'Mu' variant has been detected in EVERY US state except Nebraska
The Mu variant of COVID-19- which scientists fear could be more transmissible than Delta - has now been detected in all U.S. states with the exception of Nebraska.
Florida and California have reported 384 variant cases- the highest numbers among the 49 infected U.S. states.
Los Angeles County reported close to half of the California cases with 167.
The new cases however only reflect 0.2 percent of total variant samples from the state of California between June and August.
Alaska previously had the highest number of Mu variant cases with 146. That represented four per cent of all cases recorded in the isolated state.
Other U.S. states have also shared their Mu numbers, with 42 in Maine, 73 in Connecticut and 39 in Hawaii, according to Newsweek.
The Mu variant- which was identified in Colombia in January - has spread to 41 different countries including the United States, and is also feared to potentially be vaccine-resistant.
The variant became of interest due its potential to become more transmissible and vaccine resistant as discovered by the World Health Organization on August 30.
The CDC, however, has not shared this analysis.
Director of LA County Public Health Barbara Ferrer said in a statement: 'The identification of variants like Mu, and the spreading of variants across the globe, highlights the need for L.A. County residents to continue to take measures to protect themselves and others.
'This is what makes getting vaccinated and layering protections so important. These are actions that break the chain of transmission and limits COVID-19 proliferation that allows for the virus to mutate into something that could be more dangerous.'
Dr. Anthony Fauci also commented on the Mu variant claiming that it would not be the next dominant COVID strain. 'Even though it has not in essence taken hold to any extent here we always pay attention to at all times variants,' he said. 'We don't consider it an immediate threat right now.'
This mutant strain was first spotted in Colombia in January. It has since spread to more than 40 countries including the UK, US, France, Japan and Canada.
Is it increasing in prevalence?
There have been 4,000 cases detected to date, but this is thought to be an underestimate because many countries that have suffered outbreaks do very little surveillance for variants.
The number of cases blamed on the variant declined globally last month, amid the spread of the Delta strain.
In Colombia — where it was first detected — it is still behind around six in ten infections.
Can the strain dodge vaccine triggered immunity?
The variant carries the mutation E484K, which can help it escape antibodies.
This change is also found on the South African 'Beta' variant and Brazilian 'Gamma' variant.
A PHE study previously suggested it could make vaccines less effective. But UK health chiefs said more research was needed.
The variant has been further described by Fauci as 'a constellation of mutations that suggest that it would evade certain antibodies, not only monoclonal antibodies, but vaccine and convalescent serum- induced antibodies.'
The peak of Mu variant cases were present in mid-July and have been declining since. However, the fear is that the variant will strengthen again in the future.
The nation has eclipsed an average of 1,500 COVID-19 deaths per day, the first time the mark has been reached in six months - since the vaccination drive began in earnest.
Figures from Johns Hopkins University released early Tuesday showed that the US has recorded 40,018,318 cases of COVID since the pandemic began, with 647,072 people known to have lose their lives as a result.
When the 1,500 figure was last reached in March, though, the vaccines were not as widely available as they are now.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also reports that deaths increased by 131 percent in August compared to previous months.
COVID-19 cases are also 300% higher this year when compared to last year's labor day weekend - before any vaccines were available.
Hospitalizations nationwide have spiked as well, with August having double the amount of COVID-19 patients admitted than June did.
The rise in deaths corresponds with a rise in hospitalizations.
More than 102,000 American are hospitalized with the virus, and 75 percent of hospital beds nationwide are currently in use.
Nationwide, the U.S. has recorded over 40 million COVID-19 cases and 648,000 deaths from the virus, the most of any nation in the world in both categories
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9964415/Mu-variant-detected-U-S-state-except-Nebraska.html
*****************************************Delta transmission in children low, causes mild illness, report finds -- Australian report
There has been a five-fold increase in the spread of COVID-19 in educational settings but only 2 per cent of children who caught it during the latest outbreak have been hospitalised, and most experienced mild or no symptoms, a new report from the National Centre for Immunisation and Research has found.
Transmission between children has also been low, it found.
The report looked at transmission of COVID-19 in schools and households between June 16 and July 31, and found that the NSW experience was consistent with overseas studies showing the Delta variant was more transmissible and led to more infections among children and young people.
Professor Kristine McCartney, a specialist at The Sydney’s Children’s Hospital at Westmead, said the rate of transmission between children was low, and most of the transmission was between unvaccinated adults. “The spread between children themselves was very low,” she said.
“We’re very lucky to know, and it’s consistent with data over the course of the pandemic, that COVID-19 is mild among children.
“Only around 2 per cent will require hospitalisation and, for many of those 2 per cent, it’s for monitoring and social care. Unfortunately, often their parents are unwell with COVID-19 and that’s why they’re being cared for in the hospital.”
The report found that across 19 schools and 32 early childcare services, there were 59 people - 34 students and 25 staff members - who attended while infectious. From those primary cases, 2347 people were considered close contacts.
The overall transmission rate at early childhood centres was 4.7 per cent, with 106 secondary cases involving 69 students and 37 staff members. Transmission occurred in 19 of the 51 settings. The highest transmission in early childhood settings was between staff members, and from a staff member to children.
Transmission was lower in schools, the report said, at a rate of 2.1 per cent; there were nine secondary cases in 728 close contacts. “This was likely due to the school holiday period and subsequent limited onsite attendance in term 3,” the report said.
Dr Archana Koirala, a paediatric infectious disease specialist and University of Sydney lecturer, said full participation in education services was essential for children to learn and develop socially.
“These results should give confidence to families, schools and the community that we have robust evidence on how the Delta variant behaves in children,” she said.
The study found the so-called attack rate - or the transmissibility of the strain - was highest between adults (11.2 per cent) and second highest from adults to children (seven per cent). Between children it was 1.6 per cent and from children to adults it was 1.5 per cent.
**********************************************
Toxic Double Standards Get More Blatant
Let’s take the shooting of Ashli Babbitt. When one compares it to some other high-profile shootings, like the Michael Brown case, for instance. Officer Darren Wilson of the Ferguson Police Department went through an ordeal, even though Brown had tried to take his gun, an action that warrants the use of deadly force.
Did Wilson ever get the “puff piece” interview with Lester Holt that the cop who pulled the trigger on Ashli Babbitt did? Many of the voices who condemned the clearly justified actions of Wilson also seemed to have no problems with the shooting of Babbitt. If anything, if it had been Donald Trump’s reelection that would have been confirmed by the electoral vote count, and a Capitol Police officer had fired a fatal shot in circumstances similar to those surrounding Ashli Babbitt, how would that have been covered by the biased media outlets?
The toxic double standards don’t stop there. We could also look at a tale of two lieutenant colonels. Marine Stuart Scheller called for accountability in the wake of the horrific bombing that killed 10 Marines, two soldiers, and a Navy corpsman during the dishonorable debacle caused by Joe Biden’s betrayal in Afghanistan and was immediately fired. He now expects to be court-martialed.
Contrast that to the hero treatment Alexander Vindman got for what Byron York describes as his political gamesmanship on behalf of the deep state. Never mind that Vindman was among a bunch of bureaucrats actively undermining his commander-in-chief. Just imagine the way the usual suspects at MSNBC would have reacted if Vindman had tried to mess with Barack Obama’s Iran giveaway or Iraq withdrawal the way he did with Trump’s policy vis-à-vis Ukraine.
Speaking of Trump’s Ukraine policy, remember how so many of those “news” outlets harped on that phone call with Ukraine’s president? Well, consider the lack of curiosity about Biden’s phone call this past July with the president of Afghanistan, one in which he allegedly expressed knowledge of the precarious situation preceding the dishonorable debacle the pullout became. If Biden is held to the standard Democrats demanded of Trump, he’d be impeached and removed.
When combined with the many earlier cases of double standards, not to mention the lies and hateful rhetoric, abuses, and other assaults that defy any sense of fairness or common sense, it’s clear that much of the establishment media — and other defenders of so-called “norms” — have been running on double standards for a long time. The thing is, grassroots Patriots are tired of it, and they’re increasingly losing respect for those who not only impose double standards but also those who refuse to call them out. In the long run, that will have some dire consequences for the country.
https://patriotpost.us/articles/82512-toxic-double-standards-get-more-blatant-2021-09-07
***************************************IN BRIEF
President Biden’s approval tanks; only two others have had lower ratings at this point (Fox News)
DOJ vows not to protect preborn babies in Texas (Axios)
Only off by … well, nearly 100%: AP adds embarrassing correction to article claiming 70% of calls to Mississippi poison control were about Ivermectin ingestion (Daily Wire)
The end of enhanced unemployment benefits brings hope to small businesses (Fox Business)
In wake of Andrew Cuomo scandal, entire board resigns from Time’s Up, whose top leaders aided and abetted the disgraced ex-governor (Daily Wire)
Patriotic restaurants across America honored our troops killed in Kabul by reserving a table for them and setting out 13 beers
Apple wisely delays iPhone photo-scanning plan amid fierce backlash (AP)
Policy: Social Security bailout will create another set of problems (Market Watch)
******************************************
Also see my other blogs. Main ones below:
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS
http://snorphty.blogspot.com/ (TONGUE-TIED)
*************************************
1 comment:
"scientists fear"
The all-purpose government can do anything it wants phrase.
Post a Comment