What to Know About the ‘California Variant’

 The term “California variant” refers to a version of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that emerged last year with three new mutations compared with its parent strain, but this variant is really a global traveler. It earned its name when it cropped up in Southern California in July 2020. By November 2020, the California variant had turned up in six U.S. states. Before the end of January 2021, its reach had expanded across oceans, where it has been detected in New Zealand, Israel, Denmark, Singapore, and the U.K.

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But with three new changes, this initial California variant may be a mutation overachiever. In the first two months of 2021, another one has arisen in the Golden State. But this time, it has only one of those three mutations.

Research that has yet to be peer-reviewed suggests that this single sequence change, called L452R, may be the one mutation to rule them all among variants currently running rampant worldwide. Analysis of a global virus database identified several others that have popped up on their own around the world, all bearing the L452R hallmark.

This single-mutation version is also, according to the same preprint study, the one that infected gorillas at the San Diego Zoo.

There’s a reason that L452R all by itself could be key, and that’s because it’s in the key the virus uses to enter a cell.

The viral protein carrying this change is the “spike,” a molecular key that the virus uses to unlock cells and enter them. The changes in each California variant may let the virus jiggle the key in that lock a little longer, increasing its chances of infecting the cell. Some researchers have hypothesized that this feature could make the virus more infectious, but no one knows for sure. It’s also possible that the change gives the virus cover against an immune attack.

No one knows either how effective current vaccines are against newly risen variants, but studies of approved vaccines were done where other worrisome variants have cropped up. The good news is that despite lower effectiveness with some versions of the virus, vaccination still offers protection. As Karin Michels, PhD, professor and chair of the department of epidemiology at the University of California, Los Angeles, Fielding School of Public Health, told USA Today on Wednesday, “A little bit less effective is not not effective.”

Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, leads the agency’s Covid-19 vaccination efforts. On Tuesday she told Howard Bauchner, editor and chief of the Journal of the American Medical Association, that she’s not surprised to see this pattern where variants crop up and seem to dominate the viral landscape so quickly. Global efforts to sequence the virus genome and find these variants means we’re going to find more of them, she pointed out.

In the meantime, she said, everyone needs to continue “full steam ahead” with looking for variants while building momentum on the vaccination front. “One of the important things to know is that … wearing a mask, socially distancing, those things look like they work just as well against these variants,” she said.

“Right now, there is no reason to have any confidence,” she added, “that the variants will impact the effectiveness of the vaccine.”

International Women's Day: Illustrating the Covid-19 pandemic

 There's barely any country in the world that hasn't been touched by the coronavirus pandemic and its aftershocks.

But with so much information out there, it's sometimes hard to digest all the details and fully take it in.

Ahead of International Women's Day on 8 March, we invite you to meet three women who are using their artistic talents, combined with their expertise in the fields of science, health and technology to help the fight against coronavirus.

Avesta Rastan, 25, is a visual science communicator currently living in California.

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At the start of the pandemic, she realised there weren't many infographics revealing how Covid-19 directly affected the human body.

So the artist, who is of Iranian and Canadian heritage, and is a member of the Association of Medical Illustrators, saw a unique opportunity to use her skills and her training in pathological illustration (the drawing of disease) to help the wider public.

"I saw lots of illustrations and 3D models of the virus itself and its protein but I didn't really see what it did to us," she explained.

She started investigating and soon created an infographic that unexpectedly went viral on social media. Even the World Economic Forum shared it.

She was approached by people all over the world wanting to see the poster in different languages and offering to translate her explanations. It's now available to download in 18 languages on her website.

Rastan says: "I'm not a frontline worker; I'm not in health care, but you help out in whatever way you can and for me that was using my art.

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She adds science can have a reputation for being difficult to learn and that does deter people but illustrations bridge that gap and could encourage more to enter her field.

"Science itself isn't hard - it's a natural process for humans; we're naturally curious and want to understand how things work", she adds.

In the future she wants to be involved in building educational platforms. But for now, she's spreading the word about her unusual career.

"I have definitely noticed in the past 10 to 20 years there are more women in this field than men. In the older generations it was definitely a male dominated field but now things are changing," she says.

And while the pandemic has been a terrible thing for the world to go through, Rastan admits that for her it did offer a silver lining. She embarked on a freelance career and worked with academic researchers, medical tech start-ups, doctors and surgeons.

Covid: Germany approves AstraZeneca vaccine for over-65s

 Germany's vaccine commission has approved the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab in people aged over 65.

The country previously approved it for under-65s only, citing insufficient data on its effects on older people.

That led to public scepticism about its effectiveness, with some Germans spurning it and leaving many doses unused.

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But German Chancellor Angela Merkel said recent studies had now provided enough data to approve it for all ages.

Announcing the commission's decision on Thursday, Health Minister Jens Spahn said the move was "good news for older people who are waiting for an injection".

"The new data also shows that the vaccine is even more effective when the first and second jabs are administered 12 weeks apart," the minister said, adding that the law would be updated to incorporate the new recommendations.

Mrs Merkel said on Wednesday that Germany would follow the UK example of stretching the interval between vaccine doses in order to offer as many people as possible an initial shot.

France approves AstraZeneca vaccine for over-65s

What's behind France's AstraZeneca turnaround?

Oxford vaccine does protect older people, Europe told

Various studies have shown the AstraZeneca vaccine is highly effective among the elderly.

Belgium says it will also approve the vaccine for older people, following France earlier this week.

About 5% of Germans have so far received a first vaccine shot.

What led to scepticism about the AstraZeneca jab?

The EU's medical regulator approved the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for all age groups in January.

But the rollout was met by some public scepticism after regulators in countries including France, Belgium and Italy recommended that it should not be used for people over 65. Like Germany, they citied insufficient data on its efficacy for older people.

In January French President Emmanuel Macron said the jab was "quasi-ineffective" for older age groups - a suggestion strongly refuted by the UK government and British medical regulators.

The debate came amid an acrimonious dispute between AstraZeneca and the EU over vaccine supplies to member states.

Since then, stocks of the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab have gone unused in several European countries, slowing vaccination efforts.

Meanwhile the UK - which approved the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab for all age groups - has offered a first dose of a vaccine to 20.7 million people, almost a third of its population.

Last week Carsten Watzl, head of the German Society for Immunology, urged his country to change its mind on the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

In an interview with the BBC, he predicted regulators would have to reverse their decision to not recommend the jab for older people and suggested Mrs Merkel should take the vaccine live on TV to prove it is safe.

How is Germany planning to ease restrictions?

Separately, Mrs Merkel said she had agreed to a phased easing of restrictions with leaders of Germany's federal states but added that there was the option of an "emergency brake" if case numbers got out of control.

"We are at the threshold of a new phase of the pandemic that we can go into not carelessly but still with justified hope," Mrs Merkel said.

From Monday up to five people from two households will be allowed to meet, with children under 14 exempt.

Some shops will reopen provided that regional case numbers are below 50 per 100,00 people. If cases rise over 50 per 100,000 then customers will have to book slots to visit shops. If cases rise to over 100 per 100,000 over three days in a row then restrictions will be reimposed.

What do we know about the AstraZeneca vaccine?

The UK has been using the vaccine made by AstraZeneca, a UK-Swedish pharmaceutical firm, in its mass immunisation programme since December.

UK health officials say it provides "high levels of protection" for all ages.

Covid vaccines cut risk of serious illness by 80%

No one who received the vaccine in trials was admitted to hospital or became seriously ill with Covid-19.

The vaccine is given via two injections to the arm, the second between four and 12 weeks after the first.

Covid: Biden promises vaccines for all US adults by end of May

 The US will have enough coronavirus vaccines for every adult by the end of May, President Joe Biden has said.

This will be two months earlier than previously expected, but Mr Biden said the vaccination drive must be extended, too, and people convinced to take it.

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And he warned people to "stay vigilant" because "this fight is far from over", with new variants a major concern.

His caution is at odds with some states, which are relaxing restrictions in order to boost their economies.

Mr Biden's new timeline does not mean all adults in the US will be vaccinated by the end of May, as the jabs will take longer to administer.

Although there has been a sharp fall in confirmed cases since the start of the year - the figure of 68,000 a day now is well down on the 8 January peak of 300,000 - that drop has levelled off over the past week, fuelling fears of another wave.

Biden calls 500,000 death toll a heartbreaking milestone

Imagining what 500,000 lost lives look like

More than 76 million vaccination doses have been administered - covering 15.3% of the population and the US remains on track to meet Mr Biden's pledge of delivering 100 million Covid-19 vaccine doses in his first 100 days in office.

Some 1.74 million doses are being administered every day.

What was in Mr Biden's latest announcement?

The president said that drug manufacturer Merck - which this year discontinued work on its own vaccine - would now be helping Johnson & Johnson to produce its newly approved one-shot drug.

"We're now on track to have enough vaccine supply for every adult in America by the end of May," he said, adding it was "the type of collaboration between companies we saw in World War Two".

But the president acknowledged that supply was only one issue, with the nation needing to extend its vaccination drive and convince people to take the shots.

"We need vaccinators, people who put the shots in people's arms, millions of Americans' arms," he said.

"Great news, but stay vigilant," Mr Biden said. "It's not over yet."

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Why many in Russia are reluctant to have Sputnik vaccine

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Covid vaccines cut risk of serious illness by 80% in over-80s

 A single shot of either the Oxford-AstraZeneca or the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid jab reduces the chance of needing hospital treatment by more than 80%, an analysis in England shows.The Public Health England data showed the effect kicked in three to four weeks after vaccination.

It was based on people aged over 80 who were the first to receive the jab.

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Government scientists hailed the result, but stressed that two doses were needed for the best protection.

It comes after similar findings were published by Scottish health authorities last week, which they hailed as "spectacular".

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When will it be my turn to be vaccinated?

More than 20m in UK have had first Covid jab

Brazil 'variant of concern' found in UK

Health Secretary Matt Hancock told a Downing Street briefing on Monday the latest vaccine results were "very strong".

He added: "They may also help to explain why the number of Covid admissions to intensive care units among people over 80 in the UK have dropped to single figures in the last couple of weeks."

Also speaking at the news conference, England's deputy chief medical officer - Prof Jonathan Van-Tam - said the data offered a glimpse of how the vaccine programme "is going to hopefully take us into a very different world in the next few months".

But he said it was "absolutely critical" that second doses "are still part of the course of immunisation against Covid-19 and no less important".

Prof Van-Tam stressed there was a "significant likelihood" that a second dose of a vaccine would "mature your immune response, possibly make it broader and almost certainly make it longer than it would otherwise be in relation to a first dose only."

More than 20 million people in the UK have had their first dose of a vaccine - over a third of the adult population.

Meanwhile, another 104 deaths within 28 days of a positive coronavirus have been reported in the UK, and a further 5,455 new cases, according to the latest figures.

The PHE data, which has not been peer reviewed, also suggested the Pfizer vaccine, which started being rolled out a month before the AstraZeneca vaccine, leads to an 83% reduction in deaths from Covid. This was based on people over the age of 80 who had died.

The data also showed vaccination cuts the risk of people over 70 developing any Covid symptoms by around 60%, three weeks after an initial dose.

Prof Van-Tam said the decision to give the AstraZeneca vaccine to older people was "clearly vindicated".

Some European nations have refused to give it to the over 65s because data from the trials was mainly on its effect among younger adults.

Prof Van-Tam said the judgement made by the UK authorities was that it was simply "not plausible" the vaccine would only work on younger adults.

He said other countries would doubtless be "very interested" in the data coming out of the UK.

Dr Mary Ramsay, Public Health England's head of immunisation, said there was growing evidence that the vaccines were working to reduce infections and save lives.

"While there remains much more data to follow, this is encouraging and we are increasingly confident that vaccines are making a real difference," she said.

However, more evidence is needed to know how well the vaccines protect against the Brazil variant that has recently been identified in the UK.

This variant has a mutation - E484 - that could reduce some of the effectiveness of the vaccines.

Covax: Ivory Coast and Ghana begin mass Covid vaccination rollouts

 African countries are starting mass Covid inoculation drives using vaccines supplied through a scheme set up to share doses fairly with poorer nations.

Ivory Coast is one of the first to benefit from the UN-backed Covax distribution initiative, with injections beginning on Monday.

Ghana is also launching its vaccination drive this week.

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Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo on Monday became the first to receive a coronavirus vaccine through the scheme.

Mr Akufo-Addo urged people to get inoculated and not to believe conspiracy theories casting doubt on the programme, which will see some 600,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine rolled out nationwide on Tuesday.

"It's important that I set the example that this vaccine is safe by being the first to have it, so that everybody in Ghana can feel comfortable about taking this vaccine," he said.

Africa's vaccine rollout gathers pace

The scheme to share doses with others

The rollout will initially focus on the most vulnerable - those aged over 60 or with serious underlying health issues - and essential workers, such as medical professionals, teachers, police and even some journalists.

But pregnant women and those under the age of 18 are not part of the vaccination campaign. Authorities have said they do not have enough data on the possible side effects of the vaccines on such groups.

A message of assurance

By Thomas Naadi, BBC News, in Ghana

Nana Akufo Addo and his wife were vaccinated in a ceremony broadcast live on television to encourage other Ghanaians to get their jabs.

Some Ghanaians have expressed misgivings about the safety of the vaccines. While some believe it is a ploy by the government to reduce the country's population by making them infertile, others think the vaccines might be fake.

In a televised address to the nation on Sunday, the president stressed that the vaccines had been declared safe by the country's Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), and there was no reason to doubt their safety. "Taking the vaccines will not alter your DNA, it will not embed a tracking device in your body, neither will it cause infertility in women or men," he assured.

Ghana's FDA has also approved Russia's Sputnik V vaccines for emergency use, and the certification process is ongoing for other vaccines.

The country is also exploring the possibility of getting some local manufacturers the needed licence to produce some of the existing vaccines, while Ghanaian scientists are working with their counterparts on the continent to develop a vaccine.

In Ivory Coast, which has a similar rollout programme, people began to queue at vaccination centres early on Monday for their first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

Nigeria is due to take delivery of nearly four million doses of vaccine later this week.

Prof Gavin Yamey, who was involved in setting up the Covax programme, said there was a "huge need" to distribute vaccines worldwide.

"It has been rather depressing watching rich nations essentially just clear the shelves," he said, adding: "It's been absolutely a kind of me first, me only vaccine grab, and that's not just incredibly unfair, it's also terrible public health."

Vaccination programmes have been slow to get off the ground in Africa, but the continent has reported relatively few cases and deaths in comparison with many western countries.

The Covax scheme hopes to deliver more than two billion doses to people in 190 countries in less than a year.