RE:BUT.. BUT... WHAT ABOUT the DOUBLE MUTANT?This virus is nasty as Hell, and the pace of infections, and therefore mutations absoulutely IS a cause for concern. Brazil, and India, being two huge petree dishes of infection do pose a global threat essentially as a "variant factory". It's not the 1000's of variants that get produced that are the concern. It's the variant that mutates into something that the vaccines don't work against. At that point, all bets are off again because we'll be back at the beginning, trying to develop yet another vaccine while the variant runs freely. With a number of variants now 2.5 times more infectious as well, the worry increases.
So essentially it's a race. While we might "win the race" in firstt world countries, the variant production threat in other countries that are not winning the vaccine race ultimately pose a threat to us all.
Ultimately, it remains to be seen who wins. My own personal bet is that humanity wins, but not without going through extended years of dealing with this. Most epidemiologists consider the realistic win for the virus to to be "endemic" rather than pandemic. Eradication is probably a pipe-dream.
OnTheBalance wrote: Oooh, I'm all shook up
Uh huh uh
Mm mm mm, mm, yay, yay, yay This is what I like about information, and the way information is presented.
Whereas Financial Times or BBC will provide information usually as information or news, most Canadian and US media is all hype catering to the Facebook mindset of vacant people. Mind you, The Guardian from the UK is equally sappy and hype driven, meant to evoke emotion, rather than communicate information.
So what does BBC have to say about the DOUBLE MUTANT? Fresh off the press: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-56844925 What is the India variant?
Viruses mutate all the time, producing different versions or variants of themselves.
Most of these mutations are insignificant - and some may even make the virus less dangerous - but others can make it more contagious and harder to vaccinate against.
This variant - officially known as B1617 - was first detected in India in October.
And Public Health England has listed the India variant as one of several "variants under investigation" but does not so far consider it serious enough to be classified as a "variant of concern".
Dr Jeremy Kamil, a virologist at Louisiana State University, says one of its mutations is similar to those seen in variants identified in South Africa and Brazil.
And this mutation may help the virus evade antibodies in the immune system that can fight coronavirus based on experience from prior infection or a vaccine.
But what appears to be more worrying at the moment is a variant identified in the UK, which is dominant in Britain and has spread to more than 50 countries.
"I doubt whether the Indian variant is more infectious than the UK variant - and we must not panic," Dr Kamil says.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> And then you get Canadian hype tailored for the frothing drama queens waiting for their government cheques:
From Global News - Dozens of cases of ‘double mutant’ COVID-19 variant confirmed in B.C. British Columbia health officials confirmed more than three dozen cases of a COVID-19 variant first detected in India that’s being looked at as a possible contributor to rampant spread of the virus in that country.
The Ministry of Health said the province had identified 39 cases of the B.1617 variant as of April 4, but that it hadn’t been flagged as either a variant of concern or variant under investigation at that point.
B.1617 has now been designated a variant of interest, and the “BCCDC and the BCCDC Public Health Lab are reviewing genetic sequencing information and linking to case details and will be able to provide an update on the number and nature of these cases later this week,” a ministry spokesperson said in an email.
[and then it goes on to share useless information] Health Minister Adrian Dix said the variant had not been officially designated as a ‘variant of concern’ but added that “all cases of COVID-19 are of concern.” LOL >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
And then there is
Financial Times (of London) that simply states:
US airlines say ‘worst behind us’ as vaccines fuel recovery