatory decisions to follow.
* VoCs = variants of concern

‘There are very limited treatments’: COVID outpatient treatments evaporate with omicron (w Video; 01/17/2022) | @WLWT
… The oral COVID-19 treatments from Pfizer and Merck are expected to be effective in treating outpatients, but manufacturing hasn’t ramped up to the point that the pill-form treatments are readily available. …

‘Omicron patients under 60 with no comorbidities can start symptomatic treatment with paracetamol’ (01/18/2022) | @IndianExpress
…a 30 per cent hospitalisation risk reduction with the use of molnupiravir. If someone above the age of 50 has a consistent fever for two days alongside two or three comorbidities, the doctor might prescribe them these antivirals. …
…there is no need to worry as these pills are not prescribed to children below the age of 18, or to patients who require hospitalization, or to pregnant women. “The pill must be administered within 72 hours of the onset of symptoms for patients in the high-risk population group, namely, hypertensives, diabetics, people on immunosuppressed medication, senior citizens, people with other ailments etc.”…

WHO adds new drugs to COVID treatments amid Omicron surge (14/01/2022) | @AJEnglish
… The drug baricitinib, which is also used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, is “strongly recommended” for patients with severe or critical COVID-19, in combination with corticosteroids…
The panel also gave a “conditional recommendation” for sotrovimab, an experimental monoclonal antibody treatment, for those with non-severe COVID-19 but at the very highest risk of hospital admission. Monoclonal antibodies are lab-created compounds that mimic the body’s natural defence mechanism. …
The “guidance adds to previous recommendations for the use of interleukin-6 receptor blockers and systemic corticosteroids for patients with severe or critical covid-19; conditional recommendations for the use of casirivimab-imdevimab (another monoclonal antibody treatment) in selected patients; and against the use of convalescent plasma, ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine in patients with covid-19 regardless of disease severity,” the WHO said in a statement. …
Baricitinib is produced by United States pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly, and while generic versions are available in India and Bangladesh, patents are in force in many other countries including Brazil and Indonesia. …
“The possibilities for providing high-level intensive care are limited, so saving more lives of people with severe and critical infections relies heavily on having access to affordable medicines that we can add to the steroids, oxygen and close supportive care that we already provide in our projects. As new treatments emerge, it will be simply inhumane if they remain unavailable in resource-limited settings, just because they are patented and too expensive.”
The WHO added what it said were “lifesaving” interleukin-6 receptor blockers to its list of treatments for COVID-19 last July. It recommended the use of corticosteroids in September 2020.
In recent weeks, government regulators have also approved new oral treatments for the disease, including Paxlovid, Pfizer’s antiviral pill, which showed close to 90 percent efficacy in preventing hospital admission and death in high-risk patients. It also retained its effectiveness with Omicron, the company said.

WHO recommends two new drugs to treat COVID-19 (14/01/2022) | @WHO

Omicron: What you need to know about the COVID variant (01/18/2022) | @CBSnews
Will current medicines still work?
Spokespeople for Merck and Pfizer both say they believe their antiviral pills, which have been hailed as potential game-changers in the fight against the virus, will likely remain effective against Omicron. Pfizer’s drug, Paxlovid, and Merck’s, molnupiravir, were both granted FDA emergency use authorization in December.
Of the monoclonal antibody treatments currently authorized for COVID-19, only two drugs — one made by AstraZeneca and one from GlaxoSmithKline and Vir Biotechnology — appear to remain effective against Omicron.
The Biden administration recently lifted curbs on the distribution of monoclonal antibodies from Regeneron and Eli Lilly, pointing to “significant variability” in Omicron’s prevalence around the country and new guidelines published by the National Institutes of Health on prioritizing limited supplies of the drugs.
Regeneron said on December 16 it was working on “next generation” monoclonal antibodies that could effectively treat Omicron cases, acknowledging that its current antibodies “have diminished potency against Omicron.”

2 charts show how Omicron symptoms differ from Delta and past coronavirus variants (01/14/2022) | @businessinsider
Coronavirus Omicron 2 charts @businessinsider

 

 

 

 

 

 

What are the symptoms of Omicron? (w YouTube; 18/01/2022) | ZOE
… The top 5 symptoms in both periods were: 1. runny nose; 2. headache; 3. fatigue (mild or severe); 4. sneezing; 5. sore throat
…the PREDICT program… people who ate a high-quality diet, rich in plant-based foods, were 10% less likely to get COVID-19 and 40% less likely to get severe COVID-19 requiring treatment in the hospital. …

Omicron Variant: What You Need to Know | @CDCgov
Coronavirus Self-Checker | @CDCgov
Coronavirus: 14 Omicron symptoms ranked from most to least prevalent (01/19/2022) | @timesofindia
Why ‘mild’ COVID symptoms aren’t what you think they are (01/18/2022) | @Deseret
Am I asymptomatic, or do I just really not want to have Covid-19? A guide. (01/18/2022) | @voxdotcom
Here’s One Early Omicron Symptom You Should Watch for as Infections Climb (w Video; 01/15/2022) | @nbcchicago
Omicron: What We Know About the New Coronavirus Variant (01/03/2022) | @nytimes

US faces wave of omicron deaths in coming weeks, models say (01/18/2022) | @AP
COVID-19 Scenario Modeling Hub

#Coronavirus #コロナウイルス Vol.33(ivermectin, etc.)

All the below links are in English. Excerpts are on our own.

ご参考まで取り急ぎ以下貼っておきます。

Science and Technology Vol.70 (coronavirus drugs)

Why You Should Not Use Ivermectin to Treat or Prevent COVID-19 (03/05/2021) | @US_FDA
…The FDA’s job is to carefully evaluate the scientific data on a drug to be sure that it is both safe and effective for a particular use, and then to decide whether or not to approve it. …
There seems to be a growing interest in a drug called ivermectin to treat humans with COVID-19. Ivermectin is often used in the U.S. to treat or prevent parasites in animals. The FDA has received multiple reports of patients who have required medical support and been hospitalized after self-medicating with ivermectin intended for horses.
When Can Taking Ivermectin Be Unsafe?
The FDA has not reviewed data to support use of ivermectin in COVID-19 patients to treat or to prevent COVID-19; however, some initial research is underway. Taking a drug for an unapproved use can be very dangerous. This is true of ivermectin, too.
There’s a lot of misinformation around, and you may have heard that it’s okay to take large doses of ivermectin. That is wrong.
Even the levels of ivermectin for approved uses can interact with other medications, like blood-thinners. You can also overdose on ivermectin, which can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, hypotension (low blood pressure), allergic reactions (itching and hives), dizziness, ataxia (problems with balance), seizures, coma and even death.
Ivermectin Products for Animals Are Different from Ivermectin Products for People
… Moreover, FDA reviews drugs not just for safety and effectiveness of the active ingredients, but also for the inactive ingredients. Many inactive ingredients found in animal products aren’t evaluated for use in people. Or they are included in much greater quantity than those used in people. In some cases, we don’t know how those inactive ingredients will affect how ivermectin is absorbed in the human body. …

Fact check: Ivermectin is not a proven treatment for COVID-19 (08/14/2021) | @USATODAY
Ivermectin not proven to treat COVID-19
… Some limited studies have suggested ivermectin could help treat COVID-19. But other, more rigorous research has found little or no impact.
“The reason for the interest in ivermectin is that studies in the lab have shown it can block viruses from multiplying in experimental settings – i.e. in a petri dish – and so people hoped this would mean it could help treat COVID-19 in people too,” Dr. Denise McCulloch, an infectious disease specialist with the University of Washington’s School of Medicine, said in an email. “Unfortunately, the few high-quality studies that have been done to date do not demonstrate a beneficial effect of ivermectin when it is used in people with COVID-19.” …
A peer-reviewed meta-analysis of 15 trials, published in the July/August issue of the American Journal of Therapeutics, found that “large reductions in COVID-19 deaths are possible using ivermectin.” But experts told PolitiFact, an independent fact-checking outlet, that some of the trials the study included were not high-quality, and some of its authors were affiliated with a pro-ivermectin group. …
“To extrapolate from how much drug is needed to work in the test tube to how much is required to work in a human being against the virus makes these trials and all the meta-reviews published less than worthless – it’s dangerous,” Dr. Benhur Lee, a microbiology professor at Mount Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine, said in an email. …
Officials say drug should ‘only be used within clinical trials’
… The FDA said in April 2020 that people should not take ivermectin unless it’s “prescribed to them by a licensed health care provider and is obtained through a legitimate source.” The agency reiterated that position in March. …
Our fact-check sources

Column: Major study of Ivermectin, the anti-vaccine crowd’s latest COVID drug, finds ‘no effect whatsoever’(08/11/2021) | @latimes
Coronavirus33 ivermectin @latimes
Ivermectin, the latest supposed treatment for COVID-19 being touted by anti-vaccination groups, had “no effect whatsoever” on the disease, according to a large patient study.
That’s the conclusion of the Together Trial… …Edward Mills of McMaster…
… Its repurposing as a COVID treatment began with a 2020 paper by Australian researchers who determined that at extremely high concentrations it showed some efficacy against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID, in the lab. But their research involved concentrations of the drug far beyond what could be achieved, much less tolerated, in the human body. …
Mills said that his team’s Ivermectin trial was altered after advocacy groups complained that it was too modest to achieve the results they expected. The trial originally tested the results from a single Ivermectin dose in January this year, but was later changed to involve one daily dose for three days of 400 micrograms of the drug for every kilogram (about 2.2 pounds) of the patients’ weight, up to 90 kilograms. …

Flawed ivermectin preprint highlights challenges of COVID drug studies: The study’s withdrawal from a preprint platform deals a blow to the anti-parasite drug’s chances as a COVID treatment, researchers say. (02/08/2021) | @nature
… The paper summarized the results of a clinical trial seeming to show that ivermectin can reduce COVID-19 death rates by more than 90% – among the largest studies of the drug’s ability to treat COVID-19 to date. But on 14 July, after internet sleuths raised concerns about plagiarism and data manipulation, the preprint server Research Square withdrew the paper because of “ethical concerns”. …
Early in the pandemic, scientists showed that ivermectin could inhibit the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 in cells in laboratory studies. But data on ivermectin’s efficacy against COVID-19 in people are still scarce, and study conclusions conflict greatly, making the withdrawal of a major trial particularly noteworthy. …
Ripple effects
…Few therapies can claim such an impressive reduction in death rates. “It was a significant difference, and that stood out,” says Andrew Hill, who studies repurposed drugs at the University of Liverpool, UK. …
One of the authors of the meta-analysis, statistician Andrew Bryant at Newcastle University, UK, says that his team corresponded with Elgazzar before publishing the work to clarify some data. “We had no reason to doubt the integrity of [Professor] Elgazzar,” he said in an e-mail. He added that in a pandemic setting, no one can reanalyse all of the raw data from patient records when writing a review. Bryant went on to say that his group will revise the conclusion if investigations find the study to be unreliable. However, even if the study is removed, the meta-analysis would still show that ivermectin causes a major reduction in deaths from COVID-19, he says. …
Reliable data needed
… Carlos Chaccour, a global-health researcher at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health in Spain, says it has been difficult to conduct rigorous studies on ivermectin. That’s partly because funders and academics in wealthy countries haven’t supported them, and, he suspects, have often dismissed trials of ivermectin because most of them have been done in lower-income countries. Furthermore, says Rodrigo Zoni, a cardiologist at the Corrientes Cardiology Institute in Argentina, it is difficult to recruit participants because many people – particularly in Latin America – are already taking the widely available drug in an attempt to prevent COVID-19. …
Adding to the difficulty are conspiracy theories holding that ivermectin has been proven to work and that drug companies are depriving the public of a cheap cure. Chaccour says he has been called ‘genocidal’ for doing research on the drug rather than just endorsing it.
…Gideon Meyerowitz-Katz, an epidemiologist at the University of Wollongong in Australia…It’s not yet possible to assess whether ivermectin works against COVID-19 because the data currently available are not of sufficiently high quality…
Chaccour and others studying ivermectin say that proof of whether the drug is effective against COVID-19 rests on a handful of large, ongoing studies, including a trial in Brazil with more than 3,500 participants. By the end of 2021, says Zoni, around 33,000 people will have participated in some kind of ivermectin trial. …

Ivermectin: why a potential COVID treatment isn’t recommended for use: The antiparasitic drug was thought to be a potential treatment for COVID-19, but there isn’t sufficient evidence to recommend its use, despite widespread support online. (22/04/2021) | @gavi
WHAT IS IVERMECTIN?
… In humans, ivermectin is currently prescribed in tablet form to treat certain roundworm infections that cause illnesses such as river blindness. It may also be applied as a cream to control the common inflammatory skin condition papulopustular rosacea.
But ivermectin is most commonly used for veterinary parasitic diseases, especially gastrointestinal worm infestations. Consequently, it is readily available and relatively inexpensive. …
WHY MIGHT IT BE USED TO TREAT COVID?
… In early 2020, a paper was made public (before it was reviewed by other scientists) which showed ivermectin suppresses the replication of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, under laboratory conditions. This was one of many studies over the past 50 years to show that the antiparisitic drug could also have antiviral uses.
There appear to be two key ways in which the drug could prevent coronavirus replication. First, it could prevent the virus from suppressing our cells’ natural antiviral responses. Second, it’s possible the drug prevents the “spike” protein on the surface of the virus from binding to the receptors that allow it to enter our cells. Along with the anti-inflammatory actions apparent from ivermectin’s efficacy in rosacea, these may point towards useful effects in a viral disease that causes significant inflammation. …
WHY IS IT CONTROVERSIAL?
… A controversy subsequently blew up over an article by the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance, a group of doctors and researchers that lobbies for the use of ivermectin.
This article, summarising multiple small studies of the effects of ivermectin on COVID-19 patients, was provisionally accepted for publication in the journal Frontiers in Pharmacology in January 2021 but then rejected and removed from the journal’s website in March. The journal’s editor stated that the standard of evidence in the paper was insufficient and that the authors were inappropriately promoting their own ivermectin-based treatment. …
WHY ISN’T IT RECOMMENDED?
… More studies are underway. A large, multicentre trial began in February to determine the effectiveness of ivermectin as well as metformin (an anti-diabetes medication) and fluvoxamine (an antidepressant) in preventing COVID-19 disease progression. …

Ivermectin to be investigated as a possible treatment for COVID-19 in Oxford’s PRINCIPLE trial (23/06/2021) | @UniofOxford
EMA advises against use of ivermectin for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19 outside randomised clinical trials (22/03/2021) | @EMA_News
Don’t use ivermectin to treat COVID, Coast health officials warn after one hospitalized (08/13/2021) | @sunherald

#Coronavirus #コロナウイルス Vol.32(vaccine side effects, etc. ワクチン副反応など)

All the below links are in English. Excerpts are on our own.

ご参考まで取り急ぎ以下貼っておきます。

Global COVID-19 vaccine summary: Side effects | @mnt
Coronavirus32 vaccine-side-effects @mnt
Allergic reactions and anaphylaxis
Rarely, a person experiences an allergic reaction to one or more of the ingredients in a vaccine. They might develop hives or another type of skin rash, swelling, and respiratory symptoms.
A severe allergic reaction can lead to anaphylaxis, and it involves low blood pressure, nausea, and difficulty breathing, among other symptoms.
Anaphylaxis is an extremely rare side effect of vaccination. According to the CDC, around 2-5 people per million, or fewer than 0.001% of people vaccinated in the U.S. have experienced anaphylaxis afterward.
Allergic reactions to mRNA vaccines have been of particular concern, as they contain a chemical, called polyethylene glycol (PEG), that has never been used in an approved vaccine before. PEG is in many drugs that have occasionally triggered anaphylaxis. In these vaccines, it coats the mRNA molecule and supports penetration into cells.
There are similar concerns about the Janssen vaccine, which contains polysorbate 80, a chemical that is structurally related to PEG.
A study of data about allergic reactions to mRNA COVID-19 vaccines noted that most people who experienced anaphylaxis afterward had a history of allergies and this particular severe reaction.
The data suggest that there is a very low risk of anaphylaxis as a result of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. Regardless, the CDC recommends that vaccine administrators conduct prescreening for specific allergic reactions. These vaccines are safe for people with common allergies, such as to foods, pets, environmental elements, latex, and oral medications.
The CDC also recommends that anyone who has had an allergic reaction to one dose of a vaccine not receive a second dose of the same type of vaccine.
Frequency of side effects in women
Side effects appear to be more commonly reported in women than men. A study by CDC researchers shows that 78.7% of adverse event reports submitted during the first month of U.S. vaccination involved women.
Another study observed that females represented 15 out of 16 people with anaphylaxis after a vaccine.
These findings are in line with a 2013 study on the H1N1 vaccine during the 2009 flu pandemic, which found higher rates of hypersensitivity reactions among females of childbearing age than other groups in the study population.
Reproductive hormones, such as estrogen and testosterone, may play a role in this sex discrepancy. A study in mice suggests that estrogen causes the body to generate more antibodies, leading to a higher immune response.
Potential side effects per vaccine
Recently, there have been new concerns about serious side effects of COVID-19 vaccines.
These effects may be coincidental, and there is currently not enough conclusive evidence to link these effects to specific vaccines. However, regulatory agencies are taking precautionary measures to investigate these safety concerns.
Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna
The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are both two-dose mRNA vaccines. People have reported similar, common side effects after the second doses of each.
These COVID-19 vaccines are the first vaccines approved for use in humans that incorporate mRNA technology. As a result, there are concerns about the long-term effects and a risk of altering the body’s genetic information.
People may be unaware that researchers have spent many years studying the potential of mRNA vaccine technology. There have been efforts to develop mRNA vaccines in the past, including Moderna’s human-based trial of an mRNA Zika virus vaccine.
Furthermore, it is unlikely that an mRNA vaccine can alter genetic information. The mRNA in a vaccine does not enter the nucleus of a cell, where DNA is stored, and it degrades rather quickly in the body after it serves its purpose.
Yet many were alarmed by reports from Norway that 23 people had died shortly after receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. However, there is no evidence that these deaths were a direct result of the vaccine.
“There is a possibility that these common adverse reactions – that are not dangerous in fitter, younger patients and are not unusual with vaccines -may aggravate underlying disease in the elderly,” suggests Dr. Steinar Madsen, the medical director of the Norwegian Medicines Agency.
“We are now asking for doctors to continue with the vaccination, but to carry out extra evaluation of very sick people whose underlying condition might be aggravated by it,” he adds.
Another death, which occurred in the U.S., was associated with having a low blood platelet count, or thrombocytopenia. So far, 20 thrombocytopenia cases have developed following either a Pfizer or Moderna vaccination. Currently, however, no causal evidence links these cases with the vaccines.
Other concerns involve pregnancy and fertility. According to a February 2021 statement from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine:
“While fertility was not specifically studied in the clinical trials of the vaccine, no loss of fertility has been reported among trial participants or among the millions who have received the vaccines since their authorization, and no signs of infertility appeared in animal studies. Loss of fertility is scientifically unlikely.”…
In the patient fact sheets, the FDA states that, for people who experienced myocarditis or pericarditis after their vaccine, “symptoms began within a few days following receipt of the second dose” of an mRNA vaccine.
However, the federal agency also adds …

COVID-19: Vaccine safety and side effects | @GovCanHealth
Allergic reactions
There’s a small chance of a serious allergic reaction to a vaccine, called anaphylaxis. It usually happens shortly after a person receives the vaccine and is treatable.
Your health care provider will ask you to stay at the clinic for at least 15 minutes after vaccination. This is so they can watch for abnormal or very rare reactions (like anaphylaxis) and treat them quickly. Vaccination sites should have a supply of epinephrine to use in case you have an allergic reaction.
Signs and symptoms of anaphylaxis may include:
・itchy rash
・swelling of the: lips, face, airway, tongue
・increased heart rate
・loss of consciousness
・sudden low blood pressure
・abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea
・sneezing, coughing and difficulty breathing

Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine: What you should know | @GovCanHealth
Ingredients
Medicinal ingredient
・mRNA
Non-medicinal ingredients
・ALC-0315 = ((4-hydroxybutyl)azanediyl)bis(hexane-6,1-diyl)bis(2-hexyldecanoate)
・ALC-0159 = 2-[(polyethylene glycol)-2000]-N,N-ditetradecylacetamide
・1,2-Distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine
・cholesterol
・dibasic sodium phosphate dihydrate
・monobasic potassium phosphate
・potassium chloride
・sodium chloride
・sucrose
・water for injection

How it works
mRNA vaccines teach our cells how to make a protein that will trigger an immune response without using the live virus that causes COVID-19. Once triggered, our body then makes antibodies. These antibodies help us fight the infection if the real virus does enter our body in the future.
‘RNA’ stands for ribonucleic acid, which is a molecule that provides cells with instructions for making proteins. Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines contain the genetic instructions for making the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, which is found on the surface of the virus that causes COVID-19.
When a person is given the vaccine, their cells will read the genetic instructions like a recipe and produce the spike protein. After the protein piece is made, the cell breaks down the instructions and gets rid of them.
The cell then displays the protein piece on its surface. Our immune system recognizes that the protein doesn’t belong there and begins building an immune response and making antibodies.
Moderna COVID-19 vaccine: What you should know | @GovCanHealth
Ingredients
Medicinal ingredient
・mRNA
Non-medicinal ingredients
・1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DSPC)
・acetic acid
・cholesterol
・lipid SM-102
・polyethylene glycol (PEG) 2000 DMG
・sodium acetate
・sucrose
・tromethamine
・tromethamine hydrochloride
・water for injection
How it works
mRNA vaccines teach our cells how to make a protein that will trigger an immune response without using the live virus that causes COVID-19. Once triggered, our body then makes antibodies. These antibodies help us fight the infection if the real virus does enter our body in the future.
‘RNA’ stands for ribonucleic acid, which is a molecule that provides cells with instructions for making proteins. Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines contain the genetic instructions for making the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, which is found on the surface of the virus that causes COVID-19.
When a person is given the vaccine, their cells will read the genetic instructions like a recipe and produce the spike protein. After the protein piece is made, the cell breaks down the instructions and gets rid of them.
The cell then displays the protein piece on its surface. Our immune system recognizes that the protein doesn’t belong there and begins building an immune response and making antibodies.

COVID-19 Vaccination Aftercare (PDF) | @CDCofBC
Is the COVID-19 Vaccine Safe? | @HopkinsMedicine

COVID-19 vaccines: Get the facts | @MayoClinic
What COVID-19 vaccines have been authorized and how do they work?
… Both the Pfizer-BioNTech and the Moderna COVID-19 vaccines use messenger RNA (mRNA). Coronaviruses have a spikelike structure on their surface called an S protein. COVID-19 mRNA vaccines give cells instructions for how to make a harmless piece of an S protein. After vaccination, your cells begin making the protein pieces and displaying them on cell surfaces. Your immune system will recognize that the protein doesn’t belong there and begin building an immune response and making antibodies.
The Janssen/Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine is a vector vaccine. In this type of vaccine, genetic material from the COVID-19 virus is inserted into a different kind of weakened live virus, such as an adenovirus. When the weakened virus (viral vector) gets into your cells, it delivers genetic material from the COVID-19 virus that gives your cells instructions to make copies of the S protein. Once your cells display the S proteins on their surfaces, your immune system responds by creating antibodies and defensive white blood cells. If you become infected with the COVID-19 virus, the antibodies will fight the virus.
Viral vector vaccines can’t cause you to become infected with the COVID-19 virus or the viral vector virus. Also, the genetic material that’s delivered doesn’t become part of your DNA.
What are the possible general side effects of a COVID-19 vaccine?
A COVID-19 vaccine can cause mild side effects after the first or second dose, including:
・Pain, redness or swelling where the shot was given
・Fever
・Fatigue
・Headache
・Muscle pain
・Chills
・Joint pain
・Nausea and vomiting
・Feeling unwell
・Swollen lymph nodes
You’ll likely be monitored for 15 minutes after getting a COVID-19 vaccine to see if you have an immediate reaction. Most side effects go away in a few days. Side effects after the second dose might be more intense. Some people have no side effects.
A COVID-19 vaccine may cause side effects similar to signs and symptoms of COVID-19. If you’ve been exposed to COVID-19 and you develop symptoms more than three days after getting vaccinated or the symptoms last more than two days, self-isolate and get tested.
What are the signs of an allergic reaction to a COVID-19 vaccine?
You might be having an allergic reaction to a COVID-19 vaccine if you experience these signs within four hours of getting vaccinated:
・Hives
・Swelling of the lips, eyes or tongue
・Wheezing
If you have any signs of an allergic reaction, get help right away. Tell your doctor about your reaction, even if it went away on its own or you didn’t get emergency care. This reaction might mean you are allergic to the vaccine. You might not be able to get a second dose of the same vaccine. However, you might be able to get a different vaccine for your second dose.

COVID-19: Vaccine side effects and reactions | @minhealthnz
Possible Side Effects After Getting a COVID-19 Vaccine | @CDCgov
Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines side effects and safety | @NHS
Package leaflet: Information for the recipient – COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine BNT162b2 concentrate for solution for injection (PDF) | @BioNTech,@Pfizer GOV.UK
COVID-19 Vaccine Side Effects Symptom Checker | @healthdirectAU
COVID-19 SIDE-EFFECTS | @nicd_sa
Here’s what we know about the risks of serious side effects from COVID-19 vaccines (06/01/2021) | @ScienceNews
COVID-19 vaccine side effects: What’s normal and what to look out for (06/30/2021) | @CNET
Side Effects of COVID-19 Vaccines | @WHO
COVID-19 Vaccine Side Effects | @yalehealth
Side-effects | @rivm

#Coronavirus #コロナウイルス Vol.31(Lambda variant, etc. ラムダ変異株など)

All the below links are in English. Excerpts are on our own.

ご参考まで取り急ぎ以下貼っておきます。

The unusual Lambda variant is rapidly spreading in South America. Here’s what we know. (07/14/2021) | @natgeo
… “Why Chile is getting such high infection rates is perplexing, and it’s likely due to several factors. Because of their high vaccination coverage, the restrictions were relaxed a little too soon, and that could have led to [a] rise in cases,” says Pablo Tsukayama, a microbiologist at Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia in Lima, Peru. It was Tsukayama who first spotted the Lambda variant after routinely sequencing the samples deposited between January and March 2021. “But it is also possible that the main variants in circulation, Gamma and Lambda, have some immune escape properties that lead to reduced protection from vaccines.” …
While Latin America has only eight percent of the world’s population, it makes up more than 20 percent of global coronavirus cases and 32 percent of COVID-19 deaths worldwide. …
What has changed in Lambda?
The Lambda variant is very unusual because of the way its spike protein is altered compared to other variants. It has mutations at 14 positions including a long stretch of seven amino acids which has been deleted from a region of the spike protein called the N-terminal domain or NTD. Beyond these, Lambda also has mutations in the ORF1ab gene that are found in other variants of concern: Alpha, Beta, and Gamma. …
The seven amino acids deleted from the NTD belong to an NTD supersite where the spike is attacked by many of the body’s potent antibodies. Many variants, including Alpha, Beta, and Gamma also harbor mutations within this zone, suggesting that this region is important for the evolution of the virus. “NTD is not crucial for carrying out important functions of the virus and thus, it is easy for the virus to mutate and still remain viable, so as to evade the existing antibody response,” …
Among other mutations of Lambda is a unique one at location 452 which is also mutated in other highly transmissive variants: Delta, Delta Plus, Epsilon, and Kappa. While Lambda’s L452Q mutation has never been seen before in a variant, scientists predict that mutations at the 452 position boost the ability of SARS-CoV-2 to infect a cell.
The 452 position occurs in the part of the spike protein that interacts directly with the ACE2 receptor protein found on the lung and other human cells, and that interaction allows it to enter the body. “The 452 position is recognized by many neutralizing antibodies. Mutations at this site could result in decreased binding and thus less protection by certain vaccines in certain people, those with marginal responses to start with,” says Michael Diamond, an immunologist at Washington University School of Medicine. …

Tracking SARS-CoV-2 variants | @WHO
Coronavirus30 Lambda-VOI @WHO

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s what you need to know about the lambda Covid variant (07/09/2021) | @CNBC
Coronavirus30 Lambda @CNBC

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 3 Simple Rules That Underscore the Danger of Delta (07/01/2021) | @TheAtlantic
SARS-CoV-2 Variants | CORONAVIRUS ANTIVIRAL & RESISTANCE DATABASE @Stanford
SARS-CoV-2 Variant Classifications and Definitions | @CDCgov
Confirmed cases of COVID-19 variants identified in UK (16/07/2021) | GOV.UK
SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern and variants under investigation in England (PDF; 25/06/2021) | Public Health England

Λ!!: A New Threat On The Rise In South America (07/16/2021) | @Forbes
COVID-19: The ‘unusual’ new variant that may be more infectious than Delta (07/05/2021) | @SkyNews
From transmissibility to severity: Everything you need to know about the lambda variant (13/07/2021) | @weforum
Lambda variant in Canada: where is it and will it become a variant of concern? (07/13/2021) | @CTVNews
Covid’s Lambda Variant: Worth Watching, but No Cause for Alarm (07/08/2021) | @nytimes
Lambda variant: What is it, what are the symptoms and is it in Ireland? (0707/2021) | @IrishMirror
Lambda coronavirus variant (07/07/2021) | @CSIRO
Coronavirus: New COVID-19 ‘Lambda’ variant has ‘unusual set of mutations’, appears to be more infectious than Delta (06/07/2021) | @NewshubNZ


U.K. イギリス Vol.36 / #Coronavirus #コロナウイルス Vol.30「英首相、ロックダウン解除予定を発表」

e-論壇 議論百出,GFJ (2021-07-11 21:02) ご掲載頂きました。

 ボリス・ジョンソン英首相は、7月5日、コロナウイルスに関するイングランドでの法的制限(ロックダウン)を19日に解除する予定であることを発表し、質疑応答も行った。英国Chief Scientific Adviser及びイングランドChief Medical Officerが同席し、質疑応答も含めて補足説明等した。12日に最終決定される。アメリカほか各国でも大きく報じられた。

解除内容、背景など *1(首相説明時点)
 イングランドで解除されるのは、マスク着用義務、集会人数制限、ナイトクラブ等営業停止、対人距離1メートル超維持、企業リモートワーク労働態勢義務などである。ウェールズ・スコットランド・北アイルランドではそれぞれの手順で同様の方向に進められる *2 旨も報じられている。英国の人口は6600万人、イングランドは5600万人、そして、ウェールズ310万人、スコットランド550万人、北アイルランド190万人。
 5日直近の新規感染者数は英国全体で25000人強と第3波が現在来つつあると言えなくもない。しかし、英国国民のうち3400万人が2回、4500万人が1回のワクチン接種を終えている。また、入院者数は、ビーク時(2021年1月)には40000人に迫っていたのに対して、現在1900人と落ち着いてもいる。
 他方、首相及び上記同席者2人は、新規感染者数が一日当たり50000人を超える等の場合には見直すことにも触れている。また、9月半ばまでに18歳以上全員が接種を終える等の計画、今年冬は再び厳しい感染等状況にも成り得る旨の見通しも述べている。

政権の考え方の変化
 見逃せないのは、首相は以前「打ち負かすべき敵」としていたが、今回この解除予定発表のタイミングで「ウイルスと共に生きて行く」と発言している *3 点である。そして、コロナ禍が過ぎ去ったと言うにはほど遠いとも言い、私自身はマスク着用を続けるとも繰り返している。*4
 与党保守党は歓迎の意向である一方、野党第一党労働党は無謀であると批判し、また、賛否それぞれの医師も居り *5、意見も出ている *6*7*8。この状況自体は毎度予想される範囲内のものであり目新しさは無い。ごく普通の庶民・大衆は実際どのように感じているかが今回非常に気になるが、12日以降や19日以降、そして今後の生活の中で個別具体的に出て来る、まだまだ先の長い話である。
 この今回の見所を具体的に掘り下げると、自己責任を基本とするミクロな自主管理主軸論への転換を英首相が示し、感染症等対策下での企業活動・生活様式のマクロな構築もまだ見えないが少しずつ進んで行くであろう一方で、英国国民がそれらにどう反応し対応して行けるかである。その際にも、政府は全てに全力で対応して行くという前提は変わらないのであろう。

新時代の自主管理
 生活・旅行・ビジネスや毎日の英語情報読み聴きで分かるが、日本人から見ると概ね、英語圏の方が変化が速く、生活環境自体は日本の方が快適ではないだろうか。言い換えると、失敗もあろうけれども英語圏の方が各種の新態勢を確立するのが早く、それを日本がゆっくりと追う形に今後もなりそうである。
 生活上の危険が増え過ぎると生きられないため、生活環境等が重要であるのは当然である。その意味で日本人的思考も即座に否定されるべきではない。反面、長期的な国民生活のために、大きな構造転換もひとりひとりの考え方の変化も必要となっている。
 日本が苦手とするこのマクロ転換、そしてそれと相互に影響し合うある意味日本人的ではない自己責任主義。これらが英国でどのようになって行くのか、日本にも大いに参考になるという目線で外国人として英国を注視して参りたい。

北米欧州豪NZ情報分析者/ワールドソルーションズLLC代表  中港 拓

参考
*1、*4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDxUU8bwwfc
*2、*3、*5 https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/pm-boris-johnson-u-k-must-live-with-covid-19-but-restrictions-can-ease-1.5496563
*6 https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/uk-news/covid-face-mask-law-petition-20996244
*7 https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/whats-on/shopping/more-150000-people-sign-petition-5626218
*8 https://www.politico.eu/article/boris-johnsons-freedom-problem-coronavirus-restrictions-lift-vaccine-passports/

#Coronavirus #コロナウイルス Vol.29(Delta variant, etc. デルタ変異株など)

All the below links are in English. Excerpts are on our own.

ご参考まで取り急ぎ以下貼っておきます。

Youth, Delta variant behind UK COVID surge (06/17/2021) | @CIDRAP
… In total, 135 of 108,911 swabs tested positive for COVID-19, for a weighted prevalence of 0.15%, up from 0.10% of swabs collected from Apr 15 to May 3. Northwest England had the highest prevalence (0.26%), while the country’s southwest region had the lowest (0.05%). Residents of socioeconomically disadvantaged areas were at nearly double the risk of testing positive, compared with those in less-deprived areas.
Young people are behind the surge, with a 5-fold higher rate of COVID-19 test positivity among children 5 to 12 years (0.35% prevalence) and adults 18 to 24 (0.36% prevalence) than in those 65 or older. People younger than 50 were 2.5 times more likely to be infected than older people (prevalence, 0.20% vs 0.08%), although the researchers noted that infections seem to be growing at a comparable rate in both age-groups. …
In early February, the link between COVID-19 infection rates and hospitalizations started to lessen, apparently due to vaccinations, only to reemerge in late April. When the researchers stratified data by age, however, they found that those 65 and older still had a lower association between infections and hospital admissions.
“We can take a lot of comfort in the fact that there does appear to be very good protection in the older age groups, where virtually everyone has been doubly vaccinated,” senior study author Paul Elliott…
… Delta has become dominant in the country, rising from 60% of positive COVID-19 tests at the beginning of the study to 90% by the end. …
… it’s very difficult to predict the duration of the exponential phase,” lead author Steven Riley… noting that extending coronavirus vaccination to younger people in the next month should slow the surge. …
… Riley adds, “Even though we are seeing the highest infection prevalence in younger people who are less susceptible to COVID-19, if this growth continues it will drive up infections in older, more vulnerable people, as the vaccines are not 100% effective and not everyone has been fully vaccinated. This would lead to more hospitalisations and deaths, and risks straining the NHS …
… a team led by University of Oxford researchers evaluated whether vaccines, monoclonal antibodies, or antibodies derived from COVID-19 survivors could neutralize the Delta variant’s B1617.1 and B1617.2 sublineages.
The researchers found substantial reductions in the ability of the AstraZeneca/Oxford and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines to inactivate the Delta variant, although the viruses weren’t broadly able to escape neutralization.
The ability of the Pfizer vaccine to neutralize the Delta variant dropped 1.34-fold between 4 and 10 weeks after the first dose, at which time the ability was nearly lost. “Recently in the UK some reduction in Pfizer-BioNTech effectiveness has been detected at 10 weeks, presumably as a result of waning immunity, leading to the recommendation that the second vaccine dose interval should be reduced from 12 to 8 weeks in those over age 50,” the authors said.
The researchers noted previous studies that found lower vaccine effectiveness against mild to moderate COVID-19 in countries in which Beta (B1351) was dominant, as well as against the Alpha (B117) variant first seen in England, although protection against severe illness was maintained.
Overall, convalescent sera was 4-fold less effective against B1617.1 and 2.7-fold less effective against B1617.2 than against an early strain from Wuhan, China. Still, convalescent sera containing antibodies against the Beta variant first seen in South Africa and the Gamma (P1) variant first identified in Brazil were the least able to inactivate Delta.
Data showed that the Delta variant’s affinity for ACE-2 was slightly enhanced compared with that of the Wuhan strain as well.
“Individuals previously infected by these variants may be more susceptible to reinfection by B.1.617.2,”…
The authors said that the true number of SARS-CoV-2 variants probably has been underestimated and that more variants of concern will continue to emerge. …
…”As the population develops immunity, by either natural infection or vaccination, pressure is mounting to select mutations that allow the virus to more effectively find an infectible host through increased transmissibility, or to evade the acquired immune response and cause reinfection.”…

UK Covid infections rise as Delta variant dominates (18/06/2021) | @BBCNews
… a single dose of vaccine reduces a person’s chances of catching coronavirus and needing hospital treatment by about 75%, even with Delta circulating in the UK.
And among people who had received the recommended two doses, the chances of catching and being hospitalised by coronavirus was reduced by more than 90%.
Of 806 people infected with the Delta variant who ended up hospital in England between 1 February and 14 June 2021:
527 (65%) people were unvaccinated
135 (17%) were more than 21 days after their first dose of vaccine
84 (10%) were more than 14 days after their second dose
As of 14 June, there have been 73 deaths in England of people who were confirmed as having the Delta variant and who died within 28 days of a positive test, and of these:
34 (47%) were unvaccinated
10 (14%) were more than 21 days after their first dose of vaccine
26 (36%) were more than 14 days after their second dose

Experts call for more sequencing after new ‘Delta plus’ variant identified (16/06/2021) | @Independent
… Referred to variously as the “Nepal variant”, the “Delta plus” variant or Delta AY.1, early data show this new lineage (B.1.617.2.1) allows the Covid virus to better resist antibody therapy treatments because it includes the K417N mutation – first found in the Beta variant that emerged in South Africa. …
From the data submitted by various labs across the world, we know the variant has been seen in Canada, Germany, Russia, Nepal, Switzerland, India, Poland, Portugal, Japan and the US. …
…the emergence of “Delta plus” and other new variants showed the need for regular genome sequencing to keep track of how the Covid virus is progressing.
He said the variant was “not a major concern immediately”. …

Five things we know about the Delta variant (and two things we don’t) (15/06/2021) | @gavi
Two weeks after receiving a second dose, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine appeared to provide 79% protection against infection with the Delta variant, compared with 92% protection against the Alpha variant…
…the number one symptom reported by app users with a confirmed infection has been headache, followed by sore throat, a runny nose, and fever. “Cough is rarer and we don’t even see loss of smell coming up in the top ten anymore…

About Variants of the Virus that Causes COVID-19? | @CDCgov
Coronavirus Variants of the Virus that Causes COVID19​​ @CDCgov

 

 

 

“Delta plus’ variant may trigger third COVID-19 wave in Maharashtra: Health dept (06/18/2021) | @EconomicTimes
New case of Delta Plus Covid variant detected in Bhopal (06/17/2021) | @EconomicTimes
Cause for worry’: Expert weighs in on immune escape potential of Delta plus Covid variant (06/17/2021) | @htTweets
Delta Variant Makes Up Nearly All New U.K. Coronavirus Cases (06/18/2021) | @usnews
Delta Variant Drives Huge COVID Spike in U.K. (06/17/2021) | @WebMD
WHO says delta Covid variant has now spread to 80 countries and it keeps mutating (06/16/2021) | @CNBC







What are the India, Brazil, South Africa and UK variants? (06/06/2021) | @BBCNews
… There are a few “India” variants, but one called B.1.617.2 appears to be spreading more quickly in the UK.
Surge testing is being deployed in some areas, including Bolton and Blackburn, to identify infections – but it may not be stopping the spread.
Second jabs for all over-50s (and the clinically vulnerable) in England are now being brought forward to protect more people, faster. Second doses will come eight weeks after the first, rather than 11-12 weeks.
Latest research suggests the Pfizer and AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccines are highly effective against the variant after two doses, but protection from one dose appears to be reduced. …
Coronavirus What are the India, Brazil, South Africa and UK variants @BBC

 

 

 

 

 

Covid-19 news: 99% of UK cases thought to be due to delta variant (06/18/2021) | @NewScientist
Covid variants: latest on the Indian, UK, South African and Brazilian variants (18/06/2021) | @TheBHF
Covid: Delta variant cases in the UK soar by 78% in one week (18/06/2021) | @Independent
COVID-19: Almost all of UK’s coronavirus cases are Delta as variant infections rise by more than 33,000 in a week (18/06/2021) | @SkyNews
Delta Variant Cases Soar in U.K. With More People Hospitalized (06/18/2021) | @bpolitics