Babak Belurs

Selasa, 02 Februari 2021

COVID-19: More 'mutations of concern' found in Bristol and Liverpool, says Matt Hancock - Sky News

More coronavirus "mutations of concern" have been found in Bristol and Liverpool, the health secretary has announced.

Matt Hancock said 11 cases were identified in Bristol and 32 in Liverpool, so the government will extend the door-to-door testing currently underway in eight postcodes where the South African COVID-19 variant has been spread by community transmission.

In a statement to the Commons on Tuesday, he said: "In all these areas it is imperative that people must stay at home and only leave home where it is absolutely essential.

"When your local authority offers you a test you should take up the offer, because we know that one in three people with coronavirus have no symptoms but can still pass it on.

"We're offering testing to everyone aged 16 and over, even if you have been vaccinated.

"And if you live in one of those areas but have not been contacted and you're unsure if you should have a test, I encourage you to visit your local authority website to find out."

Mr Hancock also said residents living in postcodes that border those where "surge testing" is being rolled out will also be offered tests "where it is epidemiologically sensible".

He reiterated there is "no evidence" the South African variant is any more lethal, but is believed to be more transmissible.

"We have to come down on it hard - our mission must be to stop its spread altogether," the health secretary said.

And he announced 9.2 million people have now been given their first coronavirus jab.

Mr Hancock faced questions about the government's border plan to protect against news variants, after it was accused of being "reckless".

It emerged overnight that scientific advisers warned ministers on 21 January 2021 that only mandatory hotel quarantine for all travellers to the UK would come close to fully preventing the import of new coronavirus variants.

The policy announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson last week applies to UK nationals and residents returning from 30 "red list" countries - and there is no start date for the measure.

Mr Hancock rebuffed criticism, saying "we brought in tougher action at the border and we stand ready to do more".

In parts of Kent where the South African variant has been discovered, around 10,000 people will be tested.

Earlier, the government was warned the number of cases of the variant was likely much higher than the official number - currently 105.

Professor Andrew Hayward, who sits on the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group, said that was "big underestimate" of the true number and only "the tip of the iceberg of community transmission".

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2021-02-02 13:41:16Z
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EU made a 'serious mistake!' Michael Gove blasts Brussels and says 'trust has been eroded' - Daily Express

Michael Gove addressed the trading bloc's stunning decision in the House of Commons on Tuesday afternoon. The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster told Westminster that trust has been "eroded" between the UK and the EU as a result of the triggering of Article 16, despite the trading bloc later reversing the decision.

The Conservative MP said regarding the EU's decision to trigger Article 16: "It is important to be clear on what was proposed.

"Not only plans to stop vaccine being delivered through legally binding contracts at the height of a pandemic.

"But also and critically a unilateral suspension of the painstakingly designed and negotiated provisions of the protocol.

"Which the EU has always maintained is critical in safeguarding the gains of the Northern Ireland peace protest.

"Article 16 exists for good reasons but it is meant to be invoked only after notification and only after all other options are exhausted and in the interest of the people of Northern Ireland.

"None of these conditions were met."

Mr Gove added: "Trust has been eroded, damaged has been done and urgent action is therefore needed."

Earlier on Tuesday, the European Union's ambassador to the UK admitted that the trading bloc made a "mistake" by triggering Article 16 of the Northern Ireland protocol in a bid to stop vaccines from getting to the UK.

"It is no longer there so let’s move on.

"I want to be very clear to our Northern Ireland friends, the EU is a main support of the Good Friday Agreement."

Sky News' Sam Coates asked: "

You would say don’t activate Article 16 in order to get rid of the border in the Irish Sea?"

The EU ambassador replied: "Article 16 is a measure of last resort and it should only be activated in particular circumstances."

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2021-02-02 13:00:00Z
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COVID-19: Delaying second dose of Pfizer jab may leave elderly at risk of catching South African variant, study suggests - Sky News

Delaying the second dose of the Pfizer jab – the current government strategy - may leave some elderly patients at risk of infection by the South African variant, new research suggests.

Lab tests by scientists at Cambridge University showed that one dose of the vaccine may not stimulate the immune system to produce enough antibodies to kill the virus.

Live COVID updates from UK and around world

Only after a second dose would antibody levels be protective, according to preliminary data in the study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed.

Meanwhile, the South African variant has a mutation called E484K that helps it evade the immune system.

Some samples of the Kent variant have now been detected with the same mutation.

The Cambridge researchers tested blood samples from 26 people, 15 of them over 80, who had received one dose of the Pfizer jab against synthetic versions of both variants.

Antibodies in all volunteers were sufficient to kill the Kent variant.

But when the E484K mutation was added 10 times more antibodies were needed to neutralise the virus.

According to researchers, seven people had antibody levels that were insufficient to kill the virus after one dose of the vaccine, all of them over 80.

Only after a second dose, given three weeks later, were their antibody levels boosted to a level that killed the virus.

Dr Dami Collier, one of the co-investigators, said: "Our data suggest that a significant proportion of people aged over 80 may not have developed protective neutralising antibodies against infection three weeks after their first dose of the vaccine.

"But it's reassuring to see that after two doses, serum from every individual was able to neutralise the virus."

Professor Ravi Gupta, the lead researcher, said: "Our work suggests the vaccine is likely to be less effective when dealing with this (E484K) mutation.

"B1.1.7 [the Kent variant] will continue to acquire mutations seen in the other variants of concern, so we need to plan for the next generation of vaccines to have modifications to account for new variants.

"We also need to scale up vaccines as fast and as broadly as possible to get transmission down globally."

The E484K variant helps the virus evade the immune system and was found in 11 samples of some 200,000 that have been sequenced.

Sky's science correspondent Thomas Moore said the discovery of the E484K mutation was a "worrying development," as it could reduce the effectiveness of COVID vaccines and could also mean those who had been previously infected could be re-infected.

He said the evolution of E484K meant the virus had effectively "developed a superpower" which enabled it to not only infect cells, but also to beat the immune system.

"It changes shape so antibodies don't recognise it in the same way, and the fact that this mutation has been now picked up in some samples of the Kent variant is a twist - a worrying development," said Thomas Moore.

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2021-02-02 13:07:30Z
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UK variant has mutated again, scientists say - BBC News

The Kent variant of coronavirus that has been spreading around the UK appears to be undergoing some worrying new genetic changes, say scientists.

Tests on some samples show a mutation, called E484K, already seen in the South Africa and Brazil variants that are of concern.

Although this change may reduce vaccine effectiveness, the current ones in use should still work, say experts.

The UK has already stepped up measures to control the spread of new variants.

Urgent testing for the South Africa variant is starting in parts of England and travel restrictions have been introduced to stop more cases entering from abroad.

Experts working with Public Health England have only found a handful of cases of the UK variant with the E484K mutation - it was seen in 11 out of 214,159 samples that they tested.

How worrying are the new variants?

It's not unexpected that variants are appearing or that they will continue to change - all viruses mutate as they make new copies of themselves to spread and thrive.

Dr Julian Tang, a virus expert at the University of Leicester, said it was important people follow the lockdown rules and get cases of coronavirus down to prevent opportunities for the virus to mutate further.

"Otherwise not only can the virus continue to spread, it can also evolve."

He said that allowing spread could allow a "melting pot" for different emerging variants.

Scientists have already been checking what these new mutations might mean for existing coronavirus vaccines that were designed around earlier versions of the virus that started the pandemic.

Some research appears to show E484K may help the virus evade parts of the immune system called antibodies.

But early results from Moderna suggest its vaccine is still effective against variants with this mutation - although the body's immune response may not be as strong or prolonged.

Two new coronavirus vaccines that could be approved soon - one from Novavax and another from Janssen - appear to offer some protection too.

Even in the worst case scenario, vaccines can be redesigned and tweaked to be a better match in a matter or weeks or months, if necessary, say experts.

A silver lining may be that the variants are mutating in a similar way rather than diverging from each other.

Prof Ravi Gupta from the University of Cambridge said: "This gives us a sign that it has certain favoured routes - and we can work to block those off with a vaccine."

Measures such as washing your hands, keeping your distance from other people and wearing a face covering will still help prevent infections.

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2021-02-02 12:32:00Z
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COVID-19: Mutation of Kent variant detected in samples could help virus evade immune system - Sky News

A mutation of the Kent COVID variant that has been detected in some samples could help the virus evade the immune system, scientists have found.

The mutation, which has been labelled E484K, has also been found in the South Africa variant of the coronavirus.

It was found in 11 samples of some 200,000 that have been sequenced.

Sky's science correspondent Thomas Moore said it was a "worrying development" as it could mean those previously infected could be re-infected and could reduce the effectiveness of COVID vaccines.

He said the evolution of E484K meant the virus had effectively "developed a superpower" which enabled it to not only infect cells, but also to invade the immune system.

"It changes shape so antibodies don't recognise it in the same way, and the fact that this mutation has been now picked up in some samples of the Kent variant is a twist - a worrying development.

"It potentially means that people who have had the infection before, might be re-infected and also that it might reduce the effectiveness of the vaccine - not completely; the vaccine would still protects against serious infection and death - but perhaps that it wouldn't stop it spreading."

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2021-02-02 11:41:24Z
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Alcohol deaths hit record high during Covid pandemic - BBC News

Deaths caused by alcohol hit a new high during the first nine months of 2020, provisional figures for England and Wales show.

Between January and September, 5,460 of these deaths causes were registered - up 16% on the same months in 2019.

It is the biggest toll recorded since the records began in 2001.

The high rates spanned the period during and after first Covid lockdown, the Office for National Statistics figures show.

It reached a peak of 12.8 deaths per 100,000 people in the first three months of 2020 and remained at this level through to September - higher than in any other time on record.

As in past years, rates of male alcohol-specific deaths were twice those seen for women.

Experts say the coronavirus pandemic will have had little effect on how the data was gathered and recorded.

It is not clear how much it may have contributed to the deaths, however.

ONS spokesman Ben Humberstone said: "Today's data shows that in the first three quarters of 2020, alcohol-specific deaths in England and Wales reached the highest level since the beginning of our data series, with April to September, during and after the first lockdown, seeing higher rates compared to the same period in previous years."

"The reasons for this are complex and it will take time before the impact the pandemic has had on alcohol-specific deaths is fully understood."

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2021-02-02 10:16:00Z
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Nicola Sturgeon's husband rejects Alex Salmond Inquiry evidence invite - Daily Record

Nicola Sturgeon’s husband has been criticised after refusing an invitation to give further evidence to the :Alex Salmond Inquiry today.

Peter Murrell, who is also SNP chief executive, was recalled after MSPs hit out at some of the answers he gave to the Holyrood committee.

Tory MSP Murdo Fraser said: “Mr Murrell is showing complete contempt towards the Committee and must make himself available for questioning as a matter of urgency.”

A special Holyrood committee is examining how the SNP Government mishandled sexual misconduct complaints against Salmond.

Former First Minister Alex Salmond will give evidence next week (Image: PA)

The former SNP leader pursued legal action and it was accepted the internal Government probe had been unlawful.

The fiasco cost the taxpayer over £500,000 and destroyed the long-standing friendship between Nicola Sturgeon and Salmond, whose allies believe he was the victim of a plot.

Although the inquiry is focused on the Government, senior figures like Murrell have been drawn into the probe.

Scottish politics

Fraser said: “Peter Murrell’s refusal to reappear before the committee will only raise more suspicions about what he doesn’t want to answer about this case.

“The First Minister promised that the SNP Government would be open and transparent with this inquiry but now the Chief Executive of the SNP can’t even bring himself to be questioned again.

“His previous appearance was littered with contradictory statements which is why he should have been willing to clarify his evidence.”

The SNP has been contacted.

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2021-02-02 08:55:00Z
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Selasa, 02 Februari 2021

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