TWO cases of another new strain of Covid-19 linked to South Africa have been identified in the UK, Matt Hancock has said. The strain, separate from the one that has infected 18 people so far in Scotland, is said to be even more infectious. The Health Secretary, speaking at a Downing Street press conference, also announced the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine has now submitted full data to the regulator for approval. Hancock said: “This new variant is highly concerning because it is yet more transmissible and it appears to have mutated further than the new variant that has been discovered in the UK.”
Washington Post. The story has prompted Atlas to publish a rebuttal defending his approach in the
Wall Street Journal.
Atlas stepped down from his post as White House COVID-19 adviser on November 30 after a turbulent three-month term during which he became a lightning rod for criticism. Atlas frequently objected to lockdowns and other quarantine measures implemented to limit the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus; his opponents accused him of advocating herd immunity, a charge that he denied.
The latest imbroglio over Atlas came as part of a highly critical review in the
Washington Post of the Trump administration s response to the pandemic that claimed that administration mismanagement led to the current dark winter of rising deaths from the virus. While the story outlined what it claimed were a number of missteps by administration personnel, it reserved a particular focus for Atlas.
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Dec 22, 2020 11:29 AM EST
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the United States top infectious diseases expert, stated on Tuesday that US citizens should assume that the new, more contagious COVID-19 strain that emerged in the United Kingdom is already in the country. It is certainly possible that the strain is already present within the US, according to Fauci on ABC s Good Morning America.
Fauci: Assume It Is Here Already
According to Dr. Fauci, When you have this amount of spread within a place like the UK, you really need to assume that it s here already. it certainly is not the dominant strain but I would certainly not be surprised at all if it is already here, reported The Hill.
Fauci says the new, fast-spreading UK coronavirus strain is likely already in the US
Ashley CollmanDec 22, 2020, 19:58 IST
Dr. Anthony Fauci.Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty
Dr.
coronavirus strain circulating in England might already be in the US.
He also said he would advise against instituting a
UK travel ban over the strain, as many other countries already had.
Fauci told CNN we don t want to overreact but should without a doubt keep an eye on it.
Dr. Anthony Fauci has said he thinks the new, potentially more infectious coronavirus strain circulating in the UK may already be in the US.
BBC News
Covid: Fauci hopes receiving vaccine will encourage others
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The director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Anthony Fauci, has received a first dose of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine.
He spoke to BBC World News before the vaccination, saying he hoped it would encourage others to follow. It makes me feel good. I want this to be a symbol for the people in the United States to encourage them about the safety and the efficacy of this vaccine, and to get them to be enthusiastic when their time comes to get vaccinated, he said.