Category Archives: Infectious Diseases

Australia records more than 4,000 daily Covid cases for first time – as it happened

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NSW’s 2,482 new Covid cases the worst total of any Australian state or territory since pandemic began; Queensland records 31 cases. This blog is now closed

The chainsaws outside my window have now been replaced by leaf blowers. Who authorised this?!

Ahead of the prime minister’s appearance in Tasmania today, I highly recommend reading Katharine Murphy’s latest analysis of Morrison’s strategy so far in the lead-up to next year’s election:

When he’s not trialling new made-for-TV grabs (a new “shake and bake” analogy, which I think was invoked first in relation to emissions reduction, and now has morphed into something broadly economy adjacent, or “jabs and jobs” which was Friday’s innovation), the prime minister has taken to listing things.

Morrison’s current list includes saving lives during the pandemic. Shoring up the health system “with more than $33bn from the federal government in additional investment”. Saving livelihoods with “the single largest economic rescue package in our history”. Presiding over economic recovery after the waves of the pandemic – “more than 350,000 jobs created in a five-week period after the lockdowns were lifted, and through the crisis, we have maintained that AAA credit rating”.

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T-cells in Pfizer Covid jab recipients stay robust against severe illness

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Research in South Africa raises hopes that similar responses may be present with other vaccines

South African researchers examining how the body’s immune system responds to the Omicron variant have identified that T-cells in people who have had the Pfizer vaccine continue to be robust in potentially protecting against severe illness despite Omicron’s ability to evade other defences.

The research raises hopes that similar responses may be present with other vaccines and within unvaccinated individuals who have been infected with coronavirus.

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Why a UK Omicron wave is dangerous – even if we see mostly mild cases

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Analysis: If the spread continues at this rate, a small proportion of Covid hospitalisations is a serious matter

With the booster programme at full tilt across the UK, immunity against Covid is rising – so it is perhaps not surprising that the concern shown by experts over the steep rise in Omicron infections has left some bemused.

For while the new variant is believed to dodge Covid vaccines to some degree, it is thought the jabs still offer good protection against severe disease – particularly after a booster. And greater levels of immunity mean a lower ratio of hospitalisations to cases – something we have seen before in the UK, where about 22% of cases in those aged 65 and older ended up in hospital in early 2021, when Alpha was dominant but few had received a vaccine, compared with about 6% after the vaccine rollout was well under way.

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No 10 parties raise questions about whether PM will follow Covid science

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Analysis: After a steady stream of reports, how likely is it that Boris Johnson will take advice about imposing tougher restrictions?

• Boris Johnson joined No 10 party during May 2020 lockdown, say sources

Cast your minds back to 15 May 2020. Matt Hancock, the then health secretary before he quit for breaking restrictions by having an affair, was giving a press conference where he said people should be “staying at home as much as is possible”.

Social interaction was strictly limited to outdoors and one person at a time. It was the week when people were told they could meet one parent outside, in a socially distanced way, but not both of them together.

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Biden warns of ‘winter of severe illness and death’ for those unvaccinated against Covid

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In many states, healthcare systems are already under strain due to an increase in Delta infections over the Thanksgiving holiday

Joe Biden on Thursday warned of “a winter of severe illness and death” for those not vaccinated against Covid-19, amid a wave of Delta infections and as new Omicron cases are beginning to surge in America.

The US president spoke as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned the Omicron variant could peak as early as January and states are scrambling to prepare for overloaded hospitals.

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Nearly 100 Covid cases linked to Sydney Taylor Swift party as Newcastle residents urged to postpone celebrations

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Some cases from the Metro theatre on Friday likely to be Omicron and at least 600 people who attended are now isolating

At least 97 people have caught Covid-19 at a Taylor Swift-themed dance party in Sydney, as NSW cases escalate to record levels.

NSW Health issued an alert on Thursday evening about the “On Repeat: Taylor Swift Red Party” at Sydney’s Metro theatre, with at least 600 people who arrived after 9pm on Friday deemed close contacts.

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Covid live: Italy imposes mandatory testing for all EU arrivals; Poland announces further curbs as deaths rise

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Latest updates: unvaccinated arrivals must quarantine for five days; Poland reported 660 deaths in a day, the highest since April

A member of United States secretary of state Antony Blinken’s travelling press pool has tested positive for Covid-19 on arrival in Kuala Lumpur and is isolating, a state department spokesperson said.

Secretary Blinken and his senior staff were also tested upon arrival in Kuala Lumpur and were all tested negative, Reuters reports.

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GSK/Sanofi Covid booster delayed by lack of uninfected people to test it on

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Early trials show jab effective in people of all ages who have already received doses of any vaccine

Efforts by the British and French drugmakers GSK and Sanofi Pasteur to produce a Covid-19 vaccine have suffered a further setback, with final clinical data on the jab and a potential launch delayed until next year as they struggle to find enough uninfected people to test it on.

The two vaccine specialists announced positive preliminary results from a trial that showed the vaccine raised antibody levels against Covid by nine to 43 times when given as a single booster shot in people who had already received doses of AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna or Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines, for all age groups.

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Omicron likely to accelerate death rate in Europe, says health agency

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EU risk assessment advises against Christmas mixing owing to new Covid variant’s high transmissibility

Christmas get-togethers may need to be downsized as Omicron is now “very likely” to increase the death toll in Europe even if it proves to be less severe, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has said.

The new Covid variant’s high transmissibility means that more people are forecast by the EU agency to be admitted to hospital or killed this winter than previously projected.

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How big is the risk of Omicron in the UK and how do we know?

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Analysis: Sajid Javid estimates there are 200,000 new cases a day – here’s why the experts suggest that number will soon multiply

When Savid Javid revealed on Monday that an estimated 200,000 people a day are getting infected with Omicron, it brought understandable concern – especially as just 4,713 cases of the variant had been confirmed in the UK so far – . So where does this figure come from – and what does it tell us about the trajectory of the surge?

Confirming a Covid case is caused by the Omicron variant requires a full genetic analysis of that person’s swab. According to Prof Paul Hunter at the University of East Anglia, it can take up to two weeks to return a viral sequence, meaning the figure of 4,713 Omicron cases reported by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) was already out of date.

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‘Colossal waste’: Nobel laureates call for 2% cut to military spending worldwide

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Governments urged to use ‘peace dividend’ to help UN tackle pandemics, climate crisis and extreme poverty

More than 50 Nobel laureates have signed an open letter calling for all countries to cut their military spending by 2% a year for the next five years, and put half the saved money in a UN fund to combat pandemics, the climate crisis, and extreme poverty.

Coordinated by the Italian physicist Carlo Rovelli, the letter is supported by a large group of scientists and mathematicians including Sir Roger Penrose, and is published at a time when rising global tensions have led to a steady increase in arms budgets.

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Billie Eilish: I would have died from Covid-19 if I hadn’t been vaccinated

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The pop star told Howard Stern that she had the virus in August: ‘I want it to be clear that it is because of the vaccine I’m fine’

Billie Eilish has revealed that she had Covid-19 in August, and said that she felt sure she “would have died” had she not been vaccinated.

Appearing on Howard Stern’s US radio show on Monday, Eilish said: “The vaccine is fucking amazing and it also saved [her brother/musical collaborator] Finneas from getting it; it saved my parents from getting it; it saved my friends from getting it.”

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As focus turns to Covid boosters what other measures could tackle Omicron

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Boris Johnson has not ruled out new restrictions but how effective could they be and what are the political risks

Ministers’ focus may be a “national mission” to roll out booster vaccines to counter the dramatic rise of the Omicron variant, but the government has not ruled out new restrictions for England. Here we look at options on the table, how effective they could be at reducing the spread of coronavirus and the level of political risk for Boris Johnson.

Mandatory isolation for all close Covid contacts

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Covid passports could increase vaccine uptake, study suggests

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Certification encouraged vaccination in countries with low coverage, especially among young people

Coronavirus passports could lead to increased uptake of vaccines, especially among young people, a study suggests.

Research by the University of Oxford found Covid-19 certification led to increased jab uptake 20 days before and 40 days after introduction in countries with lower-than-average vaccination coverage. Increase in vaccine uptake was most pronounced in people under 30. The modelling analysis was published in The Lancet Public Health.

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Can you trust a negative lateral flow Covid test?

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Analysis: with cold symptoms, it is better to wait for a PCR result rather than risk spreading the virus

You wake up with a pounding head, sore throat and runny nose: you reach for one of those lateral flow tests (LFT) you’ve got stashed away, just to check it is not Covid. If it returns a single red line (negative), then most people will pop a couple of paracetamol and go about business as normal – particularly if you’ve been double-jabbed. It probably is just a cold, after all.

Yet, the emergence of Omicron has thrown a spanner in the works. According to the latest data, just one month after your second Pfizer or AstraZeneca jab, the ability of antibodies to neutralise Omicron is 30 times lower than if you were infected with the Delta variant – reinforcing the message that double-vaccination is no guarantee against infection.

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New Zealand authorities investigate claims man received 10 Covid vaccinations in one day

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The man is reported to have visited several different immunisation clinics and was paid by others to get the doses

New Zealand health authorities are investigating claims that a man received up to 10 Covid-19 vaccination doses in one day on behalf of other people, in the latest effort by members of the public to skirt tough restrictions on the unvaccinated.

The Ministry of Health said it was taking the matter seriously. “We are very concerned about this situation and are working with the appropriate agencies,” its Covid-19 vaccination and immunisation spokesperson, Astrid Koornneef, said.

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Fauci urges Americans to get Covid booster as US nears 800,000 deaths

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Leading infectious diseases official warns Omicron variant appears to be able to ‘evade’ protection of two initial doses

The US government’s leading infectious diseases official, Anthony Fauci, on Sunday stepped up calls for Americans to get a Covid-19 booster shot, as the US is approaching 800,000 lives lost to coronavirus since the start of the pandemic.

Fauci warned that the Omicron variant appeared to be able to “evade” the protection of two initial doses of the mRNA-type Covid vaccines – Pfizer/BioNTech’s and Moderna’s – as well as post-infection therapies such as monoclonal antibodies and convalescent plasma.

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‘My son’s birthday party is off’ – the sacrifices UK parents are making to save Christmas

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Families tell of their ‘heartbreak’ as parties and other social plans are cancelled in the wake of Omicron

’Tis the season to be jolly, and last week Marieke Navin and her boyfriend were planning to attend three Christmas parties between them. But now, following the rise of the Omicron variant, they are not going to any.

“I was looking forward to those parties,” said Navin. “But my priority is protecting Christmas. I don’t want my children to be isolating in their room on Christmas Day, or be unable to visit their dad or my parents. I don’t want my partner’s kids to be unable to come to us on Boxing Day. I don’t want to jeopardise the movement of the children, and I don’t want anyone being poorly over Christmas.”

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Omicron is sneaky. It could be fatal for us – or for our faith in government | Francois Balloux

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The week ahead will be pivotal as we track the spread of the new variant and discover its potential legacy

The emergence and rapid spread of the Omicron Sars-CoV-2 variant feels like a flashback to last year’s grim festive season when much of the world went into lockdown to avert the worst of the Alpha variant wave. But though the sense of eerie, impending doom feels familiar, the epidemiological and political situations are different from one year ago.

The Omicron wave represents a key turning point in the pandemic. But no plausible outcome looks particularly auspicious – it feels largely like a lose-lose deal. If if turns out to be roughly as severe as previous pandemic waves, it might normalise harsh mitigation measures and render the prospect of a return to post-pandemic normality fairly remote. If it turned out to be milder than feared, this could spell the end of lockdowns with Covid-19 on its way into endemicity. The cost would be a loss of trust in political and public health authorities, which may make it difficult to deal with future threats.

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