After the vaccine euphoria it could be back to square one with Covid ‘escape’ variants
After celebrating the arrival of a coronavirus vaccine in record time, markets now fear political fallout and threat of a new variant
26 January 2021 • 2:05pm
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The next black swan for financial markets could well be an escape variant of Covid-19.
This is fast becoming the greatest potential threat to economic recovery and exorbitant asset prices. It has overtaken the risks of an inflation scare this Spring, leading to another taper tremor from the US Federal Reserve.
Science’
s COVID-19 reporting is supported by the Pulitzer Center and the Heising-Simons Foundation.
News from U.S. manufacturer Moderna that its COVID-19 vaccine is still “expected to be protective” against a virus variant first detected in South Africa came as a relief to scientists and the public. But the 25 January announcement included a caveat: Antibodies triggered by the vaccine appear to be a little less potent against the new variant, named B.1.351, than the one the vaccine was developed for. So researchers were perhaps even more relieved to hear the company will start development of booster shots tailored to B.1.351 and other variants.
Statewide coronavirus update: Indiana reports lowest daily case total since October IndyStar, Indianapolis Star
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Indiana reported 1,777 new COVID-19 cases Tuesday along with 80 additional deaths, for a total of 614,946 cases since the start of the pandemic and 9,432 deaths.
The number of new cases reported Tuesday was the lowest single number for any day since the middle of October.
Positivity rates have also plummeted since the start of the month. The number of tests being performed each day has also declined. The state has averaged about 41,000 tests a day over the past seven days, according to the most recent non-preliminary data. At the height of testing, more than 54,700 tests were being done on average.
COVID-19 in Wisconsin: 54 new deaths, 1,301 new cases Photo: NIAID-RML via AP. FILE - This undated electron microscope image made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in February 2020 shows the Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus causes COVID-19. The sample was isolated from a patient in the U.S. On Tuesday, April 21, 2020, U.S. health regulators OK d the first coronavirus test that allows people to collect their own sample at home, a new approach that could help expand testing options in most states. The sample will still have to be shipped for processing back to LabCorp, which operates diagnostic labs throughout the U.S.
Moderna working on Covid-19 booster shot to fight new variant
Mon, Jan 25 2021 09:40:38 PM
New York, Jan 25 (IANS): While the two-dose regimen of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine is expected to be protective against emerging strains detected to date, the company on Monday said it is also working on a Covid-19 booster shot to protect against a new variant first identified in South Africa.
The company said that it is advancing the booster vaccine candidate, mRNA-1273.351, into preclinical studies and a Phase 1 study in the US to evaluate the immunological benefit of boosting with strain-specific spike proteins.
This is despite the fact that vaccination with the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine produced neutralising titers against all key emerging variants tested, including B.1.1.7 and B.1.351, first identified in the UK and South Africa, respectively, the company said, citiing a lab study.