Category Archives: Corona Virus

(WXYZ) The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services announced 250,000 free COVID-19 tests are available for 50,000 households in some areas of metro Detroit.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the MDHHS announced a partnership with The Rockefeller Foundation for the free tests.

They are available to households in eligible ZIP codes in Berrien, Genesee, Kent, Macomb, Muskegon, Oakland, Saginaw and Wayne counties, as well as the City of Detroit. Households are eligible to order one test kit from the Project Act website.

Each kit contains five tests and should arrive in Amazon packaging within one to two weeks of ordering. Additional test availability is anticipated in the future.

"Testing is an important tool to limit the spread of the virus and at-home tests allow individuals to very quickly determine if they are positive for the virus and take actions to isolate and seek treatment if needed. I urge Michiganders to order their tests today in addition to getting the safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine and their booster dose when eligible, as the vaccine is our best defense against the virus, MDHHS Director Elizabeth Hertel said in a statement. We are grateful for this partnership with The Rockefeller Foundation that will put more tests into the hands of Michiganders most in need as we continue battling COVID-19.

Additional Coronavirus information and resources:

View a global coronavirus tracker with data from Johns Hopkins University.

See complete coverage on our Coronavirus Continuing Coverage page.

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50K free COVID-19 test kits available for certain areas of Michigan; here's how to order - WXYZ

The vaccine sceptic and anti-lockdown campaigner Laurence Fox has said he has coronavirus.

The actor, who finished sixth in last years London mayoral elections, tweeted a picture on Sunday of a positive lateral flow test.

Above it, he wrote: In other news, felt shivery and crap yesterday. Turns out I have been visited by Lord Covid at last and have the Omnicold (if the LFT is to be believed!) On the #Ivermectin, saline nasal rinse, quercetin, paracetamol and ibruprofen. More man flu than Wu-flu at the moment.

Ivermectin is an anti-parasitic treatment used mainly on animals but which is approved in different doses to treat some parasitic worms in humans. It has not been proved to be effective at preventing or treating Covid, but has been promoted by vaccine-sceptic public figures such as the comedian and podcast host Joe Rogan, who said he used the drug to treat himself when he became sick with Covid, and the Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

Foxs tweet came four days after he posted a picture of himself wearing a T-shirt with a slogan saying, No vaccine needed, I have an immune system. In another tweet posted on Sunday, he said he was on day two of the virus.

After a number of people commented in response to Foxs tweet asking where he had got the ivermectin and why he was taking it, he responded by saying: Not only do you only have to sign a form saying you feel well to get into Mexico, but you can also buy drugs like Ivermectin over the counter that the vaccinaholics dont want you to get hold of here. Im so happy to be joining the natural immunity club. Going to have a nap.

Launching his mayoral campaign last year, Fox said he would not get the Covid jab until after 2023, by which time he claimed all the tests needed to convince him of its safety would be completed.

He has also cast doubt on the UKs death toll from the pandemic, claiming that some doctors were seeking to add non-Covid deaths including that of his mother in 2020 to the official tally to support the governments fear-based narrative.

And Fox has questioned the scientific basis of long Covid, which the Office for National Statistics estimates is affecting 1.3 million people, or 2% of the population, in the UK, based on people self-reporting symptoms that last more than a month after a Covid infection.

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Laurence Fox says he has coronavirus and is taking ivermectin - The Guardian

On the cusp of the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States is battling back the biggest surge of the virus yet with the omicron variant.

Cases, even while receding in some places, are near record levels. And daily deaths, while lower than the peak of last winter, are still averaging more than 2,000 nationwide.

Despite pitched battles over masks and vaccines, life appears somewhat normal in many respects -- kids are going to school, people are going into work and large indoor gatherings and events are being held.

So, while it may be hard to imagine, many experts suggest 2022 could be the year COVID becomes an endemic disease, meaning it is always circulating within the population but at low rates or causing just seasonal outbreaks.

During a press conference Wednesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious diseases expert, said the U.S. can get "sufficient control" over COVID-19 so it "does not disrupt us in society, does not dominate our lives, not prevent us [from doing] the things that we generally do under normal existence."

This is because the virus will start running out of people to infect as people become immune and follow mitigation measures such as mask-wearing and testing if they have symptoms.

"We have the tools with vaccines, with boosts, with masks, with tests and with antivirals," Fauci said.

As an endemic disease, COVID-19 would shift from becoming a global health emergency to a virus that the world learns to live with.

Travelers walk past a sign offering free COVID-19 vaccinations and booster shots at a pop-up clinic in the international arrivals area of Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, Calif., Dec. 22, 2021.

Public health experts say many societal changes are needed for a time when the virus circulates but is not as disruptive, such as targeted testing, more vaccination, better treatments and allowances for staying home when you're sick.

"We really need to be shifting our thinking to how do we live with this virus rather than can we make it completely go away," Dr. Timothy Brewer, a professor of epidemiology at UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, told ABC News. "So I think we need to sort of move into the mode of minimizing the impact of the virus as much as possible in terms of health, economic and social disruption -- recognizing this virus is going to be there."

People who are sick will be advised to stay home or wear masks in public

When the virus does become endemic, experts say people will be advised not go into school or work while sick and instead stay home, unlike before the pandemic.

If you have to leave the house, it could remain common to wear a mask on public transit or in indoor spaces.

"It will become a culture of if you're sick you stay home," Dr. Wafaa El-Sadr, a professor of epidemiology and medicine at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, told ABC News. "Don't come to work, don't go to school, don't send your kids to school. There will be more of an appreciation of the collective responsibility that we have for each other."

Currently, federal law does not require employers to provide paid sick leave to employees although some states, such as California, New York and Washington, have laws requiring it.

Antivirals may become more common in doctor's offices and hospitals

In addition to vaccines, some antiviral treatments, from Pfizer and Merck, have come out in the past several months, specifically for those who test positive or had symptoms recently developed.

Studies have shown that these antivirals can help prevent hospitalization, especially those who are at high risk of severe illness.

Experts stress that even after the emergency phase is over, antivirals should not be considered a substitute for vaccines, but rather an extra layer of protection, specifically for at-risk groups.

People have drinks and dine on the outdoor patio at La Boheme in West Hollywood as coronavirus surges on July 8, 2020, in Los Angeles, Calif.

"The distribution of antivirals is really important in terms of making sure immunocompromised people and people with disabilities have that sort of protection," Abdulah Shihipar, a public health researcher at Brown University, told ABC News.

Brewer agrees and says he thinks the treatments for COVID-19 will be similar to those for HIV in that they will get better and better over time.

"HIV is no less pathogenic today than it was 40 years ago but the difference is we have very effective treatments, we have excellent antivirals against HIV," he said. "So I think as antivirals become available that they will play a very important role" in combating COVID-19.

Shihipar says he hopes the federal government comes up with a long-term plan for distribution whether that means a program people can sign up for to get cheap subsidized drugs, setting up at pharmacies, delivering it to rural areas and so on.

Testing will be more strategic such as just screening people with symptoms

Currently, the U.S. has a model based on two types of testing: diagnostic for symptomatic people to see if they are positive for COVID, and preventive for asymptomatic people to make sure they are not infected before participating in activities or seeing others.

But in a world in which COVID-19 is more seasonal of a virus, experts say the country will have to shift to more focused testing, particularly focusing on the symptomatic.

"Now we kind of test just to test everybody, it should be more focused," said El-Sadr. "For people who are symptomatic, if you have symptoms, it is a good idea to get tested, absolutely. So I think focusing on people who are asymptomatic will be very important."

Right now, an average of 1.7 million tests is being administered per day in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Experts say that, during peaks, a minimum of 2 million is needed to keep up with demand. Supplies have been short in some cases as manufacturers ramp up production of at-home tests and omicron redefines infection levels in the country.

El-Sadr also says testing can be used for specific high-risk activities such as eating indoors with family members who are unvaccinated or having a social gathering with someone who is immunosuppressed as opposed to generally for indoor gatherings.

"We have to think of what is the strategic use of testing," El-Sadr added.

Medical personnel from Riverside (CA) University Health Systems hospitals administer a COVID-19 test at drive-through testing site in the parking lot of Diamond Stadium, March 22, 2020 in Lake Elsinore, Calif.

Brewer believes testing programs currently in place at schools, such as students testing before returning and then undergoing weekly testing, won't work in the long run.

"It's logistically and financially too cumbersome and expensive and slow," he said. "Given that we know up to 40% or more of people can be asymptomatic when infected and we know asymptomatic people can spread disease, we just kind of need to operate under the assumption that anyone is potentially infected and do things like hand hygiene and vaccination rather than relying on a testing strategy."

Improved ventilation standards in workplaces and schools could be implemented

Experts say that improving indoor air quality will be one of the most important tasks, specifically as states begin to roll back mandates and mitigation measures.

Making sure indoor air is being recirculated will lower rates of cases and prevent outbreaks.

Shihipar says the Occupational Safety and Health Administration had standards for health care settings (which have since expired) that need to be expanded to all workplaces.

"We need to change the way we deal with indoor air, like how do we properly ventilate these spaces -- not just for COVID but for flu and all these other diseases," he said. "How do we make the air cleaner so that the disease spreads less?"

He continued, "We need emergency temporary workplace standards from OSHA. One for all workers would actually regulate employers to make their workplaces safe in terms of ventilation, in terms of capacity."

Shihipar added that he'd like to see the government giving each teacher a certain number of portable air filters for their rooms and the governments and setting up clear standards of air regulation for school districts.

Students pass a beach ball to the next person on the list during roll call on the first day of class at Laguna Niguel Elementary School in Laguna Niguel, Calif. on Aug. 17, 2021.

We may need annual COVID vaccines

Experts have suggested that annual COVID-19 vaccines, just like the flu shot, could become a reality in a world where the virus is endemic to keep antibody levels high.

They could even be adapted to combat variants just the flu shot is manufactured to combat which strains researchers think will be the most dominant.

Brewer said it will depend on two factors: how long immunity lasts after vaccination and how much the virus changes.

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Experts say the COVID-19 emergency could end this year. What would it look like? - ABC News

The omicron variant of Covid-19 was discovered less than three months ago, but it rocketed case numbers to record highs. Yet almost as rapidly as they rose, new infections plummeted in countries like the United Kingdom, South Africa, and now the United States.

Omicron caused some of the pandemics tallest, sharpest spikes in Covid-19 infections as it overtook previous variants like delta, but several waves triggered by earlier variants followed a remarkably similar pattern. Almost as steeply as cases rose, they fell.

Why did this happen? Why didnt omicron cases rise and fall slowly or level out at a high or moderate level?

I think you may get different answers from different experts, said Eleanor Murray, an epidemiologist at Boston University, in an email. This isnt just a curiosity: Researchers are trying to tease out the reasons in the hope of flattening peaks in the future.

Understanding why cases are rising and falling is crucial for figuring out what kinds of public health strategies are working. Its also important for anticipating what comes next and how to deploy resources like medical workers, hospital beds, vaccines, and treatments.

The Covid-19 spikes were seeing are not just an intrinsic fact of nature. Theyre partly a consequence of how we respond or dont to changes in the virus and in our society. And as steep spikes are eventually replaced by shallower slopes, they will also reveal when the acute Covid-19 pandemic has ebbed and given way to an endemic disease.

The omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, appeared at just the right time to cause a huge infection spike. It took root in the Northern Hemisphere as holiday travel picked up and cooler temperatures pushed people indoors, helping it travel long distances and spread locally through person-to-person contact.

Omicron also had the right mix of traits to catch fire. The omicron variant contains mutations that allow it to better evade immune protection while spreading faster than any prior known variant. Even people vaccinated against Covid-19 began getting infected in large numbers as protection from their initial doses started to waver, though most experienced mild symptoms. All these factors together led to lots of infections happening very quickly.

It has infected everybody that could be infected out and about and that means automatically it will run out of people to infect and start coming down as fast as it went up, said Ali Mokdad, an epidemiologist at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.

While omicron has been the most extreme example of this phenomenon, earlier variants also caused sharp spikes and declines. South Africa, for instance, saw distinct peaks associated with different variants. Most of these peculiar stalagmites in South Africa were symmetrical except for the delta wave last summer, which saw a brief resurgence on its way down.

[T]he shape of a spike then decline is what we generally expect in a single population, said Justin Lessler, a professor of epidemiology at the University of North Carolina School of Public Health, in an email.

A key variable is the basic reproductive number of the virus, or R0, which is the average number of people that one infected individual tends to infect. If that number is above one, the epidemic grows exponentially; if it is below one, it declines exponentially, Lessler said.

As more people get infected with a coronavirus variant, there are fewer people left to infect. When the basic reproductive number falls below one, new infections reach their peak and then decline. To plateau, the rate of new infections has to stabilize somewhere near one, but that would require an unusual set of conditions, according to Lessler.

The idea that disease outbreaks are generally symmetrical is an old one. William Farr observed in the 1840s that smallpox epidemics followed a mathematical pattern, though his formula, known as Farrs law, resulted in a bell-shaped curve. But diseases rarely follow such neat curves.

That has been generally discredited as a law since it doesnt allow for things like changes in susceptibility due to different levels of immunity/immune waning, movement in and out of populations, and changes to risk and exposure behaviors, said Murray.

Thats been evident during the Covid-19 pandemic. Some countries like South Korea saw more gentle hills as different variants took root, while others like Brazil experienced asymmetrical, jagged peaks throughout the pandemic. Some of that is due to delays in identifying and reporting cases. In some places, variants like delta and omicron overlapped. At the country level, case curves can change shape as the pandemic spreads over time from urban to rural areas or can peak at different times depending on the region.

Then one has to account for public health interventions. Vaccines offer significant immune protection (and recovery from Covid-19 can be protective too). Measures like wearing face masks, limiting public gatherings, more rigorous testing, and boosting vaccination efforts also assist in flattening the curve and help waves to crest. People also change their behavior in response to rising infections. In the US, surges in vaccination and testing followed spikes in cases.

That increase in testing and implementation of public health interventions helps us not only reduce transmission, but also more accurately and timely identify dips in cases, said Saskia Popescu, an infectious disease epidemiologist at George Mason University, in an email. These are also good examples of how effective the vaccines have been and our ability to rapidly respond to spikes and novel variants.

So both the shape and the size of an infection spike can be altered with public health tactics. Over time, as immunity builds up in the population, experts expect to stop seeing tall, sharp spikes in Covid-19 cases. The virus probably wont go away entirely, but case counts could form seasonal waves as new variants arise, immunity wanes, and exposure opportunities increase, according to Mokdad.

Covid-19 cases spurred by omicron appear to have peaked already in the US, but the health care system is still facing a stressful time ahead.

When an outbreak peaks in a given community, 50 percent of the infections have occurred and now another 50 will happen as we come down, Mokdad said. So we still have a couple of weeks ahead of us that are dangerous in the United States. ... A small fraction of them are going to the hospitals, but a small fraction of a huge number is a lot.

If public health measures like masking and social distancing are relaxed too soon, cases can bounce back up on their way down. The UK, for instance, reopened schools and relaxed Covid-19 rules before the omicron wave flattened out. Then infections stopped dropping.

The same thing could happen to other countries. That sharp decline will slow down at one point, then it goes back [down] sharply again, Mokdad said. Thats what we are noticing globally.

Even after the omicron wave recedes, the US will still have to contend with people who remain unvaccinated against Covid-19, both inside the country and around the world. And the virus is always changing: Omicron now has a subvariant called BA.2 that is gaining some ground, though its not yet clear what it means for the pandemic overall.

The more the virus spreads, the more likely it is to mutate in dangerous ways. As the current variants have shown, they can quickly spread around the world, regardless of where they originate.

The recurring spikes of Covid-19 cases, fueled in part by variants, should inspire us to redouble our efforts at controlling the disease, especially with vaccines. Were still struggling to avoid these peaks as vigilant infection prevention efforts and global vaccine equity have been a challenge, said Popescu.

A more robust global vaccination effort, coupled with better disease surveillance to catch variants before they spell trouble, could prevent the next wave and finally start to bring the pandemic under control.

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Omicron surge: Why Covid-19 cases often spike sharply and fall rapidly - Vox.com

OREM, Utah Federal officials worried that more than 174,000 coronavirus patient test results from an Orem lab used by TestUtah were potentially wrong but none of the people who were tested early in the pandemic were told, documents obtained by The Salt Lake Tribune show.

Testing at Timpanogos Regional Hospital may have produced accurateresults.Or its lab may have produced false negatives or false positives, according to documents and interviews with people familiar with the matter.

State health officials knew for months that federal regulators were questioning whether the hospitals lab was following requirements designed to ensure tests are processed accurately, according to interviews and documents. Public officials knew as early as May 2020 about problems at the lab, which did not suspend COVID-19 testing until Aug. 23, 2020.

In the hospitals plan for correcting deficiencies, submitted to regulators the day after it halted its processing of coronavirus tests, it acknowledged:

Once it was determined that verification and validation had not been properly performed, Timpanogos Lab suspended the processing of COVID-19 specimens on the non-validated and non-verified instruments.

Read the full report on The Salt Lake Tribune's website.

The Utah Department of Health sent the following statement to FOX 13 News:

The UDOH was not a party to the CLIA audit. However, our contract with Nomi Health requires that Nomi Health ensure any concerns raised in the audit are resolved. The final audit results from CLIA did not include a requirement or recommendation that any entity notify any patients of potential issues with their test results.

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174,000 people in Utah werent told their coronavirus test results couldve been wrong - fox13now.com

Researchers from Oxford, Sheffield, Cardiff and Manchester have identified abnormalities in the lungs of long COVID patients who are experiencing breathlessness. These abnormalities can't be detected with routine tests, the researchers have said.The study uses hyperpolarized xenon MRI scans to find possible lung damage in long COVID patients who have not been hospitalised with COVID-19 but who continue to experience breathlessness. The research paper is available in medRxiv, pre-print server.The study, known as EXPLAIN, had 36 participants in its pilot stage in three broad groups: the first group is patients diagnosed with long COVID, who have been seen in long COVID clinics and who have normal CT (computerized tomography) scans; the second group is people who have been in hospital with COVID-19 and discharged more than three months previously, who have normal or nearly normal CT scans and who are not experiencing long COVID, and the third group is an age- and gender-matched control group who do not have long COVID symptoms and who have not been hospitalised with COVID-19.

In this study patients are required to lie in the MRI scanner and breathe in a litre of the inert gas xenon. Xenon behaves in a very similar way like oxygen, which helps radiologists to observe how the gas moves from the lungs into the bloodstream.

The result obtained from the pilot study shows significantly impaired gas transfer from the lungs to the bloodstream in long COVID patients.

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Coronavirus: Study finds lung abnormalities in long COVID patients with breathlessness - Times of India

That some patients had reactivated Epstein-Barr virus also made sense, Dr. Nath said, because other diseases have reawakened that virus, and its reactivation has been linked to conditions like chronic fatigue syndrome, which some cases of long Covid resemble, and multiple sclerosis. Dr. Deeks said it might be possible to give antivirals or immunotherapy to patients with reactivated Epstein-Barr virus.

There were other intriguing findings that experts said needed more substantiation. One was a suggestion that because people with lingering respiratory problems had low levels of the stress hormone cortisol, they might benefit from cortisol replacement therapy, which Dr. Heath said some doctors were already trying.

In another finding that he said might provide a way to document that patients neurological symptoms resulted from long Covid, the blood of people with lingering neurological issues contained elevated levels of proteins associated with disrupted circadian rhythms and sleep/wake cycles.

One patient in the studys primary group was John Gillotte, 40, a software engineer who contracted the coronavirus in March 2020. He was on a ventilator for about six days, after which he experienced delirium in the hospital when he closed his eyes.

I saw the devil, who was like 50 feet tall, screaming at me, throwing limbs that he dismembered off of other people, recalled Mr. Gillotte, who later had an image of the demon tattooed on his right arm, with depictions of hell below and heaven above to symbolize his progress from illness to recovery.

Mr. Gillotte, who moved from Seattle to Manhattan last year, said that for several months after his infection, he had experienced muscle weakness, lack of stamina, brain fog that impaired his concentration at work, an altered sense of smell and the perception that most food tasted like ashes.

He said that before Covid, he had a spontaneous ability to visualize specific colors with certain foods pink when he sprinkled pepper, blue with a type of liquor but now, he is dismayed to have lost those automatic connections.

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New Research Hints at 4 Factors That May Increase Chances of Long Covid - The New York Times

For Immediate Release: January 24, 2022 Statement From: Patrizia Cavazzoni, M.D. Director - Center for Drug Evaluation and Research

Espaol

As we have throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has used the best available science as the virus has evolved to make informed decisions with the health and safety of the American public in mind. Ensuring that healthcare providers on the frontlines have the best tools available to treat patients is a top priority for the agency.

In light of the most recent information and data available, today, the FDA revised the authorizations for two monoclonal antibody treatments bamlanivimab and etesevimab (administered together) and REGEN-COV (casirivimab and imdevimab) to limit their use to only when the patient is likely to have been infected with or exposed to a variant that is susceptible to these treatments.

Because data show these treatments are highly unlikely to be active against the omicron variant, which is circulating at a very high frequency throughout the United States, these treatments are not authorized for use in any U.S. states, territories, and jurisdictions at this time. In the future, if patients in certain geographic regions are likely to be infected or exposed to a variant that is susceptible to these treatments, then use of these treatments may be authorized in these regions.

Monoclonal antibodies are laboratory-made proteins that mimic the immune systems ability to fight off harmful pathogens such as viruses, like SARS-CoV-2. And like other infectious organisms, SARS-CoV-2 can mutate over time, resulting in certain treatments not working against certain variants such as omicron. This is the case with these two treatments for which were making changes today.

Based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, the omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 is estimated to account for more than 99% of cases in the United States as of Jan. 15. Therefore, its highly unlikely that COVID-19 patients seeking care in the U.S. at this time are infected with a variant other than omicron, and these treatments are not authorized to be used at this time. This avoids exposing patients to side effects, such as injection site reactions or allergic reactions, which can be potentially serious, from specific treatment agents that are not expected to provide benefit to patients who have been infected with or exposed to the omicron variant.

The NIH COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Panel, an independent panel of national experts, recently recommended against the use of bamlanivimab and etesevimab (administered together) and REGEN-COV (casirivimab and imdevimab) because of markedly reduced activity against the omicron variant and because real-time testing to identify rare, non-omicron variants is not routinely available.

Importantly, there are several other therapies Paxlovid, sotrovimab, Veklury (remdesivir), and molnupiravir that are expected to work against the omicron variant, and that are authorized or approved to treat patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 who are at high risk for progression to severe disease, including hospitalization or death. Healthcare providers should consult the NIH panels COVID-19 treatment guidelines and assess whether these treatments are right for their patients.

While its critical that we have ways to treat those who contract COVID-19, the authorized treatments are not a substitute for vaccination in individuals for whom COVID-19 vaccination and a booster dose are recommended. Data has clearly demonstrated that the available, safe and effective vaccines can lower your risk of developing COVID-19 and experiencing the potential associated serious disease progression, including hospitalization and death.

The FDA is committed to continuing to review emerging data on all COVID-19 therapies related to the potential impact of variants and revise the authorizations further as appropriate to ensure healthcare providers have an effective arsenal of treatments for patients.

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The FDA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, protects the public health by assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biological products for human use, and medical devices. The agency also is responsible for the safety and security of our nations food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, products that give off electronic radiation, and for regulating tobacco products.

01/24/2022

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Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: FDA Limits Use of Certain Monoclonal Antibodies to Treat COVID-19 Due to the Omicron Variant | FDA - FDA.gov

Boris Johnson has been accused of taking a reckless approach to public health by lifting all plan B Covid restrictions in England while failing to take enough action to get jabs to 3 billion unvaccinated people in poorer countries.

The prime minister has robustly defended his record on the pandemic this week while awaiting the findings of the Sue Gray report on the partygate scandal, insisting he got the big calls right on the biggest global health crisis in a century.

But now more than 300 leading scientists, health experts and academics have said his failure to take sufficient action to boost vaccination levels worldwide means it is more likely new variants will put thousands of lives at risk across the UK.

We write to you as scientists, academics, and public health experts concerned about the emergence of the Omicron variant and the threat that future variants may pose to public health, the NHS, and the UKs vaccination programme, they said in a two-page letter delivered to 10 Downing Street.

Vaccinating the vast majority of the worlds population is the best way to prevent Sars-CoV-2 from mutating. However, as the UK has provided booster doses to up to 1 million people every day, more than 3 billion people across the world have yet to receive their first dose. More boosters have been delivered in rich countries than the total number of all doses administered so far in poorer nations.

Allowing huge numbers of people in low- and middle-income countries to remain unvaccinated is a reckless approach to public health that creates conditions where new Sars-CoV-2 variants of concern are more likely to develop.

The letter has been signed in a personal capacity by 13 members of Johnsons Sage committee and subcommittees, a fellow at the UK Health Security Agency and an adviser to the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.

Nigel Crisp, the former chief executive of the NHS in England, Nobel prize winner Sir Richard Roberts, and several World Health Organization advisers are also among the signatories.

They called on Johnson to allow low- and middle-income countries to manufacture Covid vaccines, tests, and treatments for themselves. Vaccinating the vast majority of the worlds population was the best way to prevent further coronavirus variants of concern, they added, including variants that could be more infectious or render current vaccines less effective.

They urged the prime minister to put public health before the interests of the pharmaceutical industry to prevent another year of uncertainty and tragedy by supporting international efforts to suspend intellectual property rules that stop lower-income nations from manufacturing vaccines, tests, and treatments.

Vaccines will not be effective at stopping new variants of concern from arising unless we share this technology with the world and increase global vaccination coverage, they added in the letter coordinated by science and health experts working with groups including Global Justice Now.

Crisp said: Throughout this pandemic, the government has pledged that it will follow the science. The scientific evidence has been clear since the start of the pandemic that the best way to keep ourselves and our NHS safe from new variants is to vaccinate the world.

However laudable donations of vaccines might be, they will never be enough to end the pandemic. There is untapped manufacturing capacity in the very nations that need vaccines and treatments most. For the sake of peoples lives in those countries and our own, we must use it.

Laura Merson, associate director of the Infectious Diseases Data Observatory at the University of Oxford, said protection provided by boosters would be critically limited while most of the world remained unvaccinated.

The easing of plan B restrictions may give the impression that the pandemic is coming to an end, she said. But this wont be over until we address the risk of new variants at the root in populations that have not had access to vaccines.

Maryam Shahmanesh, professor of global health at UCL, added: By ignoring the demands of low- and middle-income countries and stifling global vaccine production with arbitrary intellectual property rules, the government risks prolonging the pandemic and endangering countless lives. We need a complete step-change if we are to bring this pandemic to an end for everyone.

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Lifting England Covid rules while 3bn people unvaccinated reckless experts - The Guardian

The latest:

Most coronavirus restrictions including mandatory face masks were lifted in England on Thursday, after Britain's government said its vaccine booster rollout successfully reduced serious illness and COVID-19 hospitalizations.

From Thursday, face coverings are no longer required by law anywhere in England, and a legal requirement for COVID passes for entry into nightclubs and other large venues has been scrapped.

The government last week dropped its advice for people to work from home, as well as guidance for face coverings in classrooms.

The so-called "Plan B" measures were introduced in early December to stop the rapid spread of the Omicron variant from overwhelming health services and to buy time for the population to get its booster vaccine shot.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the government's vaccine rollout, testing and development of antiviral treatments combine to make "some of the strongest defences in Europe," allowing a "cautious return" to normality.

But he added that "as we learn to live with COVID, we need to be clear-eyed that this virus is not going away." While infections continue to fall, health officials said that Omicron remained prevalent across the country, especially among children and the elderly.

Officials said that almost 84 per centof people over 12 in the U.K. have had their second vaccine dose, and that of those eligible, 81 per centhave received their booster shot.

Hospital admissions and the number of people in intensive care units have stabilized or fallen, and daily cases have fallen from a peak of over 200,000 cases a day around New Year to under 100,000 in recent days.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said last week that the surge of Omicron infections "has now peaked nationally."

As the government moved away from legal measures, some shops and public transport operators say they will continue to ask people to wearmasks. London Mayor Sadiq Khan said face coverings will still be required on the capital's buses and subways.

The legal requirement for those infected to self-isolate for five full days remains, but Johnson said that measure will also end soon, to be replaced with advice and guidance for those infected to be cautious.

Health officials have said they are planning a longer-term, post-pandemic strategy that treats COVID-19 more like the flu.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which make their own public health rules, have local timelines for easing COVID-19 restrictions.

-From The Associated Press, last updated at 7:10 a.m. ET

With lab-based testing capacity deeply strained and increasingly restricted,experts say true case counts are likely far higher than reported. Hospitalization data at the regional level is also evolving, with several provinces saying they will reportfiguresthat separatethe number of people in hospital because of COVID-19 from those in hospital for another medical issue who alsotest positive for COVID-19.

For more information on what is happening in your community including details on outbreaks, testing capacity and local restrictions click through to the regional coverage below.

You can also read more from thePublic Health Agency of Canada, whichprovides a detailed look at every regionincludingseven-day averagetest positivity ratesin itsdaily epidemiological updates.

In Central Canada,Quebechealth officials on Thursday reported3,153 hospitalizations down117from Wednesday's COVID-19 report with235 people in intensive care. The province also reported56 additional deaths and3,956new lab-confirmed cases.

Ontario on Thursday reported a total of 3,645 hospitalizationsa decrease of 371 from a day earlier with 599 people in the province's intensive care units. The province, which is set to loosen some COVID-19 restrictions early next week,also reported 70 additional deaths on theCOVID-19 dashboard and 5,852 new lab-confirmed cases.

In the North, the premier ofNunavuton Thursday reported a total of279 active cases of COVID-19 across16 communities.

In the Northwest Territories,Health Minister Julie Green said Wednesday that the government plans to end the public health emergencyin the spring. But she noted that the end of that phase of public health orders doesn't mean an end to outbreaks.

In the Yukon, there was one personin hospital with COVID-19 on Thursday, and32 newly confirmed cases in the territory.

In Atlantic Canada, officials inPrince Edward Islandconfirmed that students will be heading back to classon Monday after a period of remote learning. The province, which has been under tight restrictions in recent weeks, will also ease up some rules around gatherings, dining rooms and facilities like gyms.

The province said Thursday the number of people in hospital for COVID-19 treatment had risen to 17, including onepersonin ICU. The province also reported 247additional lab-confirmed cases.

InNew Brunswick, the chief medical officer and premier announced the province will move back to Level 2 restrictions as of 11:59 p.m. Friday. Studentswill alsoreturn to classrooms on Monday. The province on Thursday reported a total141 people in hospital with COVID-19, including eightin intensive care units. Health officials also reported threeadditional deaths and 388additional lab-confirmed cases.

Nova Scotiaon Thursday said93people were in hospital with COVID-19, including 15 people in intensive care. The province also reported oneadditional deathand 366lab-confirmed cases.

Health officials inNewfoundland and Labradoron Thursday said 20 people remain in hospitalwith COVID-19, with seven people in intensive care. The province also reported four additional deaths and 378lab-confirmed cases.

In the Prairie region, health officials inManitobasaid Thursday that total COVID-19 hospitalizations decreased to 711, but that two additional people are in the ICU, bringing that total to 51. The province also reported 14additional deaths and 582new lab-confirmed cases.

Manitoba's Chief Public Health Officer, Dr. Brent Roussin, said the province might be nearing its peak of the current wave with intensive care admissions stabilizing and hospitalizations dropping slightly. But Roussin noted that wastewater samples used to track COVID-19 spread continue to fluctuate.

InSaskatchewan, health officials said Thursday that total COVID-19 hospitalizations rose to328 from 315 the day before, with 35people in the province's ICUs. The province also reported two additional deaths and 1,273 additional lab-confirmed cases.

Albertasaid Thursday that another 51 people were being treated in hospital with COVID-19, including 106 in the ICU. The province also reported 14additional deaths and 3,218lab-confirmed cases.

In British Columbia, health officials reported 977 COVID-19 hospitalizations, an increase of 28from a day earlier, including141people inICUs. The province also reported 13additional deaths and 2,033 additional lab-confirmed cases.

-From CBC News and The Canadian Press, last updated at 6:30 p.m. ET

As ofThursday evening, 365.5million cases of COVID-19 had been reported worldwide, according to a tally posted on Johns Hopkins University's coronavirus tracker. The reported global death toll stood at more than 5.6 million.

In theAmericas,new cases of COVID-19in the past week have been the highest since the pandemic began, and the fast-spreading Omicron variant has clearly become the predominant version of the virus, the Pan American Health Organization said.

InEurope, German lawmakers agonized over whether to impose compulsory COVID-19 shots, as new record daily infections and the country's stuttering vaccination campaign forced them into an ethical and constitutional dilemma.

The EU's drug regulator gave the green light to Pfizer's antiviral COVID-19 pill for treating adults at risk of severe illness.

The German Hospitals Federation had warned earlier this week that three-quarters of hospitals were reporting higher than usual numbers of staff out on sick leave.

Meanwhile, Russia's daily COVID-19 cases surged to 88,816 on Thursday, a new record high for the seventh consecutive day as the Omicron variant was identified in new regions, officials said.

The number of new infections was a significant jump from the 74,692 reported on Wednesday. Officials also said that 665 people had died in the last 24 hours.

In theAsia-Pacificregion,Hong Kong will shorten its 21-day quarantine requirement to 14 days for incoming travellers starting from Feb. 5, leader Carrie Lam said.

Beijing has limited the movement of people in more parts of the Chinese capital, even as it reported fewer COVID-19 cases on Thursday, in a bid to lower virus risk less than 10 days before its hosting of the Winter Olympics Games.Twenty-three new cases of COVID-19 were detected among Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Games-related personnel on Jan. 26, organizers said.

South Korea reported 16,096 newcases for Thursday, another daily record after posting 14,518 a day before, amid the spread of Omicron, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said on Friday.

Australia's drug regulator approved the use of COVID-19 vaccine booster shots for 16- and 17-year-olds as authorities urge people to get their third doses soon to mitigate the threat from Omicron.

The Current19:49What can Canada learn from South Africas bout with Omicron?

InAfrica,health officials in South Africa on Wednesday reported4,515 new casesof COVID-19 and94 additional deaths.

Morocco will reopen its airspace for international flights starting Feb. 7, the state news agency reported on Thursday.

In theMiddle East, Israel on Wednesday broadened eligibility for a fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to include adults under 60 with underlying medical conditions, their caretakersand others over 18 at significant risk of exposure to the coronavirus.

An official statement said the Health Ministry's director-general had approved the measures. Earlier this month, as the Omicron variant swept the country, Israel began offering a fourth dose, meaning a second booster, of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to people over 60.

A United Arab Emirates medical convoy of one million COVID-19 vaccines reached the Gaza Strip via the Rafah border crossing, state news agency WAM said.

Iran on Thursday reported 30 additional deaths in the past 24 hours and14,285 additional cases of COVID-19, the country's health ministry said.

-From Reuters and CBC News, last updated at 8p.m. ET

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Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world on Thursday - CBC News