‘UK strain may dominate in US by March’
LONDON: A new study warns of “further surges” in the US as the coronavirus variant first found in the UK becomes the dominant strain.
The B.1.1.7 variant is 35-40% more transmissible, the study says, and “will likely become the dominant variant in many US states by March, 2021, leading to further surges of Covid-19 in the country, unless urgent mitigation efforts are immediately implemented.”
The study was carried out by a team of virologists in the US in association with the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California. It echoed the same warning last month by the US Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention about the variant’s rapid spread. The variant has been found in at least 30 US states.
S Africa halts inoculation with Oxford-Astra shots There is no evidence that the Astrazeneca vaccine does not prevent death or serious illness, and South Africa has only imposed a temporary halt on using the vaccine, a British junior health minister said. South Africa said earlier it will put on hold use of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 shot in its vaccination programme after data showed it gave minimal protection against mild-to-moderate infection caused by the country’s dominant local strain of the virus.
“There is no evidence that this vaccine is not effective in preventing hospitalisation and severe illness and death, which ultimately is what we’re seeking with these vaccines today,” Britain’s Edward Argar told Sky.
“The dominant strains in this country are not the South African strain, there are a small number of cases of that, the dominant strains here are the historic one we’ve had, and then the Kent variant, against which this vaccine is highly effective.”
S Korean capital launches Covid tests for pets
Pet cats and dogs with a fever, cough or breathing difficulties will be offered coronavirus tests if they have been exposed to carriers, the Seoul metropolitan government said on Monday.
The programme in the South Korean capital comes weeks after the country reported its first case of Covid-19 infection in an animal, involving a kitten.
Tests will be limited to pets that show symptoms - like fever, coughing, breathing difficulties and runny noses - after coming into contact with humans who have tested positive.