- Saturday, July 27, 2024
THE mortality rates for different ethnic communities continued to decline between January and November 2022, when Omicron was the dominant Covid variant, the new Office for National Statistics (ONS) data has revealed. During the period, mortality rates decreased for males and females from the Bangladeshi, black Caribbean, Pakistani and Other…
The latest data released by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has revealed that the Covid cased caused by the Omicron sub-variant XBB.1.5 have doubled in the past week. Now, more than 40 per cent of the Covid cases in the US are caused by this sub-variant which…
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is studying XE, a mutation of the BA.1 and BA.2 Omicron strains, and 637 XE cases were detected in England as of March 22, according to official figures. A NEW Covid-19 variant called XE has been found in the UK and early indications suggest…
THE Labour party has claimed that ministers are risking the emergence of other Covid variants like Omicron by thwarting a bid by poorer countries to manufacture their own vaccines, The Guardian reported. According to the opposition party, the government has “actively blocked countries in Africa and across the developing world from…
WITH Omicron cases on the rise, New York health officials have reported an increase in hospitalised children, as the White House promised Sunday (26) to quickly resolve the country's Covid-19 test shortage. The New York state department of health warned "of an upward trend in pediatric hospitalisations associated with Covid-19,"…
THE NHS has told pharmacies that it cannot increase the number of Covid-19 rapid tests it delivers each day, The Telegraph reported. Infections from the Omicron variant of the coronavirus have risen in the UK with the number of new cases reaching 59,610 on Tuesday (14), the highest figure since…
India announced its first two cases of the Omicron Covid variant on Thursday, months after a devastating wave of the virus killed more than 200,000 people around the country. Top health ministry official Luv Agarwal said two men in southern Karnataka state, aged 66 and 46, had tested positive for…
BRITAIN said on Friday (26) that a newly identified coronavirus variant spreading in South Africa was considered by scientists to be the most significant one yet found and so it needed to ascertain whether or not it made vaccines ineffective. Defending a ban on flights from South Africa, Namibia, Botswana,…
DELTA has all but elbowed out the three other Covid-19 variants of concern, which now represent a tiny fraction of the samples being sequenced, the WHO said on Tuesday (21). "Less than one percent each of Alpha, Beta and Gamma are currently circulating. It's really predominantly Delta around the world,"…
BRITAIN has reported nearly 50 cases of Mu Covid variant which has now been formally labelled as a 'variant of interest' by WHO, reported The Daily Mail. However, cases due to the variant remain low overall as a proportion of all cases amid the spread of the Delta variants, the…
AN analysis of NHS test and trace data has revealed a steep decline in the proportion of positive tests being analysed for variants among people arriving from red list countries. Following the report, a cross-party group of MPs has warned that the government is “opening the floodgates” to new versions…
SHIPMENTS of smartphones in India during April-June dropped 13 per cent from the previous quarter to 32.4 million units as the second wave of Covid-19 dented demand, according to research firm Canalys. However, the data showed 87 per cent rise in comparison to April-June 2020, when nearly two-month nationwide lockdown…
AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford on Sunday (27) began new trials to test a modified vaccine against the Beta variant, which first emerged in South Africa. The 'booster' vaccine's trial will involve around 2,250 participants from Britain, South Africa, Brazil and Poland. They include people who have been fully…
Boris Johnson officially announced a four-week delay to the final lockdown easing during a press conference on Monday (14), saying more time is needed to combat the Delta variant and to allow more people to be vaccinated. During a recently made announcement, Johnson slashed the interval between the first and…
LETTERS of the Greek alphabet will be used to identify coronavirus variants in order to simplify discussion and pronunciation while avoiding stigma. The World Health Organization (WHO) revealed the new names on Monday (31) amid criticism that those given by scientists to strains such as the South African variant –…
A Bolton MP has asked the health secretary not to blame the people of Bolton over the spread of Indian Covid variant in the region. Yasmin Qureshi, MP for Bolton South East, objected after Matt Hancock said that majority of people admitted to hospital in the town had been eligible…
SIX Bangladeshis, who recently returned from India, have been found to be infected with the B.1.617.2 variant of the coronavirus. One of them has succumbed to the disease. The Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) said on Sunday (16) that the samples of 26 India returnees were tested…
THE next step out of lockdown is coming up on Monday (17), but experts suggest to postpone it after reports of four deaths were reported in Britain because of the infectious Indian Covid variant. Monday's restrictions ease would have allowed people to inside pubs, hug close friends and family. However,…
By Pooja Shrivastava VARIANT of Covid-19, which was first found in India, has been detected in more than 44 countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Wednesday (12). The UN health agency said that the B.1.617 variant of Covid-19 has been detected in more than 4,500 samples uploaded to…
UK's vaccine programme received a shot in the arm as England reported zero deaths due to Covid-19, according to its latest daily update. Since the pandemic broke out in March last year, Sunday (9) was the first day that had no deaths from Covid-19. More than 112,000 people have died…
SCIENTISTS have warned that new Covid variants will continue to enter the UK with the reopening of international travel as there are 'flaws' in the government’s system. Members of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) are concerned that the government’s traffic light system is not based on evidence about…
EXPERTS have warned that the coronavirus variants first detected in India may become the UK’s second most dominant within weeks as total cases rose to 400. However, Public Health England (PHE) on Thursday (29) said that there was 'no evidence of widespread community transmission', reported The Guardian. The PHE added…
THE World Health Organization (WHO) has said that a variant of Covid-19 feared to be contributing to a surge in coronavirus cases in India has been found in over a dozen countries. The UN health agency said the B.1.617 variant of Covid-19 first found in India had as of Tuesday…
The Labour Party on Sunday joined calls for prime minister Boris Johnson to cancel his visit to India, starting next Sunday, amid growing concerns of a new variant of COVID-19 detected in the country. Public Health England (PHE) has said that 77 cases of the so-called “double mutant” Indian variant…
THE UK has started additional testing and genomic sequencing of highly targeted area within Southwark and in parts of Harrow, where the Covid-19 variant first identified in South Africa has been found, in partnership with the local authority, a statement said. The increased testing, in combination with the current lockdown…
BRITISH prime minister Boris Johnson is set Monday(22) to start unwinding England's third and potentially final coronavirus lockdown, as a quickening UK-wide inoculation drive relieves pressure on overstretched hospitals. In a statement to parliament, Johnson will confirm the reopening of all English schools on March 8 in the first big…
The UK government on Sunday (21) vowed to offer a first coronavirus vaccine dose to every adult by the end of July, as it readied to announce a gradual easing of its third lockdown in England. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who will outline the lockdown review in parliament on Monday,…
by LAUREN CODLING LEADING doctors have said there is no need for panic as they sought to reassure Asians about the new variant of the coronavirus which has led to tighter restrictions in London and parts of south-east England. Dr Kailash Chand said the new variant was predicted by scientists…