Page 4 - Benjamin Pinsky News Today

Health experts have considerable uncertainty about how the pandemic will evolve, but at...

California has dramatically improved its genomic sequencing capacity since the start of...

Coronavirus Disease Weekly News 16May 2021 The news posted last week for the coronavirus 2019-nCoV (aka SARS-CoV-2), which produces COVID-19 disease, has been surveyed and some important articles are summarized here. The articles are more or less organized with general virus news and anecdotes first, then stories from around the US, followed by an increased number of items from other countries around the globe. Economic news related to COVID-19 is found here. Please share this article - Go to v...

What We Know About Indias Covid-19 Variant B.1.617 © Manish Swarup/Associated Press NEW DELHI—Scientists are trying to understand the role coronavirus variants, including a new one known as B.1.617, are playing in the world’s fastest-growing surge of Covid-19 cases in India. The flood of cases threatens to cripple the healthcare system in India, where hospitals in the hardest-hit cities have been running out of oxygen and turning away patients. The country is battling the world’s fastes...

This double mutant variant is adding fuel to Indias COVID-19 crisis While its spread in India is worrying, preliminary studies show vaccines are still effective against the viral newcomer. BySanjay Mishra Email Human behavior is probably more to blame for the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic than the new mutants arising around the country. But the combination of these two is proving catastrophic. “The major factor in the spread of the virus is the behavior of the people. Spread of the vir...

Photo: Pixabay on April 8, 2021 Amid a recent increase in COVID-19 variant cases in Santa Clara County, researchers at the Stanford Clinical Virology Lab discovered another new variant in the county, called the “double mutant.” It was first reported in India and is now the first confirmed case in California.  Higher transmissibility and reduced immune response against the variant are concerning, but “it seems likely that our current vaccines, especially the mRNA products, will remain eff...

Researchers identify five new cases of double mutant Covid variant in California CNBC 3 hrs ago Rich Mendez A variant of the coronavirus that has two mutations was recently detected in the San Francisco Bay Area by researchers at Stanford University. Five more cases of the "double mutant" strain have been detected since. This particular variant originated in India and is responsible for a recent 55% surge in the state of Maharashtra following months of falling cases. © Provi...

"Theres a decent amount of information of how these mutations behave in viruses on their own, but not in combination," Pinsky said in an interview. In other variants, the L452R mutation has been shown to make the virus more transmissible. There is also evidence that antibodies dont recognize that mutation, which has been found in other strains to reduce the effectiveness of vaccines. The E484Q mutation has also been shown to be less susceptible to neutralizing antibodies, which help fight the c...

"Theres a decent amount of information of how these mutations behave in viruses on their own, but not in combination," Pinsky said in an interview. In other variants, the L452R mutation has been shown to make the virus more transmissible. There is also evidence that antibodies dont recognize that mutation, which has been found in other strains to reduce the effectiveness of vaccines. The E484Q mutation has also been shown to be less susceptible to neutralizing antibodies, which help fight the c...

. WASHINGTON — Variants of the coronavirus are increasingly defining the next phase of the pandemic in the United States, taking hold in ever-greater numbers and eliciting pleas for a change in strategy against the outbreak, according to government officials and experts tracking developments. The highly transmissible B.1.1.7 variant that originated in the United Kingdom now accounts for 27% of all cases in this country. It is the most common variant in the United States, Rochelle Walensky,...