Weekend – India, Iran, Brazil are the next breaking wave.
This time last year the UK was in the midst of a major wave – with NHS staff bearing the brunt of a lack of PPE, space and resources. Boris was in ICU. School was also “out until September” and it was almost a month working from home.
P1 variant (Brazil) is running rife through Whistler, BC and now beyond. Good list of variants here. I’m still thinking an annual Covid booster to go along with flu.
B1.1.7 – aka UK variant – 74% more transmissible; 64% more virulent
P1 – eek/E484k and others – 152% more transmissible; 45% more virulent
Clearly a rising rate of positive tests in Washington State. Some shocking disparity in vaccination rates – that seem to align with voting intent.
Friday – Delays to J&J vaccine shipping. J&J now under investigation for platelet/clotting issues. UCL claims UK heading for herd immunity; disputed.
Thursday – more restrictions on AstraZeneca vaccine. WHO warn of fourth wave in the UK; even with massive vaccine drive.
Wednesday – after weeks of bad press and the UK pushing forward with vaccinations – the UK regulator says “no AstraZeneca vaccine for under 30s“. Meanwhile the entire vaccine supply chain is running well in the US – City of Seattle alone will deliver >30k doses this week. Biden calls for “all adults to be offered the vaccine by 19 April” – that’s testament to the manufacturing, distribution and last mile working well.
Tuesday – France, Canada clearly in another major wave. Multiple locations flagging the E484K “eek” variant as being especially virulent and evasive. That’s the Brazil/South Africa variant.
Monday – more AstraZeneca woes – this time the UK is considering not using it for under 30s because of the blood clotting risks. UK lifting more lockdown; certainly the numbers are lowering quickly. US news – wave 4 is certainly here. “The United States has entered a fourth wave of transmission, and there’s no disputing this. Whether it remains as small regional outbreaks, or whether it generalizes nationwide remains to be seen,” Dr. George Rutherford, a UC San Francisco epidemiologist, said Friday at a campus town hall meeting.
The Guardian | The Seattle Times | |
5 Apr | here | here |
6 Apr | here | here |
7 Apr | here | here |
8 Apr | here | here |
9 Apr | here | here |
10 Apr | here | here |
11 Apr | here | here |
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