Covid News

China Reports 60,000 Covid Deaths Since Early December

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China says 60,000 people have died of Covid since early December, according to a news article published in the CNN.

60,000 people have died of Covid in China

Close to 60,000 people have died of Covid in China since the country abruptly abandoned its tight “zero-Covid” policy in early December, a medical official from the National Health Commission (NHC) told a press conference in Beijing on Saturday.

Jiao Yahui, head of the NHC’s medical affairs department, said China...

https://mfame.guru/china-reports-60000-covid-deaths-since-early-december/

New Analysis Improves The Scientific Community’s Understanding Of Covid Immunity

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A new analysis by Cedars-Sinai investigators is furthering the scientific community’s understanding of COVID-19 immunity by showing that similar levels of COVID-19 antibodies are reached over an extended period of time in different population groups, reports News Medical Life Sciences.

Disparities in antibody responses

Early data on COVID-19 vaccines had indicated disparities in antibody responses between certain demographic groups. In particular, the data showed...

https://mfame.guru/new-analysis-improves-the-scientific-communitys-understanding-of-covid-immunity/

Muscle Aches, Pains Now Among Top COVID Symptoms

Credits: Joshua Fernandez/Unsplash

According to ZOE Health Study (a health science company staking claim to running the “world’s largest COVID science project with over four million participants”), their latest data finds that the top symptoms reported by contributors with positive COVID tests are:

  • A sore throat
  • A runny nose
  • A blocked nose
  • Sneezing
  • A cough without phlegm

ZOE Health Study reportedly listed only the top five symptoms. But over time, the health science company said their COVID...

https://mfame.guru/muscle-aches-pains-now-among-top-covid-symptoms/

Why COVID’s XBB.1.5 ‘Kraken’ Variant is So Contagious?

Credits: Fusion Medical Animation/Unsplash

A new, rapidly spreading variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID, means a rise in new infections could be around the corner. And while it likely won’t skirt immunity completely, the variant could dodge some of our defenses thanks to a mutational boost, reports Scientific American.

The most contagious strain

XBB.1.5—unofficially nicknamed “Kraken” by some scientists online—is an Omicron subvariant that has caught the attention of virologists in...

https://mfame.guru/why-covids-xbb-1-5-kraken-variant-is-so-contagious/

Scientists Developing ‘Single Swab’ Test From Millions Of Covid Samples

Credits: JC Gellidon/ Unsplash
  • The scientists will use millions of swab samples left over from the COVID mass-testing campaign to develop a “single swab” test for a range of respiratory bugs.
  • Labs like the Sanger led the world in efforts to sequence the genetic code of COVID-19.
  • Distributing surveillance globally should provide a worldwide early warning system for existing pathogens.

Stored in refrigerated shipping containers in the car park of the Wellcome Sanger Institute in Cambridge, the...

https://mfame.guru/scientists-developing-single-swab-test-from-millions-of-covid-samples/

China’s Escalation In Cases Not a Cause Of Concern Currently Says WHO

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Dr. Hans Kluge, head of the World Health Organization for Europe, explained that this is because the two variants circulating in China are already present in European countries, according to data provided by the Chinese authorities.

Restrictions Not Unreasonable

The WHO senior official acknowledged that China had shared virus sequencing information, but he appealed for more “detailed and regular information”, especially concerning local epidemiology and variants “to...

https://mfame.guru/chinas-escalation-in-cases-not-a-cause-of-concern-currently-says-who/

XBB.1.5 Pegged As The Most Transmissible Variant !

Credits: Fusion Medical Animation/Unsplash
  • Three years after the novel coronavirus emerged, a new variant, XBB.1.5, is quickly becoming the dominant strain.
  • A potent mix of mutations makes it easier to spread broadly.
  • It includes  those who have been previously infected or vaccinated.

XBB.1.5, pegged by the World Health Organization as “the most transmissible” descendant yet of the omicron variant, rose from barely 2 percent of U.S. cases at the start of December to more than 27 percent the...

https://mfame.guru/xbb-1-5-pegged-as-the-most-transmissible-variant/

China Suspends Visas For South Korean Travelers As a Reciprocal Measure

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  • China suspended issuing visas Tuesday for South Koreans to come to the country for tourism or business.
  • It is apparently in retaliation for COVID-19 testing requirements imposed by South Korea on Chinese travelers.
  • Japan’s Kyodo News service said the ban would also affect Japanese travelers.

A brief notice posted online by the Chinese Embassy in Seoul said the ban will continue until South Korea lifts its “discriminatory measures on entrance by China” to the...

https://mfame.guru/china-suspends-visas-for-south-korean-travelers-as-a-reciprocal-measure/

90% Population Of A Chinese Province Afflicted With Covid !

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  • Almost 90% of people in China’s third most populous province have now been infected with Covid-19.
  • Kan Quancheng, director of the health commission for central Henan province, told a press conference.
  • With a population of 99.4 million, the figures suggest about 88.5 million people in Henan may now have been infected.

Visits to fever clinics peaked on 19 December, Kan said,“after which it showed a continuous downward trend”.

Dismantling Zero Covid Policy

The...

https://mfame.guru/90-population-of-a-chinese-province-afflicted-with-covid/

China’s New Covid Surge Cripples Important Global Factories & Ports

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  • Freight booking cancellations are increasing at the ports of Shanghai and Shenzhen as “factories cannot operate properly due to a lot of workers getting Covid.”
  • Congestion is also building off of the Ports of Ningbo and Qingdao as well, per Chinese logistics company HLS.
  • Logistics managers are warning of very soft volume after the Lunar New Year with canceled or delayed bookings for the 2nd half of January and early February.

The surge in Covid-19 cases in...

https://mfame.guru/chinas-new-covid-surge-cripples-important-global-factories-ports/

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