UPDATE on the Covid-19 outbreak in Vietnam today:

Việt Nam reports 11,132 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday
24/11/21 02:34
HANOI, 23 Nov (VNS) - Viet Nam reports 11,132 ases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing total cases to 1,143,967.
Six imported and 11,126 local infections were announced on Tuesday.

167 more COVID related deaths were also announced, bringing the total death toll to 24,118.
- VNS

UK has 'led the world' on how to approach pandemic measurements, says WHO programme director
Dr Michael Ryan, the executive director of the World Health Organization’s health emergencies programme, said the UK had “led the world” on how to approach measurement of pandemics.

He told the WHO media briefing (see also 15:07): “The UK has really led the world in how to look at data, how to do excellent analytics, how to give context and get insights for disease control.”

He said that governments need to move away from “blunt percentages” to “individuals” that have been missed in terms of targeting who needs to be vaccinated.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/ ... -crossings

Covid 19 Delta outbreak: Doctors warn of new virus strain found in Botswana with 'incredibly high' number of mutations

Concerned scientists have raised the alarm over a new Covid-19 variant with an "extremely high number" of mutations which could cause fresh chaos.

Fears are growing after a brand new Covid-19 strain which "could be of real concern" was detected by scientists.

The new variant was first picked up by Imperial College London virologist Dr Tom Peacock, who shared details on a genome-sharing website.

In a chilling warning, Peacock stated that the "incredibly high amount of spike mutations suggest this could be of real concern", with cases so far found in three countries.

Those 32 spike mutations have virologists on high alert, as it means it could be harder for existing Covid vaccinations to combat the new strain.

The B.1.1529 variant – which is expected to be dubbed the Nu strain – was first detected in Botswana, southern Africa, on November 11.

Three days later it had spread to South Africa, before jumping to Hong Kong after a 36-year-old man who had recently visited South Africa tested positive in quarantine upon his return on November 13.

Strain could be 'worse than Delta'
In his initial notes, Peacock stated that the fact the strain had spread to Asia "implies this might be more widespread than sequences alone would imply", and that "the extremely long branch length and incredibly high amount of spike mutations suggest this could be of real concern".

He also predicted the strain could "escape from most known monoclonal antibodies", indicating it could potentially cause fresh outbreaks across the globe by dodging the body's defences.

In a string of tweets, Peacock doubled down on his warning, insisting the variant "very, very much should be monitored due to that horrific spike profile", and said he expected it "would be worse antigenically than nearly anything else about" – including the lethal Delta variant which has wreaked havoc across the world.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/covid- ... 3KYR2D2RE/

^^^^^

If you read the whole article it does offer some rays of light such as:

However, he also offered some words of hope, stating it could end up being an "odd cluster" which was not very transmissible.

and

Peacock's warnings have caught the attention of experts across the globe, with University College London's Genetics Institute director Professor Francois Balloux stating the new B. 1.1529 variant "carries an unusual constellation of mutations".

In comments supplied to Science Media Centre, Balloux claimed that "given the large number of mutations it has accumulated apparently in a single burst, it is likely it evolved during a chronic infection of an immunocompromised person, possibly in an untreated HIV/Aids patient".

However, this has long been the worry of the scientists, that the longer the virus goes unchecked and is endemic everywhere, the more it will mutate and, sooner or later, might mutate into something much more lethal. SARS1* had a mortality rate of about 15% but was 55% for the over 60's. That would solve the global population crisis for a few decades.

If a new strain appears that has a mortality rate of SARS1 and the transmissibility of Delta, the last 2 years will be looked upon as the 'good times'.

*https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspec ... f%207.2%25.

But then this

In his initial notes, Peacock stated that the fact the strain had spread to Asia

nemo wrote: ↑Thu Nov 25, 2021 3:28 pm But then this

In his initial notes, Peacock stated that the fact the strain had spread to Asia

Yeah, I spotted that, but they picked the guy up during hotel quarantine in HK so, maybe, it was nipped in the bud.

Do you ever get the feeling you are in a very long version of "Outbreak" that never ends and there is no guarantee that Hoffman and Freeman will win the day?

Doc67 wrote: ↑Thu Nov 25, 2021 3:34 pm

nemo wrote: ↑Thu Nov 25, 2021 3:28 pm But then this

In his initial notes, Peacock stated that the fact the strain had spread to Asia

Yeah, I spotted that, but they picked the guy up during hotel quarantine in HK so, maybe, it was nipped in the bud.

Do you ever get the feeling you are in a very long version of "Outbreak" that never ends and there is no guarantee that Hoffman and Freeman will win the day?

More like “Contagion” with Matt Damon, except a stupid B version of the film where half the population are complete morons.

In a string of tweets, Peacock doubled down on his warning, insisting the variant "very, very much should be monitored due to that horrific spike profile"

Rather irresponsible language to be tweeting and giving quotes to the papers with.

Psyop fearmongering language that panders to the headline makers imo

I would have expected a better tone from an expert in his field

Doc67 wrote: ↑Thu Nov 25, 2021 3:34 pm

nemo wrote: ↑Thu Nov 25, 2021 3:28 pm But then this

In his initial notes, Peacock stated that the fact the strain had spread to Asia

Yeah, I spotted that, but they picked the guy up during hotel quarantine in HK so, maybe, it was nipped in the bud.

If the current pandemic has taught us one thing it is preventing respiratory viruses from rapidly spreading across the globe is just a sweet dream.

Let's have another perspective on the multiple-mutations idea from Dr. John Campbell this time who summarizes several Japanese studies.

In short, Japan's case load has plummeted since mid-August. It's possibly because of the use of Ivermectin, which was allowed to be prescribed from Aug. 13. That's covered in the first 9+ minutes of the video. More study to be done on that theory.

But there's another theory put forth by a Japanese professor at the National Institute of Genetics. He says the Delta variant is accumulating too many mutations. The COVID virus's controller protein, NSP14, which guides replications, has gone topsy-turvy. It's flooding each replication with errors, i.e., mutations, and the COVID found in Japan might very well be heading for extinction. (As did SARS-1).

So, the first part of this video is about more evidence of Ivermectin's ability to mess with the virus. From about the 9:30 mark, Dr. John goes into the next possible reason COVID is faltering in Japan, almost a self-extinction. And even more fascinating, the third part of the video talks about Asians, particularly the Japanese, having a "defence enzyme" called APOBEC3A that attacks RNA viruses.

See the graphics the doc puts up in the first part, showing Japan's cases plunging numbers, post Ivermectin, compared to 3 other countries with good vaccination rates.

Last, they now will work on a drug to "inhibit nsp14."