Category: Omicron
Deltacron: a new variant that combines Omicron and Delta discovered in Cyprus *4 UPDATES*
Cypriot authorities have reported the detection of up to 25 cases of infection [now 77 cases – see updates] with a combined version of the Delta and Omicron variants of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus which they have named “Deltacron”. More...
Israel: Vaccine passport “has run its course and is no longer relevant”
Israel must rethink its COVID-19 response strategy, a senior health expert said on Thursday, as infections explode nationwide ushered in by the highly transmissible Omicron variant.
Boris Johnson: We can ‘ride out’ the Omicron wave with no more curbs
London, 1940. The city is being heavily bombed in the Blitz. More...
Israel: Effects of 4th Covid booster dose are good, but not good enough
An Israeli health expert has said that although officials are satisfied with the results reported about the effects of the fourth coronavirus shot, they expected more from the second booster. More...
Denmark: 70% of hospitalized Omicron patients are double or triple vaccinated *1 UPDATE*
Denmark has updated its latest Omicron report with details of the vaccination status of those hospitalized for the variant. More...
Global case fatality rate drops to its lowest ever level during the pandemic
Finally, some good news on the Covid front. Whilst the world battles its way through a blizzard of Omicron, the lower death rate for the variant has sent the global case fatality rate tumbling to just 1.86%, the lowest level since the beginning of the pandemic. More...
Preprint: Evidence for a mouse origin of Omicron
“In this study, we identified mutations acquired by Omicron before its outbreak, and tested whether the molecular spectrum of these mutations was consistent with the cellular environment of human hosts.” More...
English schools to move some lessons online as Covid hits teacher availability
Schools in England have been given the go-ahead to send pupils home and return to online teaching, if they have a critical shortage of teachers. More...
UK: nearly 2.4 million people have symptomatic Covid
The UK Covid app ZOE is showing another case record in Britain. More...
Ireland: more Covid cases between Christmas and New Year than in the whole of 2020
More than 120,000 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in Ireland since Christmas Day. More...