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CDC Reports 22 Million Flu Cases in US This Season

Medical workers carry a patient into a hospital in New York, the United States, Dec. 13, 2021. (Xinhua/Wang Ying/IANS)

Seasonal influenza activity remains elevated nationally with increases in some parts of the country…reports Asian Lite News

There have been at least 22 million flu illnesses, 250,000 hospitalizations, and 15,000 deaths from flu so far this season in the US, according to the latest data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Seasonal influenza activity remains elevated nationally with increases in some parts of the country.

Eight influenza-associated pediatric deaths were reported during the latest week ending February 3, bringing the season total to 74 pediatric deaths, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the CDC data.

Over 11,000 patients were admitted to hospitals with flu in the latest week, the CDC data showed.

The CDC recommends that everyone 6 months and older get an annual flu vaccine as long as influenza viruses are spreading.

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COVID Deaths Soar to 10,000 in December Due to Holiday Spread

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Although Covid-19 no longer constitutes a global health emergency, the virus is still circulating, changing and killing, he warned…reports Asian Lite News

Holiday gatherings and the globally dominant JN.1 variant fueled the spread of Covid-19 across the world in December, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus head of the WHO, said.

Almost 10,000 deaths from Covid-19 were reported to the WHO in December, while hospitalisations rose 42 per cent and ICU admissions jumped 62 per cent over the previous month, Ghebreyesus told a virtual press briefing in Geneva on Wednesday.

The trends are derived from data shared by less than 50 countries, mostly in Europe and the Americas, said the health agency’s Director-General, who believed there are increases in other countries going unreported, Xinhua news agency reported.

Although Covid-19 no longer constitutes a global health emergency, the virus is still circulating, changing and killing, he warned.

Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO technical lead for Covid-19, attributed the increase in respiratory diseases across the globe to the coronavirus, flu, rhinovirus and pneumonia.

“We expect those trends to continue into January through the winter months in the northern hemisphere,” she said.

ALSO READ-New AI model to predict Covid-19 variant waves early

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-Top News Tech Lite

New AI model to predict Covid-19 variant waves early

The patterns that emerged from this analysis were used to build a Machine Learning-enabled risk assessment model…reports Asian Lite News

Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US have developed a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) model that can predict early which SARS-CoV-2 variants are likely to cause new waves of infection.

Current models used to predict the dynamics of viral transmission do not predict variant-specific spread.

The team led by Retsef Levi from MIT’s Sloan School of Management studied what factors could shape the viral spread based on an analysis of 9 million SARS-CoV-2 genetic sequences collected by the Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data (GISAID) from 30 countries, along with data on vaccination rates, infection rates, and other factors.

The findings are published in the journal PNAS Nexus.

The patterns that emerged from this analysis were used to build a Machine Learning-enabled risk assessment model.

The model can detect 72.8 per cent of the variants in each country that will cause at least 1,000 cases per million people in the next three months after an observation period of only one week after detection.

This predictive performance increases to 80.1 per cent after two weeks of observation.

Among the strongest predictors that a variant will become infectious are the early trajectory of the infections caused by the variant, the variant’s spike mutations, and how different the mutations of a new variant are from those of the most dominant variant during the observation period.

“This work provides an analytical framework that leverages multiple data sources, including genetic sequence data and epidemiological data via machine-learning models to provide improved early signals on the spread risk of new SARS-CoV-2 variants,” said the researchers in the study.

While calling for more research, they noted that the modelling approach could potentially be extended to other respiratory viruses such as influenza, avian flu viruses, or other coronaviruses.

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-Top News COVID-19 India News

India Reports 602 New Covid Cases, 511 of JN.1 Series Variant

Over 10 per cent of people with Covid in the UK consistently reported anxiety or excess worrying since early November, revealed the winter Covid report from the ONS…reports Asian Lite News

India has recorded 602 new Covid-19 infections in the past 24 hours, pushing the the total number of active cases to 4,440 on Wednesday.

The country had recorded 865 new cases on May 19.

Five new fatalities — one each from Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Punjab, two from Kerala — have been reported in the span of 24 hours, according to the ministry’s data.

As of now, the total number of coronavirus cases in India, since the outbreak in January 2020, has reached 4,50,15, 083.

The death toll related to Covid cases in the country has risen to 5,33,371.

The new variant, JN.1 subvariant is descendent of the Omicron subvariant known as BA.2.86 or Pirola, with Kerala being the first state to report a case.

“A total of 511 cases of the JN.1 series variant have been reported from 11 states till January 2. Karnataka has reported 199 cases of the sub-variant. Kerala has reported 148 cases. 47 cases have been reported from Goa, 36 from Gujarat, 32 from Maharashtra,” the health ministry has said.

The overall recovery from Covid has reached over 4.4 crore individuals, reflecting a national recovery rate of 98.81 per cent.

The country has administered a total of 220.67 crore doses of Covid vaccines, as per the available data.

Symptoms

Health authorities in the UK have identified anxiety and trouble in sleeping as new symptoms of the latest Covid-19 sub-variant JN.1, according to a report.

JN.1, from the lineage of Omicron, was first detected in August and is currently present in over 40 countries.

It has been classified as a variant of interest (VOI) by the World Health Organisation (WHO), due to its rapid spread.

JN.1 is a descendant lineage of BA.2.86. In comparison with BA.2.86, JN.1 has the additional L455S mutation in the spike protein, making it more transmissible. However, no signs of new or unusual symptoms caused by the virus have been reported yet.

So far, the symptoms reported are mostly restricted to upper respiratory tract infections such as fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, and runny nose.

But recent data from December 2023 by the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) spotted two new symptoms: trouble sleeping and anxiety.

Over 10 per cent of people with Covid in the UK consistently reported anxiety or excess worrying since early November, revealed the winter Covid report from the ONS.

The most common Covid-19 symptoms are runny nose (31.1 per cent), cough (22.9 per cent), headache (20.1 per cent), fatigue (19.6 per cent), muscle pain (15.8 per cent), sore throat (13.2 per cent), trouble sleeping (10.8 per cent), and anxiety (10.5 per cent), the data showed.

Interestingly, the once-common loss of taste and smell is currently reported in only 2-3 per cent of UK cases.

But whether a person will experience some or all of these symptoms, including those that have not previously been commonly reported, largely depends on each individual’s health and immunity to the virus.

The findings come at a time when there is a fresh global rise in Covid infections. As per the WHO, the global number of new Covid-19 cases has increased by 52 per cent during the last one month.

The UN health body also reported an increase in hospital, ICU admissions as well as deaths globally.

Meanwhile, India recorded 573 fresh cases of Covid and two deaths in the last 24 hours, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Tuesday.

The total number of active cases stands at 4,565. The country reportedly also has a total of 197 cases of the JN.1 from 11 states — Kerala, Goa, Gujarat, Odisha, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Odisha, and Delhi.

“Overall cases are mild and severity is seen in only less than 10 per cent of the cases, and only when people are having previous comorbidities, involving lungs and old age,” Dr Kirti Sabnis, Infectious Disease Specialist, Fortis Hospital Mulund told IANS.

“Generally, the fatality rate is less than 2 per cent, deaths are occurring very sparingly and is not a common feature,” she added.

The doctor said there are also “no severe illnesses” seen among patients and “not many people are requiring hospitalisation, because of JN.1. Majority of the patients are getting better at home”.

The doctor advised using masks, maintaining hand hygiene and to avoid public gatherings if one is sick.

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-Top News COVID-19

WHO Declares JN.1 as Standalone Covid Variant

Though JN.1 is now restricted to its circulation in the US, it is responsible for an estimated 1 in 5 new coronavirus infections, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention…reports Asian Lite News

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the new Covid-19 variant — JN.1 — as a “standalone variant of interest”.

WHO’s decision was prompted by the variant’s ability to spread fast among the community. It said the decision was due to the strain’s ‘rapidly increasing spread’.

The WHO on Tuesday announced that it is classifying a new Covid-19 strain – JN.1 – as a standalone variant of interest “due to its rapidly increasing spread”, media reports said adding that the new variants’ characteristics and a growth advantage over other strains in circulation prompted the early warning, reports said.

Though WHO assessed the global public health risk of JN.1 as low, it warned that countries approaching winter should be aware that Covid-19 and other pathogens may exacerbate respiratory disease seasons.

“Despite this, with the onset of winter in the Northern Hemisphere, JN.1 could increase the burden of respiratory infections in many countries,” it said.

Though JN.1 is now restricted to its circulation in the US, it is responsible for an estimated 1 in 5 new coronavirus infections, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The agency expects that JN.1’s prevalence in the US will continue to increase in the winter months.

WHO considers BA.2.86 sub lineages to be variants of interest, but now JN.1 is listed as a variant of interest separate from its parent lineage, also known as pirola.

WHO defines a variant of interest as a strain with genetic mutations, according to US News & World Report.

Covid-19 tests and treatments are expected to work on JN.1. So far, it doesn’t appear to cause more severe disease but it does seem to have advantages over the other strains.

“While there is a rapid increase in JN.1 infections, and likely increase in cases, available limited evidence does not suggest that the associated disease severity is higher as compared to other circulating variants,” WHO said in its risk assessment of the strain.

Coronavirus vaccines are also expected to work on JN.1. “Current vaccines, including those based on ancestral strain as well as the updated monovalent XBB vaccines continue to provide protection against severe disease and death, including against JN.1,” WHO’s Maria Van Kerkhove said on social media.

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Boris Rubbishes Allegations That He ‘Let Covid Rip’

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.(photo:Instagram)

Dismissing the implications drawn from the diary extracts, Johnson insisted that his position was centered on saving human life across all age groups…reports Asian Lite News

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson vehemently denied pursuing a “let it rip” strategy in managing the coronavirus pandemic during his testimony at the Covid inquiry. Insisting that he actively contributed counter arguments to challenge consensus in meetings, Johnson asserted that his actions aimed to curb the virus rather than allowing it to freely spread through the population. His testimony focused on countering accusations of being slow to react when Covid-19 cases surged again in the autumn of 2020.

Facing nearly ten hours of questioning, Johnson passionately rejected the notion that he was reluctant to enforce a second lockdown, dismissing claims that he prioritized keeping the economy open over protecting vulnerable populations. During a particularly tense exchange, he labelled such ideas as “rubbish” and emphasized his commitment to “save human life at all ages.”

The second day of Johnson’s testimony delved into the events of the autumn of 2020, with accusations that he delayed reimposing restrictions as cases rose. Reference was made to Sir Patrick Vallance’s diary, the government’s chief scientific adviser at the time. Johnson was confronted with an entry from October, quoting him as advocating for “letting it all rip” and suggesting that potential victims had “had a good innings” and “reached their time anyway.” The inquiry’s lead lawyer insinuated that these “secretly held” views influenced Johnson’s reluctance to reimpose restrictions, to which he vehemently disagreed.

Dismissing the implications drawn from the diary extracts, Johnson insisted that his position was centered on saving human life across all age groups. He defended his decisions, emphasizing that the government implemented lockdown measures as soon as feasible and highlighting his role in challenging consensus during meetings.

In addressing the language he used, Johnson expressed regret for any “hurt and offence” caused, attributing his unpolished communication style to fostering an environment where others felt free to express themselves. He disputed the accuracy of reported accounts, stating that some described words were unfamiliar to him. As protesters demonstrated outside the inquiry building, holding pictures of lost loved ones and expressing their grievances, Johnson maintained his position that his actions throughout the pandemic were driven by a commitment to safeguarding human life.

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Sunak reportedly said ‘just let people die’, COVID inquiry hears

Vallance quoted Cummings in his diary as saying: “Rishi thinks just let people die and that’s okay. This all feels like a complete lack of leadership.”…reports Asian Lite News

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was quoted as saying the government should “just let people die” during the COVID-19 pandemic rather than impose a second national lockdown, the inquiry into how Britain handled the crisis heard on Monday.

Patrick Vallance, who was the government’s chief scientific adviser during COVID, made a note in his diary on October 25, 2020, about a meeting involving then Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Sunak, who was finance minister.

The diary entry shown to the inquiry recorded how Dominic Cummings, Johnson’s most senior adviser during the pandemic, had relayed to Vallance what he said he had heard at the meeting.

Vallance quoted Cummings in his diary as saying: “Rishi thinks just let people die and that’s okay. This all feels like a complete lack of leadership.”

A spokesman for Sunak said the Prime Minister would set out his position when he gives evidence to the inquiry “rather than respond to each one in piecemeal”.

The inquiry is examining the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic that shut large sections of the economy and killed more than 220,000 people in Britain. It is due to run until the summer of 2026.

Senior government officials have repeatedly said the government was unprepared for the pandemic and a “toxic” and “macho” culture hampered the response to the health crisis.

The danger for Sunak is that evidence at the inquiry undermines his attempt to cast himself as a change to the chaotic leadership of Johnson even though he was one of the most senior ministers in that government.

Previous evidence has shown he was branded “Dr. Death” by one government scientific adviser over his “Eat Out to Help out” policy in the summer of 2020, which subsidised meals in pubs and restaurants but was criticised by health experts for spreading the virus.

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-Top News Europe

Scottish ministers to release 14,000 Covid WhatsApp messages

The deputy first minister said that “all requested messages held will be shared in full and unredacted” by Monday…reports Asian Lite News

The Scottish government will hand over more than 14,000 electronic messages, mainly WhatsApps, to the UK Covid Inquiry, Deputy First Minister Shona Robison has announced. She also said First Minister Humza Yousaf would share his messages.

The government had been criticised for not handing over all relevant data to the UK Covid Inquiry, with senior figures accused of deleting files. Nicola Sturgeon refused to say whether or not she had erased any messages.

Speaking to reporters in the Scottish Parliament, the former first minister said she had “nothing to hide”. “I did not manage the Covid response by WhatsApp,” said the ex-SNP leader, who is alleged to have manually deleted messages.

“For example, I was not a member of any WhatsApp groups. I managed the Covid response from my office in St Andrews House.”

She added: “I will set out in full to the inquiry how I operated, what I hold, what I don’t hold and the reasons for that.”

During a statement to parliament, Robison apologised to bereaved families for “any lack of clarity” about material provided to the inquiries.

She said the Scottish government received a request in September from the UK Covid Inquiry to hand over WhatsApp messages from officials, ministers and former ministers related to the pandemic.

Robison confirmed the Scottish government had been issued a formal legal order, under section 21 of the Inquiries Act 2005, to release the material, which she said was necessary due to data privacy concerns.

The deputy first minister said that “all requested messages held will be shared in full and unredacted” by Monday.

In addition to “hundreds” of messages already submitted, Ms Robison said this would include more than 14,000 mainly WhatsApp messages from officials, ministers and former ministers.

“It will be for individuals to explain to the inquiries they have taken in relation to record retention,” she told MSPs. She added that First Minister Humza Yousaf would hand over unredacted WhatsApp messages to the inquiry in the coming days.

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Johnson said old people should accept Covid fate, note shows

Boris Johnson and Joe Biden.

The former prime minister, as well as his successor Rishi Sunak, are due to give evidence to the inquiry later this autumn…reports Asian Lite News

Boris Johnson agreed with some Tory MPs who thought Covid was “nature’s way of dealing with old people”, the inquiry into the pandemic has been told.

The allegation comes from diary entries by former chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance. Meanwhile, ex-adviser Dominic Cummings told the inquiry the government had no plan and was in “complete chaos”.

The inquiry was also shown offensive messages sent by Cummings about cabinet ministers and top officials. Lee Cain, No 10’s former communications director, said the pandemic was the “wrong crisis” for Mr Johnson and he was a “challenging character to work with” because he kept changing his mind.

The government’s handling of the Covid crisis was laid bare in a day of candid testimony by the prime minister’s former advisers. At one point, the inquiry was shown notes by Sir Patrick, who wrote of his frustrations in dealing with Johnson in his diaries.

In August 2020, Sir Patrick wrote that Johnson was “obsessed with older people accepting their fate and letting the young get on with life and the economy going”. “Quite bonkers set of exchanges,” he said, referring to messages exchanged between Mr Johnson and others in a WhatsApp group.

In later notes from December 2020, Sir Patrick wrote that Johnson said his party “thinks the whole thing is pathetic and Covid is just nature’s way of dealing with old people – and I am not entirely sure I disagree with them”.

Another note from December says Johnson agreed with the Conservative Party’s Chief Whip Mark Spencer when he said “we should let the old people get it and protect others”.

Spencer wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that he “actually said exactly the opposite” – that only elderly people should be protected at that point – and was “appalled” to hear the comment attributed to him.

“During the first and second waves of the pandemic the UK had one of the highest death tolls per person in the world from Covid-19 and it’s clear just how personally responsible for that he was,” Doherty said. Johnson’s spokesman has so far declined to comment on the evidence given at this week’s hearings, but says he is “co-operating fully” with the inquiry.

The former prime minister, as well as his successor Rishi Sunak, are due to give evidence to the inquiry later this autumn.

Sir Patrick’s notes were shown during Mr Cain’s testimony, which followed evidence on Monday from Imran Shafi and Martin Reynolds, another two of Johnson’s aides. Cain repeatedly cited Johnson’s tendency to “oscillate” between decisions as delaying the crisis response.

The former journalist and Brexit campaigner said he found Johnson’s style of operating “rather exhausting from time to time”. Cain said he was frustrated when the prime minister announced “we were going to turn the tide in 12 weeks” at a press conference early on in the pandemic.

When asked if he agreed with the view that Mr Johnson was not “up to the job”, Mr Cain said: “That’s quite a strong thing to say. What would probably be clear in Covid – it was the wrong crisis for this prime minister’s skill set.”

In his testimony, Cummings did not mince his words as he gave a withering account of his time in government at the height of the pandemic. Appearing in white shirt and tie, he apologised for berating ministers in expletive-laden texts, but said his language only “understated” their incompetence.

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-Top News COVID-19 UK News

Covid vaccine pioneers awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine

The Nobel Assembly said Karikó and Weissman published their results in a seminal 2005 paper that received little attention at the time but laid the foundation for critically important developments that have served humanity during the COVID-19 pandemic…reports Asian Lite News

Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman have been jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine for their discoveries that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19.

“The 2023 #NobelPrize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman for their discoveries concerning nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19,” The Nobel Prize posted on X on Monday.

“The findings by 2023 #NobelPrize laureates Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman led to the approval of two highly successful mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines in late 2020. The vaccines have saved millions of lives and prevented severe disease in many more,” the post added.

The Nobel Assembly said the discoveries by the two Nobel Laureates were critical for developing effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 during the pandemic that began in early 2020.

“Through their groundbreaking findings, which have fundamentally changed our understanding of how mRNA interacts with our immune system, the laureates contributed to the unprecedented rate of vaccine development during one of the greatest threats to human health in modern times,” it said.  

It said the laureates discovered that base-modified mRNA can be used “to block activation of inflammatory reactions and increase protein production when mRNA is delivered to cells”.

The Nobel Assembly said Karikó and Weissman published their results in a seminal 2005 paper that received little attention at the time but laid the foundation for critically important developments that have served humanity during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The mRNA vaccine technology against Covid-19, which on Monday received the 2023 Nobel for Medicine was publicly funded and not by pharma giants, said the People’s Vaccine Alliance.

The People’s Vaccine Alliance is a coalition of organisations and activists working together towards equitable access to medical technologies that help to prevent and respond to Covid and future pandemics.

Their groundbreaking findings have fundamentally changed the understanding of how mRNA interacts with our immune system, the Nobel committee said.

The umbrella group of NGOs hailed public funding, which it said “delivers incredible medical advances”, even as pharma giants refused to share vaccine technology, as well as test kits and other diagnostics to low-income countries during the pandemic.

“The award challenges the claim that it was solely big pharmaceutical companies who saved the world from Covid-19,” said Mohga Kamal-Yanni, Policy Co-Lead for the People’s Vaccine Alliance, in a statement.

“Just like the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, Kariko and Weissman’s groundbreaking work on mRNA vaccines received a huge amount of public funding.”

Kamal-Yanni also advised governments preparing for the next pandemic to prioritise on public funding as drugmakers will not share vaccines with the world.

“Pharmaceutical companies have refused to share mRNA technologies with developers and researchers in developing countries. Fortunately, Weissman is helping a WHO-backed mRNA programme which aims to develop mRNA technology in lower-income countries, even while pharmaceutical companies refuse to share their know-how,” Kamal-Yanni said.

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