Research teams discover new variants in US
Research teams at two universities announced Thursday they’d found a new variant of the coronavirus.
A research team at Southern Illinois University discovered a new variant that is specific to and dominant in the U.S., adding to the growing list of mutations such as those discovered in the United Kingdom and South Africa, the university said in a statement. “It’s here. We found it,” Keith Gagnon, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry at SIU, said. “It’s definitely home-grown and widespread, and we’re the first to characterize it.”
It could be more easily transmissible than other variants, and its impact on vaccines is uncertain, the university said.
Also, scientists at The Ohio State University have discovered a new variant that carries a mutation identical to the strain in the United Kingdom, but it likely arose in a virus strain already present in the United States.
Coronavirus deaths in the U.S. hit another oneday high at more than 4,300. The overall death toll has eclipsed 384,000, according to Johns Hopkins University. It is closing in fast on the number of Americans killed in World War II, about 405,000. The U.S. has more than 23 million confirmed cases.
What will COVID-19 look like in future? Maybe another common cold, study says
SARS-CoV-2 “could join the ranks of mild, coldcausing … human coronaviruses in the long run,” according to a model developed by Emory University and Penn State University scientists. The model, published Tuesday in the peer-reviewed journal Science, compares the virus to four common cold coronaviruses, plus the SARS and MERS viruses, which surfaced in 2003 and 2012, respectively.
Researchers determined from the model that if the coronavirus continues to circulate and most people are exposed to it from childhood, it could be added to the list of common colds.
Study authors concede the model makes some assumptions that are not known yet, but a take-home message is “the critical need for broad-scale vaccination may wane in the near term,” said study author Ottar Bjornstad, who teaches entomology and biology at Penn State University.
More college students got COVID-19 than children when returning to classes
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a study Wednesday that suggests COVID-19 transmission may be of more concern among college students than younger children going to school. The study, published in the agency’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, found that cases didn’t increase among pre-school and school-age children up to 10 years old in the summer and fall.
In contrast, cases increased significantly among ages 18 to 24 in mid-July and early September, “suggesting that young adults might contribute more to community transmission than do younger children,” the CDC said.
The agency concedes that cases are likely underestimated among children and adolescents, as asymptomatic infection occurs more frequently in these age groups.
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Faced with no-shows at immunization clinics and leftover doses, some Wisconsin hospital systems are offering vaccines to staff who do not work with patients. At least one – Advocate Aurora – has opened up appointments to all employees. At other health systems, employees listed as administrators or public relations specialists have received vaccines, according to social media posts. Wisconsin is still finishing the first phase of its rollout plan.
The single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine is safe and generates an immune response, based on early stage clinical trials, according to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine published Wednesday.
The Vatican has confirmed Pope Francis received the first shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine Thursday. The 84-year-old has advocated that everyone should get the vaccine, calling it an “ethical option” performed not only for one’s own health but for the “lives of others.”
The Mississippi Health Department said the state cannot take any more appointments for vaccinations because of a “monumental surge” in demand after Gov. Tate Reeves announced that more people are eligible for the shots.
Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte said Wednesday he is removing pandemic mandates issued by his predecessor. Under the new rules that take effect Friday, restaurants, bars, breweries, distilleries and casinos will no longer be required to close at 10 p.m. and will not be required to limit capacity to 50%.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom is removing restrictions on vaccines for all residents 65 and older. Los Angeles County has already said that it will continue giving priority to health care workers. About 1 in 3 people in the county have been infected with COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic, officials said Wednesday.