Category: Covid-19

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, continues to mutate, with the latest crop of variants emerging just in time for summer.

The newly identified group, dubbed FLiRT, includes a variant called KP.2, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lists as the dominant strain in the United States, accounting for 25% of new sequenced cases in the final two weeks of April. Another strain, KP.1.1, is less widespread, playing a role in 7.5% of cases during that time frame.

While COVID case rates in the U.S. are still relatively low overall, you might be wondering how concerned you should be about the debut of these new variants.

Heres what you need to know about the FLiRT strains, including whether you can expect a COVID wave this summer.

Daniel de la Hoz / Getty Images

The FLiRT group of variants is named after the technical names of its mutations, F456L and R346T. They are part of SARS-CoV-2s Omicron lineage, which was first detected in 2021.

The new variants descend from JN.1, the primary variant circulating in the U.S. this past winter. That strain is now the second most dominant, accounting for 22% of cases.

In April, the FLiRT strains quickly gained dominance. During the last week of March, only about 4% of COVID cases were caused by KP.2, compared to about a quarter just a few weeks later.

Syra Madad, DHSc, MSc, senior director of the System-wide Special Pathogens Program at NYC Health + Hospitals and a fellow of Harvard Universitys Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, told Health that current data hasnt shown that the FLiRT variants are associated with increased severity of illness.

However, she added, public health agencies are still learning about the new variants, so its too soon to know for sure whether they will cause more serious illness. As public health continues to gather and analyze data on these variants, recommendations and public health guidelines may be updated to reflect new insights, she said.

According to the CDC, the most common COVID symptoms include:

The COVID vaccine should protect against the new strains. Still, preliminary evidence suggests that it may not offerasmuch protection against the FLiRT variants as it did against JN.1 this past winter. Thats because, compared to JN.1, the new variants are more distantly related to XBB 1.5, the strain targeted by the most recent COVID booster.

The good news is that the World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended that future COVID vaccine formulations be based on JN.1, which is more closely related to the FLiRT variants.

So far, the new variants dont appear to becausing an increase in COVID cases in the U.S.

According to the CDC, the amount of SARS-CoV-2 virus detected in U.S. wastewater remains minimal, and cases didnt increase in April. Furthermore, the number of COVID-related hospitalizations and deaths has dropped since January 2024, when JN.1 arrived on the scene.

Its unlikely that the FLiRT variants will lead to a significant uptick in case rates, Mark Cameron, PhD, an associate professor in the Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, told Health. But he said its possible.

This virus has surprised us more times than I can count, he said. If the past is prologue, the FLiRT lineage has plenty of time to cook up something new before the next cold and flu season starts in earnest this fall, and that could make waves.

The CDC recommends staying current on the COVID vaccines and boosters. Speak to a doctor if youre unsure about if and when you need a booster.

Other preventative measures include practicing good hygiene, such as frequently washing your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds and taking steps to improve air quality in your home, like opening doors and using exhaust fans.

Originally posted here:

New COVID-19 'FLiRT' Variants Are SpreadingWhat You Need to Know - Health.com

'Oxygen can heal': Hyperbaric chamber treatment offers breakthrough solution for long COVID-19

Updated: 5:31 PM EDT May 9, 2024

THESE DAYS, BUT LONG COVID IS STILL OUT THERE IN THE BEGINNING, TREATMENT SEEMED VERY HIT OR MISS, BUT THERES BEEN A BREAKTHROUGH IN THE APPROACH. NOT ONLY WILL THIS NEW TREATMENT SHOCK YOU AS WESH 2S MICHELLE MEREDITH REPORTS, ITS HAPPENING RIGHT HERE IN CENTRAL FLORIDAS BACKYARD. SO WE CAN FULLY BREATHE IN THE AIR TO THE BOTTOM OF OUR LUNGS. LYNETTE MILLER KOVAC TEACHES MEDITATION CLASSES IN THE VILLAGES, TEACHING HOW TO BE CENTERED. LIVE IN THE MOMENT. BUT A YEAR AND A HALF AGO, LYNETTE SAYS SHE WASNT LIVING AT ALL. SUFFERING FROM LONG COVID. TAKE A DEEP INHALE. IT WAS JUST A FRIGHTENING EXPERIENCE. I FELT LIKE I WAS DYING, I WAS A CO-REPORTER AND EVENTUALLY I HAD TO STOP THE PROCEEDINGS AND SAY, I CANT RETAIN ANY LONGER. I LOST ALL EMOTION TO THE BEAUTIFUL BLUE SKY, TO PEOPLE, TO THE, UM, TO GOD, TO ANIMAL. JUST NO. NO JOY AT ALL. LYNETTE WAS ABLE TO CONNECT WITH A PROGRAM RIGHT HERE IN CENTRAL FLORIDAS BACKYARD, AND THEY TREAT LONG COVID. ITS CALLED A LVIV CLINICS. AND HOW DO THEY DO IT? WELL, USING, OF ALL THINGS, A HYPER BARIC CHAMBER. NOW, WHEN YOU THINK OF A HYPERBARIC CHAMBER, YOU THINK OF THOSE LITTLE TUBES THAT THEY USED TO PUT DIVERS IN WHEN THEY SURFACE TOO FAST. WELL, THIS IS TODAYS HYPERBARIC CHAMBER. IT KIND OF LOOKS LIKE THE FIRST CLASS SECTION OF AN AIRPLANE. SO WHEN YOU SEE AREAS OF GREEN AND BLUE, WE SEE DYSFUNCTION. RV DOCTORS SAY THE HYPERBARIC CHAMBER FEEDS HIGH LEVELS OF OXYGEN TO THE BRAIN, GIVES THE BRAIN ENERGY WHEN THE LEVEL OF OXYGEN IS REDUCED, THE BRAIN PANICS, CALLS IN THE TROOPS, STARTS REPAIRING COVID DAMAGED BRAIN CELLS, AND USES THE NEW ENERGY TO DO IT. OH, THE OXYGEN CAN HEAL. WE CAN CONCEPTUALIZE THAT, BUT THE KEY IS TO USE IT AS A VESSEL TO TRIGGER THE BODY TO HEAL ITSELF. AND THERES NOTHING STRONGER THAN THE BODY TO HEAL ITSELF. BREATHING IN THAT BEAUTIFUL OXYGEN, THE CLINIC SAYS THEYVE TREATED TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WITH LONG COVID FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD. LYNETTE SAYS WEEKS AFTER HER FULL TREATMENT, SHES BACK. MY MY WORLD OPENED UP AND IT WAS THE SAME. IT WASNT THE FOG. IT WASNT THE THE THAT FEELING ANYMORE TO TO FEEL LOVE AGAIN, WHICH I DIDNT FEEL. THATS PROBABLY THE BIGGEST THING. YEAH. THE BIGGEST BONUS OF ALL IN THE

'Oxygen can heal': Hyperbaric chamber treatment offers breakthrough solution for long COVID-19

Updated: 5:31 PM EDT May 9, 2024

Although we may not hear much about it these days, long COVID-19 is still out there. In the beginning, treatment seemed to be a hit-and-miss, but the approach has had a breakthrough.Lynette Malkovich teaches meditation classes in The Villages, instructing people on how to be centered and live in the moment. But a year and a half ago, Malkovich said she wasn't living at all as she was suffering from long COVID-19."It was a frightening experience. I thought I was dying," Malkovich said.But Malkovich connected with a program in central Florida's backyard Aviv Clinics located in The Villages that treats long-term COVID-19 using a hyperbaric chamber. Doctors at Aviv Clinics said the hyperbaric chamber delivers high levels of oxygen to the brain, energizing it. When the level of oxygen level is reduced, the brain panics and starts using the new energy to repair COVID-19-damaged brain cells. "Oh, the oxygen can heal. We can conceptualize that, but the key is to use it as a vessel to trigger the body to heal itself, and there's nothing stronger than the body to heal itself," said Dr. Mohamad Elamir, an Aviv doctor. The clinic said they've treated thousands of people with long COVID-19 worldwide.Malkovich said weeks after her full treatment, she's back."To feel love again, which I didn't feel, that's probably the biggest thing," Malkovich said.

Although we may not hear much about it these days, long COVID-19 is still out there. In the beginning, treatment seemed to be a hit-and-miss, but the approach has had a breakthrough.

Lynette Malkovich teaches meditation classes in The Villages, instructing people on how to be centered and live in the moment.

But a year and a half ago, Malkovich said she wasn't living at all as she was suffering from long COVID-19.

"It was a frightening experience. I thought I was dying," Malkovich said.

But Malkovich connected with a program in central Florida's backyard Aviv Clinics located in The Villages that treats long-term COVID-19 using a hyperbaric chamber.

Doctors at Aviv Clinics said the hyperbaric chamber delivers high levels of oxygen to the brain, energizing it. When the level of oxygen level is reduced, the brain panics and starts using the new energy to repair COVID-19-damaged brain cells.

"Oh, the oxygen can heal. We can conceptualize that, but the key is to use it as a vessel to trigger the body to heal itself, and there's nothing stronger than the body to heal itself," said Dr. Mohamad Elamir, an Aviv doctor.

The clinic said they've treated thousands of people with long COVID-19 worldwide.

Malkovich said weeks after her full treatment, she's back.

"To feel love again, which I didn't feel, that's probably the biggest thing," Malkovich said.

Excerpt from:

Hyperbaric chamber treatment offers solution for long COVID-19 - WESH 2 Orlando

Thousands of families missed out on time with their loved ones at the end of their lives, former Stormont Minister Edwin Poots has said.

The ex-agriculture and environment minister was giving evidence to the Covid-19 public inquiry, which is sitting in Belfast, on Thursday.

Mr Poots became emotional as he described how he was unable to see his father in the final days of his life because of the Covid restrictions.

Charlie Poots died at the age of 90 in April 2020.

Read more here:

Edwin Poots says thousands missed time with loved ones during Covid - BBC.com

Pictured: Sanofi Distribution Center/iStock,JHVEPhoto

Sanofi announced a deal worth up to $1.4 billion with Novavax on Friday for its COVID-19 vaccine, giving the Maryland-based biotech a much-needed boost to its struggling business.

The French pharma is dropping $500 million upfront for Novavaxs COVID-19 vaccine, with the goals of co-commercializing its current formulation as well as developing a combination vaccine for COVID and flu. An additional $700 million is up for grabs in milestone payments. Along with another potential $200 million in milestones for additional vaccines made with Novavaxs Matrix adjuvant technology, deal totals $1.4 billionmore than double the biotechs current market cap of $627 million.

Thanks to the infusion of cash, Novavax will be able to lift its prior warning to investors issued in February 2023 expressing doubts over its ability to stay in business, its CEO John Jacobs told CNBC News.The deal skyrocketed Novavaxs stock Friday morning in premarket trading, up 120% at one point. In February 2024, the stock had dropped over 25% after the biotechs fourth quarter earnings missed estimates.

From Sanofis perspective, Head of Vaccines R&D Jean-Francois Toussaint emphasized the value of targeting COVID and flu with one shot. Sanofi has three mRNA candidates now in clinical testing for RSV, flu and a combination of the two. And already on the market are two quadrivalent influenza vaccines from the company, which has not yet been disclosed what shot will be combined with Novavaxs protein-based one.

With flu and COVID-19 hospital admission rates now closely mirroring each other, we have an opportunity to develop non-mRNA flu-COVID-19 combination vaccines, offering patients both enhanced convenience and protection against two serious respiratory viruses, Toussaint said in a statement.

In 2021, Sanofi dropped $3.2 billion on mRNA company Translate Bio to bolster its vaccine and therapeutic technologies.

As part of the deal, Sanofi is taking just under a 5% stake in Novavax.

Kate Goodwin is a freelance life science writer based in Des Moines, Iowa. She can be reached at kate.goodwin@biospace.com and on LinkedIn.

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Novavax Soars on $1.4B Deal With Sanofi for COVID Vaccine - BioSpace

Metformin, a decades-old generic drug for type 2 diabetes, may also help treat COVID-19, a new study suggests.

Scientists at the University of Minnesota randomly assigned more than 1,300 adults with COVID-19 to take metformin or a placebo pill. All of the participants took nasal swab tests for viral levels after 1, 5, and 10 days.

[1]

Among the key research results:

The results of the study are important because COVID-19 continues to cause illness, both during acute infection and for months after infection, says lead study authorCarolyn Bramante, MD, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota.

The metformin study wasnt designed to figure out why or how this diabetes treatment might tamp down the coronavirus. But the drug blocks activity of a protein known as mTOR, Dr. Bramante says. This protein plays a role in cell growth and reproduction and impacts immune responses.

We hypothesized that metformins inhibition of mTOR may cause a reduction in SARS-CoV-2, the specific type of coronavirus that causes COVID-19, Bramante says.

However, the possible benefits of metformin as a COVID-19 treatment arent yet clear, with previous studies yielding conflicting results.

[2]

[3]

The shorter duration of viral shedding, the shorter the duration of potential contagiousness and transmission risk, Dr. Siedner says.

[4]

Based on the data we have now, I would not personally prescribe metformin for treatment of COVID-19, nor would I recommend its use, Siedner says.

See the rest here:

Study Supports Diabetes Drug Metformin as a COVID-19 Treatment - Everyday Health

GENEVA (AP) After the coronavirus pandemic triggered once-unthinkable lockdowns, upended economies and killed millions, leaders at the World Health Organization and worldwide vowed to do better in the future. Years later, countries are still struggling to come up with an agreed-upon plan for how the world might respond to the next global outbreak.

A ninth and final round of talks involving governments, advocacy groups and others to finalize a pandemic treaty is scheduled to end Friday. The accords aim: guidelines for how the WHOs 194 member countries might stop future pandemics and better share scarce resources. But experts warn there are virtually no consequences for countries that dont comply.

WHOs countries asked the U.N. health agency to oversee talks for a pandemic agreement in 2021. Envoys have been working long hours in recent weeks to prepare a draft ahead of a self-imposed deadline later this month: ratification of the accord at WHOs annual meeting. But deep divisions could derail it.

U.S. Republican senators wrote a letter to the Biden administration last week critical of the draft for focusing on issues like shredding intellectual property rights and supercharging the WHO. They urged Biden not to sign off.

Britains department of health said it would only agree to an accord if it was firmly in the U.K. national interest and respects national sovereignty.

And many developing countries say its unfair that they might be expected to provide virus samples to help develop vaccines and treatments, but then be unable to afford them.

This pandemic treaty is a very high-minded pursuit, but it doesnt take political realities into account, said Sara Davies, a professor of international relations at Griffith University in Australia.

For example, the accord is attempting to address the gap that occurred between COVID-19 vaccines in rich and poorer countries, which WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said amounted to a catastrophic moral failure.

The draft says WHO should get 20% of the production of pandemic-related products like tests, treatments and vaccines and urges countries to disclose their deals with private companies.

Theres no mechanism within WHO to make life really difficult for any countries that decide not to act in accordance with the treaty, Davies said.

Adam Kamradt-Scott, a global health expert at Harvard University, said that similar to the global climate agreements, the draft pandemic treaty would at least provide a new forum for countries to try to hold each other to account, where governments will have to explain what measures theyve taken.

The pandemic treaty is not about anyone telling the government of a country what it can do and what it cannot do, said Roland Driece, co-chair of WHOs negotiating board for the agreement.

There are legally binding obligations under the International Health Regulations, including quickly reporting dangerous new outbreaks. But those have been flouted repeatedly, including by African countries during Ebola outbreaks and China in the early stages of COVID-19.

Suerie Moon, co-director of the Global Health Center at Genevas Graduate Institute, said it was critical to determine the expected role of WHO during a pandemic and how outbreaks might be stopped before spreading globally.

If we fail to seize this window of opportunity which is closing well be just as vulnerable as we were in 2019, she warned.

Some countries appear to be moving on their own to ensure cooperation from others in the next pandemic. Last month, President Joe Bidens administration said it would help 50 countries respond to new outbreaks and prevent global spread, giving the country leverage should it need critical information or materials in the future.

Yuanqiong Hu, a senior legal and policy adviser at Doctors without Borders, said its unclear what might be different in the next pandemic, but hoped that focusing attention on some of the glaring errors that emerged in COVID-19 might help.

We will mostly have to rely on countries to do better, she said. That is worrisome.

Cheng reported from London.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

See more here:

Countries struggle to draft 'pandemic treaty' to avoid mistakes made during COVID - The Associated Press

Nearly 3.5 years after it received its first approval for use, the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is set to be withdrawn worldwide. Its a headline thatll certainly be an attention-grabber the vaccine has gained a bit of a reputation in its time, after all but whats the reason behind it being discontinued? It's not as scandalous as some might suggest.

According to a statement seen by the BBC, it was a commercial decision based on there being a surplus of available updated vaccines, which has led to a decline in demand.

Viruses can mutate and evolve, and SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is no different. The result has been a multitude of different variants, with some vaccine developers creating updated vaccines in order to tackle them.

However, AstraZeneca hasnt followed suit. Professor Adam Finn, University of Bristol, explained to the Science Media Centre (SMC) that this meant that the vaccine, now named Vaxzevria, is probably now much less effective than it was to begin with.

Accordingly, there is probably no commercial case for continuing to manufacture and distribute the vaccine and I think this is likely to be the main reason the company have decided to discontinue making and selling it.

The company also highlighted the impact of Vaxzevria since it came into use. According to independent estimates, over 6.5 million lives were saved in the first year of use alone, read the statement. "Our efforts have been recognized by governments around the world and are widely regarded as being a critical component of ending the global pandemic."

That being said, the vaccine wasnt without its problems. Back in 2021, several countries suspended the use of Vaxzevria as a precaution following reports of people developing a rare blood clotting condition, thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS), after receiving the injection.

The risk of getting vaccine-induced TTS, however, has been found to be considerably low. Based on data from the UK, the overall risk of it developing after getting the jab is estimated to be around 4 in every 1 million people.

A study involving over 29 million people also found that COVID-19 infection posed a much bigger risk of developing blood clots than receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine.

With almost everything we do there is a harm-benefit assessment that we have to make, and at the peak of the pandemic the AZ vaccine brought far more benefit than harm that would still be the case, but now more effective and safer avenues are available, Professor Jonathan Ball, Deputy Director of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine told the SMC.

Perhaps its time has passed, added Dr Michael Head, a researcher in global health. But, the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine has played a key role in the pandemic response for most countries around the world.

See the article here:

Why Has AstraZeneca Taken Its COVID-19 Vaccine Off The Market? Here's What To Know - IFLScience

A new series of COVID variants, nicknamed the "FLiRT" variants, are being tracked by U.S. health officials, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The variants, identified as KP.1.1 and KP.2, collectively make up more than 32% of COVID cases in the U.S., per the CDC's most recent variant tracking data. KP.2, in particular, made up the most cases of any variant at 24.9% of cases, according to forecasting data from the week ending on April 27.

"CDC is tracking SARS-CoV-2 variants KP.2 and KP.1.1, sometimes referred to as 'FLiRT,' and working to better understand their potential impact on public health," the CDC told NBC Chicago in a statement. "Currently, KP.2 is the dominant variant in the United States, but laboratory testing data indicate low levels of SARS-CoV-2 transmission overall at this time. That means that while KP.2 is proportionally the most predominant variant, it is not causing an increase in infections as transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is low."

The variants are subvariants of JN.1, which rose to dominance in December 2023 and was labeled a "variant of concern," though the "FLiRT" variants have two changes in the spike protein compared to JN.1.

"The two changes in spike have been observed in earlier lineages, including XBB.1.5 lineages, which were dominant throughout 2023 and the basis for the 20232024 vaccine formulation," the CDC reported.

Health officials said that while there are no indicators the new strains cause more severe illness than other strains, the "CDC will continue to monitor community transmission of the virus and how vaccines perform against this strain."

Megan L. Ranney, dean of the Yale School of Public Health, told WebMD the spike protein changes are concerning.

While the emergence of the new variants has sparked concerns over a potential summer surge, health experts have stressed that COVID levels remain low compared to the start of the pandemic.

"I think it is something we're keeping our eyes on and like what's happened before, I think we are expecting to have variants every so often as COVID continues around the world and in the U.S.," Dr. Shivanjali Shankaran, an associate professor in infectious diseases at Rush University Medical Center, told NBC Chicago.

Earlier this year, COVID-19 was putting more people in the hospital than flu, but as of late-April the hospitalization rates appeared about the same, CDCdatashowed.

According to the CDC, KP.2 has so far not been associated with increases in test positivity or hospitalizations. But Shankaran noted that with summer gatherings and holidays near, transmission could climb.

"I think we've seen that before with multiple prior variants as well, where it's not like RSV or flu [which] only happens in the winter," she said. "So that's one thing to know about, especially as holidays come again, you know, festivals and things like that. And yes, at this point, we have a very, very small number of people who are hospitalized or ... dying from COVID, but what we need to remember is the non-serious, if you will, or non-acute side effects, such as development of long COVID, or having increased risk of developing diabetes and things like that, which are still quite very serious and still should be taken into account when you sort of move around the world."

The concerns come two months after COVID-19 guidelines were updated by the CDC, with the five-day isolation recommendation being removed. The change marked the first time the U.S. agency has loosened its COVID isolation recommendations in three years.

Vaccination levels associated with the latest version of the vaccine remain low as experts urged precautions.

"Not to say don't do anything, but just things like get the vaccine - even if the vaccine doesn't match 100%, which it hasn't for a while. We know that with prior variants even the unmatched vaccine has provided significant protection against hospitalization," Shankaran said, encouraging those who may be sick to mask where possible.

So far, symptoms associated with the new variants appear to be similar to previous strains. If you do suspect you've contracted COVID, here are some symptoms you might experience:

Last year, a Chicago-area doctorsaid she's noticed shifts in the most common symptomsher patients reported as the JN.1 variant rose to dominance.

Dr. Chantel Tinfang, a family medicine physician with Sengstacke Health Center at Provident Hospital of Cook County,noted at the time that many of the cases she saw reported less of the fever, body aches and chills, and presented more with sore throat, fatigue and coughing.

"We still see some patients experiencing decreased appetite, a loss of taste or smell. So it kind of depends," she said. "One patient was just very, very tired. Like she couldn't really do much. And that's when you know ... it's different. It's not just coughing and shortness of breath. We still see that though."

She suggested consulting with your doctor if your symptoms don't begin to improve outside of the recommended isolation period.

As for timing, symptoms can last for several days, but in some cases, even longer.

"Some people who have been infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 can experience long-term effects from their infection, known as Long COVID or Post-COVID Conditions (PCC)," according to the CDC.

Such symptoms can last for weeks and possibly even years.

More here:

Symptoms, spread and more: What to know about new COVID FLiRT' variants - NBC Chicago

Former DUP minister gives deeply personal testimony to the Covid Inquiry, saying he believes Stormont was wrong to follow London so closely and should have locked down earlier but then relaxed certain restrictions

The Speaker of the Assembly, who was Agriculture Minister during the pandemic, spoke personally when he appeared before the Covid Inquiry in Belfast today.

He said that "if anything, lockdown should have happened more quickly", with Stormont waiting for Boris Johnson's government to act. However, he said Stormont didn't have the financial capability to lockdown without London's support.

Mr Poots said he believed Stormont had been wrong to follow London as closely as it did because "the evidence is there for everyone to see" that the Government was getting things wrong in areas such as putting vulnerable people out of hospitals into care homes without testing.

But he said that over time the restrictions became increasingly unjustifiable.

Mr Poots recalled his father, the former DUP councillor Charlie Poots, becoming unwell in April 2020 and calling an ambulance, which they followed to the Ulster Hospital but couldn't enter the hospital.

"I wasn't allowed to see him again until he was close to dying and that's the experience that thousands of families had. It was an awful experience, and that was imposed as a result of the Covid 19 regulations. Thousands of families across the province weren't able to be there with their loved ones whenever they needed them most.

Becoming emotional, Mr Poots said that the experience deeply impacted his view of the restrictions.

"I would have seen things like banning people from going to graveyards as being wholly ineffective in terms of saving lives but utterly cruel in how they affected the relatives of the deceased, particularly recently deceased.

"It's something that's important to many people, to be able to go to the grave of a loved one, but we, the Government, banned people from doing that. I didn't see any benefits whatsoever in terms of the fight against Covid to doing that."

When asked about his role in shaping the laws which banned people from visiting graveyards, Mr Poots said he was, along with everyone else, "entering the unknown" as Covid approached and so "I was supportive of the regulations that were being introduced because we needed to get a handle on how Covid-19 was going to affect the wider public...I was entirely supportive of the regulations as they were introduced at that time."

He said that at that time, with limited knowledge of how bad things would be, he thought it was right to restrict harshly, but that as time went on he thought the virus was not as serious as had first been feared and so fewer restrictions were necessary.

Mr Poots said the media were regularly receiving leaks before decisions were taken and "it was widely viewed that those leaks were coming not from the minister, but from within the Department of Health" because "no other department would have had that information".

He said that negative news, such as extending restrictions, was often left to Arlene Foster and Michelle O'Neill to announce, but Robin Swann would announce positive news.

Despite being anti-Agreement in 1998, Mr Poots also endorsed the mandatory coalition structures which shackle together the DUP and Sinn Fin in government.

He said: "The truth is that the structures we have are not the most ideal structures but they were the structures that were established after 25 years of bloodshed and they are the structures that are necessary to ensure that we have had a peaceful 27 or 28 years since then. [sic]"

For seven months, the DAERA scientific adviser wasn't receiving important updates because an incorrect email address was being used.

Mr Poots said he wasn't aware of that, but accepted it was a "deficiency".

Earlier, Alliance Justice Minister Naomi Long said the restrictions around death and burial were due to a concern that dead bodies could spread the virus.

Naomi Long giving evidence to the Covid Inquiry in Belfast today

She talked about large numbers of opened graves in graveyards, with diggers and other heavy machinery present in preparation for what they feared would be mass deaths.

Mrs Long also talked about her own bereavement early in the pandemic.

"Both my parents died in March, so it was at the start of the pandemic, and I wasn't able to attend their graves to remember, and that is difficult; that is difficult," she said.

"So I appreciate that it was a lot to ask, and with the benefit of hindsight, I don't know how much of a contribution it would have made to protecting people from covid, but we didn't have that benefit of hindsight."

She said "very often" she would learn of what the Executive was to discuss from journalists or news reports before she would even see her Executive papers.

She said neither the British or Irish Governments gave sufficient consideration to the effect of divergence between them on Northern Ireland.

Mrs Long described the DUP's use of its Executive veto to block further restrictions in autumn 2020 as an "egregious abuse" of a mechanism designed to protect the interests of unionist or nationalists.

By November 2020, she said people "had become very entrenched" in the Executive.

Mrs Long said that she had worked with the DUP's Diane Dodds to table a paper because "I knew if I tabled it, the DUP would dismiss it, but if their colleague tabled it, they might consider it and she did so".

She said that at the times when there was "strong leadership in the civil service", she and Nichola Mallon, both of whom were keener on consensus, "were excluded" from backroom discussions, making her sceptical about whether having a head of the Civil Service in late 2020 when a DUP-Sinn Fin disagreement on appointing a head of the civil service left civil servants leaderless would have improved things.

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We were cruel to ban people from mourning the dead during Covid, says emotional Edwin Poots - Belfast Telegraph

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Raccoon dogs may carry and transmit COVID-19causing SARS-CoV-2 to humans, although critical differences in the enzyme that facilitates viral entry into the cell may make the jump unlikely, astudy in PLOS Pathogens finds.

"The key to a coronavirus moving from one species to another is its spike protein's ability to bind to receptors on the cells of the new host," the authors noted.

University of Minnesota researchers probed the interaction between the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 and angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE 2), which lets the virus enter the cell. Coronaviruses such as SARS-CoV-2 are known for their ability to jump species, the researchers said.

Raccoon dogs are small, burly, foxlike canines native to East Asia that are thought to have been a possible intermediary in the SARS-CoV-2 interspecies jump to humans, which led to the COVID-19 pandemic. The animals, along with palm civets, are also thought to have been involved in the spread of SARS-CoV-1, the virus that caused an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2002-2003.

"Several species are under scrutiny as potential culprits, including bats, pangolins, and raccoon dogs," the authors wrote. "Raccoon dogs came under suspicion after their DNA was detected alongside SARS-CoV-2 genetic material in samples from the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan City [China], which is widely considered the pandemic's point of origin."

Biochemical analysis showed raccoon dog ACE 2 does allow SARS-CoV-2 to enter the cell, although not as effectively as human ACE 2.

Structural comparisons highlighted differences in the virus-binding residues of raccoon dog ACE2 compared to human ACE2 , explaining their varied effectiveness as receptors for SARS-CoV-2.

"Structural comparisons highlighted differences in the virus-binding residues of raccoon dog ACE2 compared to human ACE2 , explaining their varied effectiveness as receptors for SARS-CoV-2," the researchers wrote. "These variations contribute to the species barrier that exists between raccoon dogs and humans regarding SARS-CoV-2 transmission."

The discovery sheds light on how SARS-CoV-2 may affect other mammals, as well. "Our research underscores the potential of raccoon dogs as SARS-CoV-2 carriers and identifies molecular barriers that affect the virus's ability to jump between species," they concluded.

Read more from the original source:

Data suggest SARS-CoV-2 could jump from raccoon dogs to people, but species barrier may interfere - University of Minnesota Twin Cities