Category: Breaking News

WASHINGTON: The United States has administered 157,606,463 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Friday (Apr 2) morning and distributed 204,719,335 doses, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The tally is for Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, and Johnson & Johnson’s vaccines as of 6:00am ET on Friday, the agency said. The agency said 101,804,762 people had received at least one dose while 57,984,785 people are fully vaccinated as of Friday. A total of 7,735,342 vaccine doses have been administered in long-term care facilities, the agency said. More than 100 MILLION Americans – one third of the adults – have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine The US has officially vaccinated 100 million Americans with one or more dose of COVID-19 shots That means about a third of American adults have or will soon have some degree of protection against COVID-19 About 17.5% of Americans are now fully vaccinated against the disease CDC said Friday fully vaccinated Americans can safely travel domestically or internationally without testing or before departure or quarantining upon arrival.

COVID could mutate into a new super variant which could beat vaccines, make people sicker and reinfect victims in a devastating new outbreak, leading experts have warned.

COVID could mutate into a new super variant which could beat vaccines, make people sicker and reinfect victims in a devastating new outbreak, leading experts have warned. Scientists told The Sun Online about the need to vaccinate as many people as possible and stick to the lockdown rules as it is feared the rapidly changing virus could overwhelm our current arsenal of vaccines. The experts hammered home the need to rob Covid of the rapid person-to-person transmission which helps it develop mutations. And they warned possible new variants in the future could make people sicker and re-infect people who had already developed antibodies in a “very, very scary” new outbreak. It comes as Prime Minister Boris Johnson pleaded with Brits to stick to the rules as we go into the long weekend for Easter so the UK can keep to its plan to unlock totally by June. Hot weather earlier this week already saw thronging parks and beaches amid fears it could trigger a new wave despite months of lockdown pain finally leading to plunge cases. Covid variants and mutations have been popping up around the world – with various tweaks appearing to make it more transmissible. Fears have loomed for months that a mutant Covid variant could become significantly more deadly. Meanwhile, scientists in India claimed they have identified a new variant that carries two mutations. And variants first identified in South Africa and Brazil contain the E484K mutation, which is thought to be make the bug evade vaccines.

Studies so far have shown the Pfizer and AstraZeneca jabs do work against current known variants. It comes amid fears the E484K mutation could make them slightly less effective. The latest results from Pfizer show the vaccine does protect against the South African strain, raising hopes the same will be true for the Brazil variant.

The best ways to avoid this are to vaccinate as many as we can – and reduce transmission – and to stay in lockdown until as many as we can are vaccinated

Dr Tony Lockett

Dr Tony Lockett, from King’s College London’s Institute of Pharmaceutical Science, told The Sun Online about the prospect of a devastating new mutation – and urged Brits to stick to the rules. He said: “The effect – well it could be devastating – much worse than the original as younger people could become sicker and those who have had the virus get reinfected with the new strain “Its really very scary.” It comes as it was warned coronavirus mutations could render vaccines redundant in less than one year, according to a survey of epidemiologists by The People’s Vaccine Alliance. Dr Lockett explained some mutations arise when the virus infects people who cannot beat it with their immune system. The expert added: “Uncontrolled proliferation leads to the virus replicating more actively and hence mutation is more likely. “Patients with poor immune systems are therefore are a possible source of mutations.” He went on: “The causes of mutations are therefore allowing vulnerable subjects to get exposed. “The best ways to avoid this are to vaccinate as many as we can – and reduce transmission – and to stay in lockdown until as many as we can are vaccinated. “As Chris Whitty has indicated speeding the lockdown release will lead to more transmission and so more likely mutants – or existing mutants spreading – so the mutations are fed by meeting up and not getting vaccinated.”

[Mutations] are already on the way to becoming immune to our current vaccines.

Harvard Professor Dr William Hannage explained it is key to stop the new variants before they can get a foothold as it stops the spread which fuels the mutations. He told The Sun Online: “At the moment there is a lot of concern around E484K, a mutation in the spike protein which is thought to help the virus sidestep immunity from prior infection and is found in several of the variants. “While it looks like vaccines should still offer protection, at least from severe disease, this is one to watch. “It is why the government has been so keen to stop B.1.351 (the South African variant) from getting a toehold in the UK, because one of the mutations characterizing that variant is E484K. “There are a few others as well which make antibody treatments less effective.” Scientists are already working on tweaked vaccines to help deal with new mutations in future, much like the flu vaccine which is altered every year. Ravi Gupta, a professor of Clinical Microbiology at the Cambridge Institute for Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease said: “(Mutations) are already on the way to becoming immune to our current vaccines. “For example, the AstraZeneca study did not do well against the South African strain. “The virus is already on its way to becoming resistant to what we have at the moment. There’s evidence the same mutations are cropping up again and again. “For example, the Brazil and South African variants have this E484K mutation that really makes it hard for our antibodies to neutralise and stop the virus from causing infection.” There has been growing concern over the spread of South African and Brazilian variants of coronavirus in Europe as a third wave of Covid-19 sweeps across the continent. A string of countries have gone back into lockdown or tightened up measures again in response to spiking infection rates. Speaking in a video on social media this morning, the Mr Johnson isued a warning to anyone planning to see loved ones for the first time in months over Easter. He said the country is “not yet” at the stage where families and friends can meet inside, even if they have been vaccinated. Mr Johnson added: “We’re very much in a world where you can meet friends and family outdoors under the rule of six or two households. “And even though friends and family members may be vaccinated, the vaccines are not giving 100 per cent protection and that’s why we just need to be cautious. “We don’t think they entirely reduce or remove the risk of transmission.”

March unemployment rate falls to 6%

BEIJING/SYDNEY (Reuters) – Widely watched airfares in China are recovering to pre-pandemic levels as domestic tourists lead a patchy air travel recovery, scattering crumbs of hope to a shattered global travel sector. With international markets like Europe still in partial lockdown, the global tourism industry’s attention is riveted on China’s new travel patterns as it brings COVID-19 under control and lifts curbs on movement. The Chinese domestic market quietly overtook the once-dominant U.S. market in size during the pandemic, but multiple coronavirus outbreaks before last month’s Lunar New Year halted the rebound and could lead to first-quarter losses. Now, with temporary testing and quarantine restrictions once again lifted, average prices for an economy seat during the April 3-5 Qingming festival, or tomb-sweeping holiday, have rebounded to 96% of 2019 levels, according to data from Ctrip. Economy-class airfares for trips over the Labour Day holiday in early May have risen 11% compared with 2019 levels, says Ctrip, run by online travel giant Trip.com Group Ltd. “It seems like demand has really caught up with capacity once again and airlines are deciding discounts are no longer needed to stimulate demand,” said Luya You, transportation analyst at BOCOM International in Hong Kong. “I think the pent-up demand that everyone has been expecting is finally showing up in full force,” said You, adding she expects yields and revenues to reach normal by the second half. Over the last year, Chinese domestic capacity had risen faster than demand, depressing airfares as carriers sought to fill as many seats as possible. A return to fare growth is seen as a final step in the recovery. There are signs the United States, a close second in domestic capacity, is following a similar trajectory months behind China as vaccination rates rise, case numbers fall and airlines add more flights. Average round-trip U.S. domestic fares for May to August remain up to 20% lower than 2019 levels, but are up as much as 36% higher than 2020, online travel agent Hopper said.Europe, however, is bracing for a second lost summer in part because of a hobbled COVID-19 vaccine rollout and a heavy reliance on cross-border traffic. When travel restrictions are lifted, the European market should expect a “bloodbath” with low-cost airlines like Ryanair and Wizz Air competing to offer the lowest possible fares, CAPA Centre for Aviation Chairman Emeritus Peter Harbison said this month. In China, the Lunar New Year holiday is usually the busiest time for local airlines. But this year’s celebration was a wash-out for air travel, with capacity slashed and ticket prices plunging to five-year lows. Now, Chinese airlines are ramping up domestic capacity for the next few months, diverting aircraft from the largely closed international market. Chinese carriers are scheduled to operate 20.7% more domestic flights from April to October compared with 2019, according to flight master, a Chinese aviation data provider. China Eastern Airlines will overtake China Southern Airlines to operate the most domestic flights, while planned flights by Spring Airlines will surge by 62.25% from 2019 levels, the company said. Investors have noticed. Stock prices for the three biggest Chinese airlines have recouped pandemic-related losses. But all airlines are facing new headwinds from rising oil prices – exacerbated this week by a shipping blockage in the Suez Canal – and concerns over COVID-19 restrictions in international markets. Parash Jain, head of Asia Pacific transport research at HSBC, expects 2021 to be another loss-making year for the three biggest Chinese airlines and warns their shares already look like they have overshot. “What we’re seeing is the initial rebound in share prices has reflected the recovery in domestic market for now, with oil as a headwind, with foreign exchange no longer a tailwind and the rest of the world not favourable,” he said.

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