Category: Covid-19

With an eighth wave of coronavirus circulating in Western Australia in recent weeks, many people are being infected with the virus again.

Unlike in years gone by when WA was in "state of emergency" mode, the rules surrounding the virus are less hard and fast and more reliant on people doing the right thing and "considering others".

So, if you find yourself feeling sick, what should you do?

That is the clear official health advice if you test positive for COVID-19.

The Health Department says you should stay home from work and events "until your symptoms have resolved" which could take up to 10 days or more, but "a minimum of five days is a good guide".

The Chief Health Officer, Dr Andy Robertson, issued a reminder last week that the virus is well and truly still around.

"Even if you're feeling better towards the end of end of it, it takes generally four or five days before you've cleared the virus and become less of an infectious risk," he said.

As well as avoiding close contact with anyone while infectious, people who test positive for COVID are also urged to inform anyone they have had close contact with recently.

Someone with the virus is most infectious during the two days before symptoms begin.

Anyone who has tested positive or who has been a close contact should avoid high-risk and healthcare settings including hospitals and care facilities for disability, mental health, and aged care for seven days.

In fact, masks are now a requirement for anyone entering a high-risk area of a hospital.

If you need to visit hospital or another health service for urgent medical care, COVID patients and close contacts are asked to inform the facility ahead of time.

Those employed in such facilities should tell their employer and check the rules for their workplace.

Select"Western AustraliaTop Stories"from either the ABC News homepage or the settings menu in the app.

Outside of those settings, taking work off for COVID-19 now generally carries the same protections for employees as any other sick leave they might or might not be entitled to.

But the Director General of WA Health, Dr David Russell-Weisz, urged anyone facing pushback from an employer to have a conversation about it.

"I think most employers are going to be pretty reasonable, and certainly not want you back at work and potentially taking out more staff with COVID," he said.

"And obviously, we all have a duty of care to elderly people, to people with chronic medical conditions, to make sure we don't put them at risk."

For some employers time-off for COVID-19 related illness may now require a medical certificate or statutory declaration as proof.

While you have COVID-19, WA Health encourages people to manage their symptoms with "rest" and "pain relief".

People can also make inquires as to whether anti-viral treatments are available or suitable for them.

And if symptoms become severe people should contact a GP or in an emergency ring Triple-0.

After recovering, most people should be okay within a few weeks' time but may feel more tired and have trouble concentrating for a period.

If you develop new symptoms 35 days after recovery, the chances are you have a new infection and should get tested again and go back to step 1.

Some people can also remain unwell and develop long COVID.

No.

The Chief Health Officer said there were no plans to reintroduce any mask mandates or restrictions in the broader community.

The requirement for people to wear masks in some hospital wards, which came into effect yesterday, was the first public health measure introduced since WA's 'state of emergency' mode ended in October 2022.

But unless cases surge dramatically and the health system becomes overwhelmed, compulsory masks wearing is off the table.

The Health Minister, Amber-Jade Sanderson, has renewed her call for anyone eligible to consider getting a COVID booster or vaccine to protect themselves and those around them.

Ms Sanderson said people should get a booster as soon as it is due, rather than necessarily waiting for the newest boosters which will cover more recent variants.

"I think early December is around when pharmacists and GPs will be able to access the new variant," she said.

"But if you're due for your booster, get your booster."

People are also urged to have some supplies ready at home in case they catch the virus and need to spend time isolating and resting.

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COVID-19 on the comeback what to do if you get sick in WA's eighth COVID wave - ABC News

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, genomic surveillance proved vital in helping us understand the evolution and spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Now, an international group of researchers is calling for its potential to be harnessed to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR), a major global challenge that could ultimately result in many more deaths than the coronavirus pandemic.

AMR already causes substantial sickness and death worldwide, responsible for approximately 1.27 million deaths in 2019. Some estimates suggest that by 2050, it could kill as many as 10 million people each year.

Professor Sharon Peacock at the University of Cambridgethe driving force behind the UK's pioneering COVID-19 Genomics UK Consortiumsaid, "Over the past century, antibiotics have transformed our ability to treat infection and illness and reduce mortality. But bacteria are becoming increasingly resistant, and with a limited pipeline of new antibiotics, we risk effectively returning to the pre-antibiotic era where we can no longer treat infections.

"When the world was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, we showed how powerful a tool genomic surveillance could be in helping us fight back. This work grew out of its increasing application to real-world problems such as detecting outbreaks in hospitals and in the communityincluding foodborne outbreaks. We now need to take what we learned from the pandemic including its bold and large-scale use and reapply it to the complex problem of AMR."

The genome, which is 'written' in DNA or RNA, consists of a string of nucleotides. Each time a copy of the genome is made, errors can arisefor example, one of the A, C, G and T nucleotides of DNA might get swapped. These changes allow scientists to create lineagesfamily treesshowing how the genome has evolved and spread. In the case of SARS-CoV-2, they allowed scientists to identify sources of infection, spot so-called "variants of concern" and see whether public health measures such as lockdown, travel restrictions and vaccination were working.

The potential to improve surveillance of AMR pathogens may be even higher than for SARS-CoV-2 as the genome data can detect and track outbreaks, provide a prediction for effective antibiotic treatment, reveal the mechanism for resistance including mutations and the acquisition of new DNA, and help understand the movement of resistance mechanisms between bacteria.

Although surveillance of AMR bacteria is already used in some settings, the growing evidence of its potential has largely not translated into routine use. Writing in The Lancet Microbe, a working group has set out how genomic surveillance could be applied to the problem of AMR more widely, including the barriers that need to be overcome, presenting a series of recommendations including building capacity, training of existing and new workforces, standardizing the way that surveillance is done to detect AMR, and agreeing equitable data sharing and governance.

The group was initiated by Professor Peacock in conjunction with Wellcome SEDRIC (Surveillance and Epidemiology of Drug Resistance Infection Consortium) and delivered by a team of nearly 100 experts co-led by Professor Kate Baker and Dr. Elita Jauneikaite. Five papers will be published in the same edition of the journal, highlighting the breadth of review and analysis undertaken by the team.

The series covers multiple areas for the application of genomic AMR surveillance including in hospital settings to help identify outbreaks and inform infection prevention and control and informing clinical decision-making at a patient level. They also highlight applications at a public health level to detect emerging threats and to design and assess suitable interventions like vaccination.

The potential exists to track AMR pathogens moving between humans, animals, and the environment. The team also considered future innovations in genomic surveillance of AMR, looking at how the next phase of genomic technologies and analysis methods might further transform the surveillance landscape.

A number of barriers will first need to be overcome, however. These include a lack of resources and political will, and the need for more training, particularly around bioinformatics (the analysis of genome data). There are also practical barriers, including in many countries a weak epidemiological surveillance and microbiology infrastructure, poor supply chains and pricing structures, and issues around effective cooperation and data sharing.

Professor Kate Baker, University of Cambridge, said, "We are on the cusp of realizing the full potential for genomics in tackling AMR, but there is still a lot of work that needs to be done. We need the scientific, public health and political communities to work together to make this happen. AMR is an urgent problem. It is not something that will happen in years to comeit is happening now."

Dr. Elita Jauneikaite, Imperial College London, noted, "We are going to be locked in an ongoing arms race with bacterial pathogens indefinitely. Genomic surveillance offers real promise to help us fight back, providing invaluable information to limit the spread and impact of AMR."

Professor Peacock added, "It was clear from the pandemic that sequencing was a vital tool that was needed in every country worldwide. AMR is a global problem and once again we need to make sure countries worldwide are in a position both to contribute to, and benefit from genomic surveillance data."

Janet Midega, AMR Research Lead at Wellcome and SEDRIC Board member, observed, "Genomic research and surveillance are pivotal to detect pathogens and understand the transmission and trends of drug resistance in both high- and low-income settings. In order to respond effectively to this data, we need to ensure that the tools being developed are accessible and can be utilized by public health agencies around the world."

More information: Baker, K, et al. Harnessing genomics for antimicrobial resistance surveillance, The Lancet Microbe (2023). DOI: 10.1016/S2666-5247(23)00281-1

Journal information: The Lancet Microbe

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Study: COVID-19 showed importance of genomic surveillance, which is now needed to fight antimicrobial resistance - Medical Xpress

LONDON Boris Johnson wanted to be injected with the coronavirus live on television at the start of the pandemic to show the virus did not pose a threat, the U.K.s official coronavirus inquiry heard Tuesday.

The claim came in a witness statement to the ongoing probe from Edward Lister, the then-prime ministers chief of staff from 2019-2021 and a trusted aide who also worked with Johnson as mayor of London.

He said Johnson suggested to senior civil servants and advisors that he wanted to be injected with Covid-19 on television to demonstrate to the public that it did not pose a threat.

Lister, now a Conservative member of the House of Lords, said the comments came at a time when COVID was not seen as being the serious disease it subsequently became, and described it as an unfortunate comment.

Noting that he was unsure of the exact timing of the comment, he said it was made in the heat of the moment.

Its the second time such a claim has been made about Johnson. Dominic Cummings Johnsons former top adviser who quit amid a row with the then-Conservative leader told a parliamentary committee in 2021 that No. 10 Downing Street officials had been concerned Johnson would tell cabinet colleagues this is swine flu, dont worry about it and Im going to get (Chief Medical Officer) Chris Whitty to inject me live on TV with coronavirus.

Johnson is yet to appear before the inquiry, where he will be quizzed on his governments response to the pandemic and will be given the chance to put forward his own version of events.

Read more:

Boris Johnson asked to be injected with COVID virus on TV to calm public, inquiry hears - POLITICO Europe

Thats good news as we enter the time of year when the spread of respiratory viruses, including COVID-19, kicks into high gear. Cameron Wolfe, M.D., an infectious disease specialist at Duke Health, said during a September news briefing that we typically see a larger spike of COVID-19 in January and February, especially. And I dont see any reason that wont be the case [again], he said.

Currently, COVID-19 hospitalization rates are holding steady. Even still, nearly 16,000 Americans are being hospitalized each week with COVID-19, federal data shows, and more than 1,200 Americans died from the coronavirus the week of Oct. 7.

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The best way to protect yourself from winding up in the hospital with COVID or worse, dying from the disease is to get vaccinated, Binnicker and other health experts say. Vaccine uptake, however, has been low since the new vaccines became available in mid-September. As of mid-October, 7 percent of Americans in a national survey reported getting the shot.

And thats just not high enough, Binnicker says. We need to have a higher percentage vaccinated because we are seeing patients with COVID end up in the hospital and on ventilators.

Older adults have been more likely to get the new vaccine than younger age groups. Data from the national survey, reported by the CDC, show that 15.4 percent of adults ages 65 to 74 received the new COVID vaccine as of mid-October; that share jumps to 20.5 percent when looking at adults ages 75 and older.

In addition to staying up to date with the vaccine, Binnicker says people who want to lower their risk of getting COVID-19 can wear a mask when theyre out in crowded public spaces, such as the grocery store. A good fitting, high-quality mask can help to block transmission of the virus. Also: Wash your hands often. Thats really important to help prevent spread as well, Binnicker says.

Having symptoms? Test yourself. If youre positive, you may be eligible for a prescription treatment that can help stave off coronavirus complications and time is of the essence with these medications. They work best when started in the first five days of the start of symptoms.

If your test is negative, try again in a few days. Binnicker says because many people have built up immunity from vaccination or previous infections, it can take longer for the virus to build up to detectable levels in the respiratory tract.

See the rest here:

What You Need to Know About the New COVID Variant, HV.1 - AARP

Topline

Efforts to combat tuberculosis are bouncing back from disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, but the ancient disease remains one of humanitys biggest killers and antibiotic resistant strains are a looming public health crisis, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday, urging politicians to follow through on commitments and consign TB to history books.

Approximately 1.3 million died from TBa bacterial infection that often attacks the lungslast year, the WHO said in its annual report on the disease, down from estimates of 1.4 million in 2020 and 2021 and almost back to the level of 2019.

The figure makes tuberculosis one of humanitys biggest killersa position it has occupied for much of human historyand in 2022 it was the second leading cause of death from a single infectious agent after Covid-19 and caused almost twice as many deaths as HIV/AIDS.

While global TB deaths have fallen by nearly one-fifth since 2015, the WHO said this is a far cry from the 75% reduction by 2025 it set out in its End TB Strategy.

Some 7.5 million people were newly diagnosed with TB in 2022, the WHO said, the highest figure on record since the organization began global monitoring for the disease nearly 30 years ago.

The WHO said the record number is likely from a sizeable backlog of people who developed TB in previous years but faced delays in getting treated and diagnosed due to disruption from the Covid-19 pandemic, which the organization estimates was responsible for an additional 500,000 excess deaths from the disease over the last three years.

The WHO acknowledges there is a notable gap between the number of people who are newly diagnosed with TB and the actual numbers developing TB. Such gaps mean the disease can keep spreading in communities and leaves people without treatment (the WHO said only two in five people who need it get treatment for TB). This gap narrowed to a best estimate of 3.1 million people in 2022, the WHO said, down from around 4 million for the two years prior and at around the same level before the Covid-19 pandemic in 2019. This means an estimated 10.6 million people developed TB in 2022, the report said, up from estimates of 10.3 million and 10 million in 2021 and 2020, respectively. The vast majority of new casesnearly 90%were in thirty countries. Of these, the report said eightIndia (27%), Indonesia (10%), China (7.1%), the Philippines (7%), Pakistan (5.7%), Nigeria (4.5%), Bangladesh (3.6%) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (3%)accounted for more than two-thirds of the global total.

Antibiotic resistant TB is a public health crisis, the WHO said, with an estimated 410,000 people developing multidrug-resistant TB or TB resistant to first line treatment rifampicin in 2022. Only around two in five of people with this were able to access treatment, and levels of diagnosis and treatment for this kind of TB are still below pre-pandemic levels from 2019, the report said. The success rate for treating drug-resistant TB was 63% globally in 2022, the WHO said.

75 million. Thats how many lives have been saved since 2000 due to global efforts to fight TB, the WHO said. This is despite large funding gaps between what is needed and available for TB efforts. For example, the WHO said $13 billion is needed for diagnosis and care in 2023 on the back of just $5.8 billion last year. There is also a $1 billion funding gap for research into TB, the report said.

For millennia, our ancestors suffered and died with tuberculosis, without knowing what it was, what caused it, or how to stop it, said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Today, we have knowledge and tools they could only have dreamed of. We have political commitment, and we have an opportunity that no generation in the history of humanity has had: the opportunity to write the final chapter in the story of TB.

The WHO urged countries to enact targets made earlier this year at the UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting on TB, which included reaching 90% of people in need with prevention and care services by 2027, as well as closing funding gaps and ensuring the availability of at least one new vaccine (the existing BCG vaccinethe only one approved for TBis one of the oldest and most widely used vaccines in existence but there is room for significant improvement). The WHO said progress towards new vaccines, treatments and tests for TB is constrained by funding but that there are a number of products in the pipeline. The WHO said it endorsed three new skin tests in 2022 and this year developed a guideline group to assess next-generation tests for drug resistant infections. As of September, the WHO said there were 16 vaccines undergoing clinical trials, four of which are in late stage Phase 3 trials, as well as 28 drugs undergoing clinical trials and at least 29 clinical trials evaluating models of drug delivery and treatment regimens.

Novavax Partners With Gates Foundation Offshoot In Efforts To Develop Malaria And TB Shots (Forbes)

Breakthrough For TuberculosisOne Of The Worlds Biggest KillersAs New Vaccine Shows Promise In Early Trials (Forbes)

I am a senior reporter for the Forbes breaking news team, covering health and science from the London office. Previously I worked as a reporter for a trade publication covering big data and law and as a freelance journalist and policy analyst covering science, tech and health. I have masters degrees in Biological Natural Sciences and the History and Philosophy of Science from Downing College, Cambridge University. Follow me on Twitter @theroberthart or get in touch at rhart@forbes.com

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Fight Against Tuberculosis Bounces Back After PandemicBut TB Remains One Of The Worlds Biggest Killers, WHO Says - Forbes

Katherine Wells wants to urge her Lubbock, Texas, community to get vaccinated against Covid-19. That could really save people from severe illness, said Wells, the citys public health director.

But she cant.

A rule added to Texas budget that went into effect Sept. 1 forbids health departments and other organizations funded by the state government to advertise, recommend, or even list covid vaccines alone. Clinics may inform patients that COVID-19 vaccinations are available, the rule allows, if it is not being singled out from other vaccines.

Texas isnt the only state curtailing the public conversation about Covid vaccines. Tennessees health department homepage, for example, features the flu, vaping, and cancer screening but leaves out Covid and Covid vaccines. Florida is an extreme case, where the health department has issued guidance against Covid vaccines that runs counter to scientific studies and advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Notably, the shift in health information trails rhetoric from primarily Republican politicians who have reversed their positions on covid vaccines. Fierce opposition to measures like masking and business closures early in the pandemic fueled a mistrust of the CDC and other scientific institutions and often falls along party lines: Last month, a KFF poll found that 84% of Democrats said they were confident in the safety of covid vaccines, compared with 36% of Republicans. Its a dramatic drop from 2021, when two-thirds of Republicans were vaccinated.

As new vaccines roll out ahead of the expected winter surge of Covid, some health officials are treading carefully to avoid blowback from the public and policymakers. So far, vaccine uptake is low, with less than 5% of Americans receiving an updated shot, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Wells fears the consequences will be dire: We will see a huge disparity in health outcomes because of changes in language.

A study published in July found that Republicans and Democrats in Ohio and Florida died at roughly similar rates before Covid vaccines emerged, but a disparity between parties grew once the first vaccines were widely available in 2021 and uptake diverged. By years end, Republicans had a 43% higher rate of excess deaths than Democrats.

Public health initiatives have long been divisive water fluoridation, needle exchanges, and universal health care, to name a few. But the pandemic turned up the volume to painful levels, public health officials say. More than 500 left their jobs under duress in 2020 and 2021, and legislators in at least 26 states passed laws to prevent public officials from setting health policies. Republican Arkansas state Sen. Trent Garner told KFF Health News in 2021, Its time to take the power away from the so-called experts.

At first, vaccine mandates were contentious but the shots themselves were not. Scott Rivkees, Floridas former surgeon general, now at Brown University, traces the shift to the months after Joe Biden was elected president. Though Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis initially promoted Covid vaccination, his stance changed as resistance to Covid measures became central to his presidential campaign. In late 2021, he appointed Joseph Ladapo surgeon general. By then, Ladapo had penned Wall Street Journal op-eds skeptical of mainstream medical advice, such as one asking, Are Covid Vaccines Riskier Than Advertised?

As bivalent boosters rolled out last year, the Florida health departments homepage removed information on Covid vaccines. In its place were rules against mandates and details on how to obtain vaccine exemptions. Then, early this year, the department advised against vaccinating children and teens.

The states advice changed once more when the CDC recommended updated covid vaccines in September. DeSantis incorrectly said the vaccines had not been proven to be safe or effective. And the health department amended its guidance to say men under age 40 should not be vaccinated because the department had conducted research and deemed the risk of heart complications like myocarditis unacceptable. It refers to a short, authorless document posted online rather than in a scientific journal where it would have been vetted for accuracy. The report uses an unusual method to analyze health records of vaccinated Floridians. Citing serious flaws, most other researchers call it misinformation.

Scientifically vetted studies, and the CDCs own review, contradict Floridas conclusion against vaccination. Cases of myocarditis following mRNA vaccines have occurred but are much less frequent than cases triggered by covid. The risk is sevenfold higher from the disease than from mRNA vaccines, according to an analysis published in a medical journal based on a review of 22 other studies.

Since leaving his post, Rivkees has been stunned to see the state health department subsumed by political meddling.

About 28,700 children and adults from birth to age 39 have died of Covid in the United States. Floridas anti-vaccine messaging affects people of all ages, Rivkees added, not just those who are younger.

He points out that Florida performed well compared with other states in 2020 and 2021, ranking 38th in Covid deaths per capita despite a large population of older adults. Now it has the sixth-highest rate of Covid deaths in the country.

There is no question that the rise of misinformation and the politicization of the response has taken a toll on public health, he said.

As in Florida, the Texas health department initially promoted Covid vaccines, warning that Texans who werent vaccinated were about 20 times as likely to suffer a Covid-associated death. Such sentiments faded last year, as state leaders passed policies to block vaccine mandates and other public health measures. The latest is a prohibition against the use of government funds to promote Covid vaccines. Uptake in Texas is already low, with fewer than 4% of residents getting the bivalent booster that rolled out last year.

At Lubbocks health department, Wells managed to put out a press release saying the city offers Covid vaccines but stopped short of recommending them. We arent able to do as big a push as other states, she said.

Some health officials are altering their recommendations, given the current climate. Janet Hamilton, executive director at the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, said clear-cut advice to get vaccinated against Covid works when people trust the scientific establishment, but it risks driving others away from all vaccines. Its important for public health to meet people where they are, Hamilton said.

Missouris health department took this tack on X, formerly known as Twitter: COVID vaccines will be available in Missouri soon, if youre in to that sort of thing. If not, just keep scrolling!

KFF Health News, formerly known as Kaiser Health News (KHN), is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF the independent source for health policy research, polling, and journalism.

Amy Maxmen | KFF Health News

Amy Maxmen | KFF Health News

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How lawmakers in Texas and Florida undermine Covid vaccination efforts - NBC News

Opinion

The opposite of impostor syndrome, this overconfidence led to terrible decisions during the pandemic. I recognise it from my time in cabinet

In her evidence to the Covid-19 inquiry, the former deputy cabinet secretary Helen MacNamara said that the narrow backgrounds of both ministers and civil servants meant they were taking decisions for the whole country without a real sense of the wider publics lives. She highlighted a lack of recognition of the inequalities that vulnerable and disadvantaged people face, alongside superhero egos and nuclear levels of confidence on the part of the decision-makers.

I recognised those points from my time in government, and I had a name for it: entitlement syndrome.

Entitlement syndrome is the opposite of impostor syndrome. When I became the secretary of state for transport in 2011, I sometimes felt as if I didnt belong, and my confidence in the role took time to build. This is normal, but I soon realised there were others in politics and the civil service who had varying degrees of the opposite mindset.

Entitlement syndrome is when people who have had the luck to start at the top, with resources and connections to navigate and avoid the pitfalls of life, mistake that as meaning, somehow, they are cleverer, more talented than others. In fact, had they started at the bottom like so many do, or even in the middle, Britains weak social mobility means theyd quite probably be stuck there too.

It is that misplaced sense of betterness, often accentuated by an education set apart from everyone elses, that drives the superhero ego and the nuclear levels of confidence noted by MacNamara. And it creates an unhelpfully narrow lens of what real life is actually like for other people. Overconfidence combined with weak insight leads to gung-ho and unrealistic decision-making. And when too many people with entitlement syndrome make decisions together, it creates a dysfunctional environment of groupthink that resists outside challenge.

Not everyone from advantaged backgrounds has entitlement syndrome. Ive had the privilege to work with outstanding people whove come from all walks of life, and talent really is spread evenly across our society. But those with entitlement syndrome dont get that. For them, if someone isnt getting opportunities its down to lack of talent, not lack of access which is something they have never experienced.

The problem is particularly rife in politics and government. As education secretary, I faced the challenge of getting crucial childrens services investment from HM Treasury civil servants, the least socioeconomically diverse department in Whitehall. Too often I felt officials had no individual or collective frame of reference to understand the lives of the children or families who rely on these vital services.

Its politically widespread too. Some entitled ministers version of life means that once theyve issued orders, its for others to do their bidding and its up to them to make the plan. Perhaps Matt Hancock genuinely assumed someone else had a Covid pandemic plan, as he repeatedly assured others.

But it wasnt just him and it wasnt just evident during Covid. As development secretary, prior to 2016, I recall joining a junior minister from a domestic department in an EU Council meeting, to find them making notes on a book of poetry instead of participating in the discussion going on around them. And during cabinet meetings, I occasionally had to listen to colleagues making barely relevant anecdotes from classical history or tangential cultural reference points, part of a bizarre, intellectual willy-waving contest the rest of us had to endure. It is a deliberately exclusive behaviour, detached from the wider world.

Entitlement syndrome feeds impostor syndrome in others because it penalises the latter for apparently displaying a lack of personal confidence when they rightly worry about getting the details right. Those with entitlement syndrome can challenge others, but are affronted when they face challenges themselves, as Dominic Cummings abusive, misogynistic messages about MacNamara showed. We can expect many more claims that other people didnt make good enough plans, and that everyone else was the problem, in the coming weeks and months of the inquiry.

Britains weak social mobility is our social norm. It persists because it hides in plain sight, and it only intensifies in the centres of power, fed by entitlement syndrome. It is an institutional problem not just an individual one.

The solutions are complex and long-term, but measuring socioeconomic background in our politics and government would provide transparency, and highlight where the biggest risks posed by entitlement syndrome are. It would target our efforts and, crucially, drive progress.

Better decisions need voices from all backgrounds, not just a narrow few. Entitlement syndrome drives suboptimal decisions and blocks social mobility, holding the whole country back. Perhaps finally giving it a name, and calling it out, is the first step towards changing that for good.

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Westminster is rife with entitlement syndrome. During Covid it cost lives - The Guardian

As we enter November the month that in the past three years has seen the start of a spike in COVID hospitalizations the Centers for Disease Control is recording minimal or low levels of respiratory illness in most states but notes an increase in jurisdictions with moderate or high levels.

Heres what to know about protecting yourself:

Vaccinations for COVID-19, flu and respiratory syncytial virus: A guide to the current vaccine options, including whether you should get two (or three) at once. Plus: Is it too late for a flu shot?

Masking requirements in the Bay Area: Santa Clara County and Marin County are requiring everybody to wear a mask in public areas of hospitals and other health-care facilities. Four other counties have requirements for employees only.

At-home COVID tests: You can get four more at-home test kits mailed to you free. Plus: Can I use an expired test?

How to know if youre contagious: A doctors advice on timelines and recommended precautions after infection.

Full coverage: All of our COVID-19 articles | CDC website on COVID, flu, RSV

View more on The Mercury News

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COVID and flu in the Bay Area: What you need to know this fall - The Mercury News

In a recent research paper uploaded to the bioRxiv preprint* server, researchers evaluated the virological characteristics of a novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV2) Omicron lineage named BA.2.86. They conducted epidemic dynamics modeling, experimental studies using current clinically available antivirals, and fusogenicity investigations using hamsters. Their findings revealed that relative to the globally dominant Omicron EG.5.1, the replication number of BA.2.86 is substantially higher.

Study: Virological characteristics of the SARS-CoV-2 BA.2.86 variant. Image Credit:ktsdesign/ Shutterstock

*Important notice: bioRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.

Encouragingly, four currently available antivirals could effectively treat the novel substrain, and the pathogenicity of the strain (in hamsters) was much lower than that of the parent BA.2 strain. Researchers attribute this reduced pathogenicity to low growth kinetics and decreased reproductive capacity.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) responsible for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has claimed more than 6.9 million lives since the beginning of the outbreak in late 2019. First identified in Wuhan, China, the virus is a positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus. The ancestral virus was a host of bats, but given its intrinsic high rate of mutation, a genetic spillover event resulted in its ability to infect humans with high pathogenicity.

The progenitor of human COVID, labeled ancestral type "A" by Western researchers, retained its parent's high mutation ability, resulting in thousands of variants of SARS-CoV-2 currently extant. Notably, the "B" type is responsible for the pandemic. Based on pathogenicity and susceptibility to vaccination and clinical intervention, the World Health Organization (WHO) has further labeled the B-type lineage into "alpha," "beta," "gamma," "delta," and most recently, "omicron."

First detected and identified in Botswana, South Africa, on 24 November 2021, the Omicron variant, scientifically called "B.1.1.529", and specifically its descendant XBB.1.9.2.5.1 (now called "EG.5.1) is by far the most dominant globally prevalent and devastating SARS-CoV-2 variant in the world today and the only COVID-19 virus that retains the "Variant of concern" WHO label. On 14 August 2023, however, a novel descent of XBB labeled BA.2.86 was discovered with over 30 mutations in the spike (S) protein.

Given the crucial role played by the S protein in infectivity and immune evasion, on 17 August 2023, the WHO designated BA.2.86 as a variant in need of urgent monitoring, spearheading research into its viral characteristics. By 31 October 2023, the variant was confirmed globally, though in low concentrations. The variant is hypothesized to be even faster mutating than its ancestors, with over 1,400 virus sequences discovered to date.

Research has investigated the immune evasive potential of the virus, as well as specific virological features, notably its affinity to the human receptor-binding domain (RBD). However, its mutation rate and evaluations of its infectivity, growth kinetics, and intrinsic pathogenicity in vivo remain lacking.

In the present study, researchers aimed to investigate the in vitro and in vivo virological features of the BA.2.86 lineage, especially its epidemic potential, RBD affinity, growth kinetics, immune evasive potential, and fusogenicity in hamsters. They further tested the efficacy of current clinically available antivirals in countering the disease.

The epidemic potential of BA.2.86 was evaluated by estimating its relative effective 119 reproduction number (Re) using genome surveillance data derived from six countries with high variant prevalence. A multivariant Bayesian hierarchical multinomial logistic model was used to compute country-specific Re as well as a global extrapolation.

The binding affinity of BA.2.56 was estimated using a yeast display technique. The binding of the S protein RBD of the novel variant to the ACE2 receptor was compared to results from XBB.1.5, which hitherto depicts the highest binding affinity of all known COVID-19 variants. They then tested the infectivity potential of the novel virus using an HIV-1-based pseudovirus. Western blotting of the derived pseudovirus was used to evaluate the cleavage efficiency of the BA.2.86S protein.

Fusogencitiy of BA.2.86 was carried out in vitro using an S 192 protein-mediated membrane fusion assay wherein surface expression levels were estimated in Calu-3/DSP1-7 cells.

"To evaluate the sensitivity of BA.2.86 to antiviral humoral immunity 217 elicited by the breakthrough infection (BTI) with other Omicron sublineages, we 218 performed neutralization assays using BA.2 BTI sera (n = 13) and BA.5 BTI sera 219 (n = 17)."

Vero cells inoculated with BA.2.86 were used to investigate the growth kinetics of the virus in vitro. Following this, the antiviral sensitivity of the novel variant was measured against nirmatrelvir, ensitrelvir, remdesivir, and EIDD-1931. Finally, in vivo, pathogenicity of the BA.2.86 was tested in hamsters.

The epidemic potential of BA.2.86 was found to be the highest of all known Omicron variants, with the global Re estimated as being 1.07 times higher than EG.5.1. This is noteworthy given the increasing prevalence of BA.2.86, especially in European countries, and suggests that the novel variant will eventually replace EG.5.1 as the globally dominant COVID-19 strain. Binding affinity assays revealed that BA.2.86 had binding comparable to XBB.1.5, and significantly higher than EG.5.1 or its parental BA.2.

Psuedovirus infectivity assays revealed that, in vitro, EG.5.1 outcompetes BA.2.86, with the infectivity of the latter being comparable to its parental BA.2 strain, a viral characteristic also observed in in vitro fusogenicity. However, the cleavage efficiency of BA.2.86 was substantially higher than the ancestral BA.2 strain.

Immune evasion assays revealed that BA.2.86 has significantly more potent immune evasion potential than BA.2 and EG.5.1. However, growth kinetics assays revealed that the growth efficiency of the novel strain was much lower than the current dominant EG.5.1 strain.

"An immunofluorescence assay at 72 h postinfection (h.p.i.) further showed 238 that VeroE6/TMPRSS2 cells infected with BA.2.86 exhibited lower GFP intensity 239 than EG.5.1-infected cells. These results suggest that BA.2.86 240 showed a poorer replication capacity compared to EG.5.1 and BA.2."

All four tested antivirals showed good efficacy against NA.2.86, with Nirmatrelvir showing the best efficacy and EIDD-193 the poorest (yet still positive). In vivo, hamster tests depicted that BA.2.86 infection resulted in body weight loss and reduced pulmonary function. However, these parameters were significantly less potent when compared to EG.5.1 infection. Viral RNA load evaluations revealed similar results (low BA.2.86 load compared to EG.5.1 and even ancestral BA.2), suggesting that BA.2.86 has low in vivo replication efficacy.

The present study evaluated the viral characteristics of the recently discovered BA.2.86 Omicron COVID-19 variant. The multi-analysis study revealed that despite having greater fusogenicity, binding affinity, and epidemic potential than the currently dominant EG.5.1 variant, the novel virus results in less severe infections in hamsters and reduced viral load.

"This discrepancy 290 can be explained by the replication capacity of BA.2.86. In fact, we showed that the replication kinetics of BA.2.86 is significantly lower than that of BA.2 in in vitro cell culture (at least in Vero cells) and in vivo. Therefore, our results suggest that the attenuated pathogenicity of BA.2.86 is attributed to its decreased replication capacity."

*Important notice: bioRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.

Read more here:

Omicron variant BA.2.86 spreads faster, but current antivirals hold the line - News-Medical.Net

By Tim Baker, Political reporter

Tuesday 7 November 2023 21:54, UK

Boris Johnson asked to be injected with COVID on live TV and said he would rather "let the bodies pile high" than impose another lockdown in September 2020, according to one of his most veteran aides.

Edward Udny-Lister made the revelations to the COVID inquiry today - telling Lady Hallett the former prime minister's offer to appear on live TV was to "demonstrate to the public that it did not pose a threat", but "was an unfortunate comment when Covid was not seen as being the serious disease it subsequently became".

The bodies comment backs up reports in The Daily Mail and allegations made by Dominic Cummings in 2021.

Mr Johnson denied making the bodies remark on numerous occasions - both on television and in the House of Commons.

Politics latest: Johnson wanted to be injected with COVID on TV

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Lord Udny-Lister worked with Mr Johnson when he was mayor of London, as well as when he was the foreign secretary.

He was one of the most senior aides to Mr Johnson in Downing Street - alongside Mr Cummings - and ultimately replaced Mr Cummings as chief of staff.

Lord Udny-Lister's statement to the inquiry said: "In September 2020, the R number was rising. A circuit breaker was proposed in response to this increase and the health secretary was pushing hard for this to take place.

"However, the opposition to any form of lockdown was intense.

"I recall the PM saying in September 2020 that he would rather 'let the bodies pile high' than impose another lockdown.

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"Whilst this was an unfortunate turn of phrase, it should be born [sic] in mind that by this point the government was trying to avoid a further lockdown given the already severe impact on the economy and education."

A spokesman for Mr Johnson said the former prime minister would be giving evidence to the inquiry in due course.

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Unlike Mr Cummings, Lord Udny-Lister is a long-term ally of Mr Johnson.

His evidence was given on another illuminating day at the official COVID inquiry.

As well as the above claims, Lord Udny-Lister laid out the dysfunctionality of Downing Street - especially in the early days of the pandemic.

The adviser - who had a desk opposite Mr Cummings - said: "Some of the personalities made it very, very toxic... Dominic Cummings's relationship with other people had become very strained."

And messages released to the inquiry revealed that Mark Sedwill - then the head of the civil service - said in July 2020 that "it's hard to ask people to [march] to the sound of gunfire if they're shot in the back".

Simon Case - who is now the head of the civil service - responded by saying: "I've never seen a bunch of people less well-equipped to run a country."

Read more: Final message between Johnson and Cummings revealed The moments you may have missed at the inquiry last week

He added that "top-drawer" potential recruits had refused to work in Downing Street because of the "toxic reputation" of the setup.

Lord Udny-Lister also spoke of a distrust or dislike within Downing Street for including devolved administrations within decision-making, as it was felt that that decisions would be briefing or introduced early by Scotland for "political" reasons.

Before the political appointee gave evidence, Simon Ridley - who was head of the COVID-19 taskforce within Number 10 - was before the lawyers.

At one point, he confirmed that the taskforce - which coordinated COVID policy - was "blindsided" by Rishi Sunak's Eat Out to Help Out announcement. He said the decision was instead made by the then chancellor and Mr Johnson.

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Another point to come out of Mr Ridley's evidence was an email sent by Alexandra Burns, a Number 10 official, in April 2020. This asked if there was an "overall strategy" for care homes - adding that looking at Europe made it seem like one was necessary as "once someone gets [COVID] in one of these places many die".

A diary extract from Sir Patrick Vallance, the former chief scientific adviser, wrote in his diary in October 2020 that he had a "very bad meeting" in Downing Street, in which Mr Johnson called for a "whisky and a revolver" and Mr Sunak was "using increasingly specific and spurious arguments against closing hospitality".

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Boris Johnson asked to be injected with COVID on live TV, veteran aide claims - Sky News