China is not the only reason to worry about the path that the global epidemic may be headed, although its health crisis is a good reason for that concern. And it seems that about ten genetic mutants of the new Corona virus raise a growing fear that the epidemic will return to terrorize the world. Therefore, during the current week, talks will be held between several countries, most notably the United States and Australia, to agree on a unified global mechanism for monitoring sanitation on planes coming from China. While the European Union countries decided to develop guidelines for the same purpose, after extensive studies concluded that analyzing wastewater on planes and at airports is the best way to detect any new viral or mutated strain. Scientists believe that analyzing sewage on planes is the most effective way to monitor the mutations of the new Corona virus, especially after the World Health Organization said that Corona examinations decreased around the world by 90%. The organization stated that monitoring sanitation on board planes and at airports will not only help in detecting COVID-19 mutations; Rather, it will allow the discovery of a number of new diseases.
And after China announced yesterday that it had suffered about 60,000 deaths from Covid-19 disease since the beginning of December 2022; The World Health Organization has called on Beijing to make more data available on the current wave of infections. And Beijing announced (Saturday) that 5,503 people died of respiratory failure caused by infection with the virus, in addition to 54,435 people who died of Covid in addition to having cancer, heart disease, and other diseases during the period from December 8, 2022 to January 12, 2023. China stated that these deaths They are all hospitalized. This means that it is likely that many people died of the virus in their homes. And China insisted that the current epidemic wave had reached its peak, and began to recede by up to 83%, compared to what the new cases were on December 23, 2022. A Chinese expert in combating infectious diseases said (Friday), that the peak will continue in China from two to three months, Rural areas will be hit particularly hard. He attributed this to the demand of hundreds of millions of Chinese to return to their villages and towns during the Chinese New Year holiday, which will fall on January 21. And China announced that, starting Friday, it became available to every Chinese to obtain molnoviravir tablets, which were produced by the American pharmaceutical company Merck for the treatment of Covid-19.
And the Covid-19 virus continued to spread in the world yesterday, with nearly half a million new infections per day (413,256 new infections on Saturday, according to the New York Times Observatory for Global Epidemic Data). On Saturday, countries around the world recorded 2,409 additional deaths, representing a 41% increase from the number of deaths announced 14 days ago. The United States says the number of its new cases has been increasing over the past two months. She attributed this to the spread of at least ten variants that appear to be more able to evade the effectiveness of vaccines and the immunity resulting from recovery from infection. The mutant strains are led by the XBB.1.5 mutant, which has been nicknamed the legendary octopus. This mutant is descended from two females of the BA.2 strain, who gave birth to the XBB mutant, dubbed "The Nightmare", after it terrorized Singapore last fall. It is a descendant of XBB.1.5, which is feared to cause a tsunami of infection, especially for its exceptional ability not only to evade the effectiveness of vaccines, but also to its exceptional ability to lock onto the cells of the body it invades. The US Centers for Disease Control and Control indicated that XBB.1.5 now represents 41% of all new infections in the United States, sweeping away strains BA.5, BF.7, BQ.1, BQ.1.1, and the rest of the mutants sweeping America. The centers noted that XBB.1.5 is most affected in the northeastern states of the United States, where it accounts for about 75% of new infections. And Dr. Albert Ko, Professor of Infectious Disease Control at the Yale School of Public Health, says that viruses are constantly searching for how to provide themselves with capabilities that make them able to challenge an individual's immunity. He added that this mutant possesses two characteristics at the same time; It can evade the effectiveness of the vaccine and the immune system, and it has a greater ability to stick to the cells that it penetrates. This means that it is able to infect any adult even if he has received Covid-19 vaccines, or has been infected with another variant of the virus. Yesterday, the New York Times quoted an infectious disease consultant, researcher in immunology at the University of California, Dr. Otto Yang, as saying that other parts of the immune system are still able to defend the body, even if the mutant is able to prevent antibodies from stopping infection. . He added that memory cells in the immune system, known as T cells, can recognize the spike-like protein on the surface of the virus. And because it is already trained by the vaccine to know it, it can launch a counterattack if a person becomes infected with the virus.
Japan's Daiichi Sankyo Pharmaceutical Company announced that it has applied to Japanese health supervision to clear a vaccine it has developed against COVID-19, based on mRNA technology. The company said its vaccine, called DS-5670, is a candidate for use as a booster shot. She indicated that her clinical experience, in which 5,000 volunteers participated, confirmed that her vaccine resulted in the generation of a greater number of antibodies than those who underwent other mRNA vaccines. And the Japanese company announced that it will move forward with plans to update its vaccine so that it is able to target the Omicron strain and its mutants. In its fight against the global epidemic, Japan relies on the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines.
Covid puts Johnson back in the spotlight
While a number of deputies of the ruling Conservative Party in Britain believe that former Prime Minister Boris Johnson is the most capable of attracting voters, to restore the party to its previous fortunes, amid speculation that he is planning his affairs for that return; It seems that he has to bend his back to a new storm that might hinder him from achieving his ambitions. A number of British TV networks announced yesterday that they intend to broadcast the testimony that Johnson will give to the Privileges Committee of the House of Commons (Parliament), which will study whether Johnson misled the House of Commons about the parties he held at his home in the midst of lockdown. And the accompanying legal regulations aimed at combating the new Corona virus. Yesterday (Sunday), The Observer newspaper indicated that it is expected that Johnson will appear before the committee next month, whose investigation will be transmitted by the BBC channel dedicated to the proceedings of Parliament. She indicated that the British Sky network had taken the decision to display Johnson's testimony in full. Johnson had appeared during the recent period through a number of public speeches, with the aim of strengthening his connection with his supporters, and to obtain more funds, before he embarked on implementing the plan to return to politics. Johnson recorded last week that his office received a million pound donation from British businessman Christopher Harborne, who resides in Thailand. Johnson faces accusations of violating the laws enacted by his government to implement the closure measures, and to impose epidemiological restrictions to prevent the global epidemic in Britain. Whatever the matter of the parliamentary investigation with him; The outcome will be in the interest of the opposition Labor Party.
Yassin Ahmed (London), Okaz (Geneva, Washington) @OKAZ_online