Dr. Stuart Weiss: COVID-19 Update Thursday 28-Jan-2021
Dr. Stuart Weiss, Intelligent Crowd Solutions – Rapid Test Center of NY
Rapid Test Center of New York
Dr. Stuart Weiss, FACEP, FAAP, CBCP
January 28, 2021
CoViD-19 News and Information you can trust.Welcome new readers from the Rapid Test Center.
Topics: South African B.1.351 variant identified in two people in South CarolinaNovavax vaccine 90% effective but only 50% effective against B.1.351
New Testing Centers coming soon: We are close to opening testing centers in Chelsea in Manhattan and Westchester County.
| South African B.1.351 Variant Update Today, the South Carolina Department of Health and the CDC announced two confirmed cases of B.1.351 (South African) variant in South Carolina. Both were in people with no travel history to South Africa and no connection between them. One adult was from the Lowcountry region and the other was from the Pee Dee region in the northeast.This strongly suggests that the new variant, now found to be circulating in about 30 countries, is already circulating in the communities of at least South Carolina but perhaps a wider area. We do little viral sequencing in the US so we don’t have great knowledge about variants and their spread. Today also, Novavax, a little known vaccine manufacturer and one of six in Operation Warp Speed, announced that their vaccine was 90% effective against normal SARS-CoV-2 virus but in a small study in South Africa, the efficacy of their vaccine dropped to around 50% with the B.1.351 variant.This drop in efficacy is also found in the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines although reportedly not as much as the Novavax drop. We are waiting for another vaccine manufacturer, Johnson and Johnson to release its data. It has also tested its vaccine against the South African variant. According to the New York Times, the data from the Novavax trial in South AFrica also showed that many trial participants were infected with the variant even after they had already had and recovered from CoViD-19. Stanley Erck, the president and CEO of Novavax said the company would soon be testing a new vaccine tailored to protect against the variant from South Africa. He went on to say that in the face of a changing virus, they are going to have to make new vaccines. Earlier, Moderna also spoke about making a booster shot to cover the South African variant. Take care of yourself and get yourself vaccinated, if your eligible, so we can get through this together. Dr. Stu Weiss |
| COVID-19 HEADLINES FOR TODAY |
| Coronavirus update for January 28, 2021 World Wide Updates Novavax says UK Phase 3 trial shows its coronavirus vaccine has 89% efficacy France adapts its vaccination program due to expected shortages Poland extends coronavirus measures until Feb. 14 Denmark extends coronavirus restrictions until Feb. 28 UK adds UAE, Burundi and Rwanda to travel ban list EU orders inspection of AstraZeneca’s Belgium site following vaccine delivery delays German vaccine commission recommends AstraZeneca’s vaccine should not be given to people over 65 Another lab study suggests Pfizer vaccine works against variants identified in the UK and South Africa As WHO investigators in Wuhan leave quarantine, China says it’ll cooperate on virus tracing Europe is facing a “pandemic paradox,” WHO director says Covid vaccinations will not be a prerequisite at the Tokyo Olympics says CEO, as swimming qualifier is postponed England’s latest lockdown may finally be working, but some regions are seeing a rise in cases, major study shows Expect “at least another 10 weeks” of vaccine shortages, says German Health Minister China calls for WHO investigation into Covid-19 origin not be politicized India eases restrictions on public activities as Covid-19 cases show declining trend South Korea lays out vaccination plan set to begin in late February Head of Africa CDC “surprised” by UK’s Covid-19 travel ban list Thailand arrests 89 foreigners for violating Covid-19 rules Colombia suspends flights with Brazil over new strain of Covid-19 New Zealand ranks No. 1 in COVID handling, but US in bottom 5, survey says Total Cases Worldwide: 101,929,541 Total Deaths Worldwide: 2,197,675 Total Recovered: 73,710,361 US Updates There’s a chance schools will be able to reopen in the fall, says incoming US surgeon general Health experts say some people are experiencing “long Covid” months after getting coronavirus “We’re in a race against the variants,” says incoming US surgeon general Ohio pulls vaccine from statewide allocation to vaccinate K-12 staff More than 26 million Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in the US, CDC data shows Biden administration expands who can legally give a Covid-19 vaccine Despite dropping Covid-19 cases, 95% of US population lives in a “sustained hotspot Covid-19 outbreaks on college campuses put broader community at risk, new CDC report shows New York City school enrollment drops by 4% South Carolina detects first US cases of Covid-19 variant first seen in South Africa Biden officials expected to meet with Covid-19 vaccine distributors today Department of Defense receives FEMA request for military to boost Covid-19 vaccinations across US A rural medical center in Georgia is suspended from vaccine program after inoculating school staff New York undercounted Covid-19 deaths in nursing homes by about 50%, according to report US infections are decreasing, but 80,000 more Americans could die in the next three weeks FedEx will delay relocating Hong Kong crews to San Francisco until quarantine rule officially announced Washington restricts Covid-19 mass vaccination sites to people who live or work in state Health care workers stuck in Oregon snowstorm give stranded drivers COVID-19 vaccines before the doses could expire Most US states have identified cases of coronavirus variant first spotted in UK, CDC reports New Jersey person dies from U.K. COVID variant, first recorded US death from strain Tampa mandates masks be worn outside Super Bowl weekend Philadelphia cuts ties with student-run company accused of misusing COVID vaccine doses and patient data Seniors in Kansas county wait on long line in frigid temperatures for COVID vaccine Reopening New York City indoor dining will be up to the state, mayor says Total US cases: 26,287,927 Total US deaths: 442,631 Total Recovered: 16,009,714 Total Tested in US: 296,970,597 Total cases in CA: 3,247,319 Total deaths in CA: 39,101 Total cases in TX: 2,316,494 Total deaths in TX: 36,117 Total cases in FL: 1,687,594 Total deaths in FL: 26,037 Total cases in NY: 1,417,511 Total deaths in NY: 43,192 Total cases in IL: 1,116,372 Total deaths in IL: 21,074 |
