Sydney researchers studying new Covid variants say none of those they’ve seen to date would make a vaccine useless. Photograph: Getty Images
In December, the UK reported a Covid-19 variant of concern, commonly referred to as the B117 variant, which appeared to be more transmissible. Since then, scientists have established that B117 is somewhere between 50% to 70% more transmissible than other variants. If more people are getting sick, there is more pressure on health systems, and in the UK health services are so overloaded a country-wide lockdown has been enforced.
While many scientists say B117 does not appear more deadly, researchers on the UK government’s New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group found it may increase the death rate by 30% to 40%, though their sample size was small and they said more research is needed. With B117 now detected in more than 50 countries, understanding the variant is urgent.
Tuesday, January 19, 2021 17:34
A New Year firework show in HCM City, one of the major economic hubs of Vietnam (Illustrative image. Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – Japan s
COVID-19 pandemic is completely controlled.
It spotlighted Vietnam s efforts in maintaining economic
activities amid the pandemic, which made the country one of the Asian economies
recording the highest growth in 2020.
The article noted that in 2020, Vietnam signed three free
trade agreements (FTA), and saw the introduction of another airline, while rising
to the sixth position in Southeast Asia in terms of per capita income.
It noted that Vietnam grasped the greatest opportunity in
decades to become one of the countries with the highest
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A modelling study suggests that demand for cancer surgery will rise by 52% - equal to 4.7 million procedures - between 2018 and 2040, with the greatest relative increase in low-income countries, which already have substantially lower staffing levels than high-income countries.
A separate observational study comparing global cancer surgery outcomes also suggests that patients in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are four times more likely to die from colorectal or gastric cancer (odds of 4.59 and 3.72, respectively) than those in high-income countries (HICs) currently, and that poor provision of care to manage post-operative complications (which includes staffing, ward space and access to facilities) explains a significant proportion of the disproportionate deaths in LMICs.
Google Australia Threatens to Pull Search Engine as Battle With Govt Heats Up
Google on Friday pulled its trump card against the Australian government’s news media payment code, threatening to cut its search engine service from the country.
Appearing at a Senate hearing, Google Australia’s Managing Director Mel Silva said: “If this version of the code were to become law, it would give us no real choice but to stop making Google Search available in Australia.”
“Now that would be a bad outcome for us, but also for the Australian people, media diversity, and the small businesses who use our products every day,” she said.