🚨WORRISOME: infections in the UK soar with mutant #coronavirus strain B.1.1.7 that appears to spread more easily between people.

#B117 strain acquired 17 mutations *all at once* (including 8 in the spike protein gene)👉🏼never seen before in this virus. 1/
sciencemag.org/news/2020/12/m…
GOOD NEWS: the @WHO says the #coronavirus vaccine should still work against this new variant spreading quickly in the UK.

The B.1.1.7 variant may be more transmissible, but there's no evidence it increases the “severity associated with this disease.”🙏🏼
globalnews.ca/news/7535146/c…
⚠️It's NOT the first time the #coronavirus mutated. As more people become immune—via infection or a #vaccine—the virus is under selective pressure to evade the immune response.

This could become like flu, where we have to update our vaccine each year.
B.1.1.7 first appeared on 9/20 and accounted for ~26% of UK cases in mid-November. By 12/8 *over 60% of all the cases in London were the new variant.*

@BorisJohnson claims that these mutations may have increased the #coronavirus’ transmissibility (ability to spread) by 70%.😷🦠
🦠NOT GOOD: Eight of the 17 mutations are in the gene that encodes the spike protein on the viral surface. This is a KEY TARGET for the immune system, whether via a #vaccine or natural infection, to help prevent the #coronavirus from entering cells.

#COVID19 #B117 Image
‼️Two of the 8 spike protein gene mutations in #B117 are particularly worrisome:

🧬N501Y: increases how tightly the spike protein binds to the ACE2 receptor (entry point into cells)

🧬69-70del: found in strains that eluded the immune response in some immunocompromised patients Image
🧬Scientists fear that, if the N501Y mutation allows the variant #coronavirus to bind more tightly to the ACE2 receptor on human cells, it could make the virus as good at infecting kids as adults.

But this is just speculation for now, so no need to panic.
Further reason for concern for these #coronavirus mutations comes from #SouthAfrica, where a lineage different from the UK variant that also has the *same N501Y mutation* in its spike gene "seems to be spreading much faster."😷🦠

#COVID19 Image
Worse, scientists fear the UK B.1.1.7 variant could cause more severe #COVID19 disease, based on anecdotal evidence that the South African #coronavirus variant may be doing that in young people and those who are otherwise healthy.

BUT we need more data to be sure.🧐
🙏🏼The rapid spread of the #B117 strain *may be chance*. Scientists thought that another strain that spread rapidly from Spain was more transmissible, but it was just carried home by travelers after vacation. Something similar might be happening with B.1.1.7, per @angie_rasmussen.
Some good news: scientists also previously thought that the variant from Spain had a 50% higher mortality rate, but that turned out to be “purely messy, biased data in the early days.”

So, we need to wait for the data before we can make any conclusions about this new mutant.🧬
For the N501Y mutant: more young South Africans may be getting sick b/c many more are getting infected via post-exam celebrations that were #SuperSpreader events.😷

▶️Scientific studies are needed to see how the mutations in this new variant compares with previous variants.🧫🦠
BOTTOM LINE: the #vaccine still appears to work against this new #coronavirus variant, but we don't yet know if it spreads more easily or causes more severe #COVID19.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: continue to avoid gatherings & #WearAMask and get vaccinated ASAP.💉
sciencemag.org/news/2020/12/m…

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More from @DrDenaGrayson

23 Dec
🚨BAD NEWS: 2 cases of a new "more transmissible" #coronavirus variant linked to #SouthAfrica identified in the UK.

This new variant appears to have *mutated further* than the new B.1.1.7 variant recently discovered in the UK. [thread]

#COVID19
news.sky.com/story/covid-19…
CONCERNING: The UK recently reported a its own new #coronavirus variant (B.1.1.7) that may be more transmissible.

The UK and South African (501.V2) variants appear to be "more transmissible," but they're "very different" and are "different mutations".🧬

Both #coronavirus variants have the *same N501Y mutation* in the spike gene. The South African 501.V2 variant:

▶️Is more common in younger adults
▶️Has higher viral load, spreads more easily

The vaccines still appear to work, but that could change.💉
Read 5 tweets
20 Dec
‼️GRIFTERS: Nearly half of the $1.26 billion raised for Trump’s campaign was funneled into Jared Kushner’s shell company that spent hundreds of millions of dollars to pay Trump family members, along with other expenditures it wanted to keep under wraps.

vanityfair.com/news/2020/12/j…
Kush’s shell company acted “almost like a campaign within a campaign” to shield “financial and operational details from public scrutiny,” as it allowed the campaign to avoid federally mandated disclosures concerning where it was spending big bucks.

THIS IS ILLEGAL.🤬
Kush knows all about violating election laws, as his felon dad, Charles Kushner, went to PRISON for illegal campaign contributions, tax evasion, and witness tampering, including trying to extort his own brother-in-law after filming his with a prostitute.💥

#TrumpCrimeFamily
Read 4 tweets
17 Dec
‼️IVANKA TRUMP *personally intervened* to spin @CDCgov messaging on #COVID19 and schools—part of a systematic pattern of Team Trump’s deadly meddling during the #pandemic.

“Every time that the science clashed with the messaging, messaging won”🤬

[thread]
nytimes.com/2020/12/16/us/…
🔥@GOP Trump appointees—Kyle McGowan, a former CDC chief of staff under Trump, and his deputy, Amanda Campbell—just went public on the Trump administration’s “manipulation of the agency” during the deadly #coronavirus pandemic.

More than 300,000 Americans are now DEAD.🤬
Last week, the editor in chief of the CDC’s highly regarded @CDCMMWR weekly disease outbreak reports—previously considered untouchable—told @HouseDemocrats she was “ordered to destroy an email showing Trump appointees attempting to meddle with their publication.”

CRIMINAL.🤬
Read 10 tweets
15 Dec
🚨Great news! @US_FDA confirms that Moderna’s #coronavirus vaccine reduced the rate of #COVID19 by 94% in a study of 30,000 people. Side effects include fever, headache & fatigue–unpleasant but not dangerous. FDA intends to authorize its use on Friday!
nytimes.com/2020/12/15/hea…
Moderna’s vaccine worked equally well in whites & people of color with no significant differences btwn men & women, or btwn healthy people & those at high risk (obesity, diabetes) of severe #COVID19.

THIS IS EXCELLENT NEWS.😃
Distribution of ~6 million doses can begin next week. Moderna and Pfizer plan to deliver 200 million doses to the US in the 1st quarter of 2021. Both vaccines require 2 doses, so there should be enough doses for 100 million people.

Even better, both vaccines will be FREE!!👏🏼
Read 7 tweets
9 Dec
🔥Ron Filipkowski—a lifelong @GOP appointed by @GovRonDeSantis to the 12th Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission—RESIGNED IN PROTEST over how DeSantis’ blocked “public access to truthful data” after the raid of #COVID19 data analyst @RebekahJones’ home.

tampabay.com/news/florida-p…
Filipkowski—a Marine veteran and former prosecutor—RESIGNED after reviewing the search warrant affidavit #Florida used to seize computers and phones from Rebekah Jones, the former @HealthyFla data analyst who has been running an alternative web site to FL”s #COVID19 dashboard.💥
🔥”The recent events regarding public access to truthful data on the #pandemic, and the specific treatment of @RebekahJones has made the issue a legal one rather than just medical...I no longer wish to serve the current government of #Florida in any capacity.”
Read 6 tweets
4 Dec
🚨BREAKING: @TheJusticeDept investigated as recently as this summer the roles of Elliott Broidy—a top fundraiser for Trump—and Abbe Lowell—a lawyer for Jared Kushner—in an alleged scheme to offer a BRIBE in exchange for clemency for a tax crimes convict.

nytimes.com/2020/12/03/us/…
A federal judge unsealed heavily redacted court documents Tuesday that disclosed the investigation into alleged ILLEGAL lobbying and #bribery.

Twice convicted felon Elliott Broidy, pleaded guilty in October to a charge related to a diffèrent illegal lobbying scheme.🙄
Billionaire Sanford Diller enlisted help in securing clemency for a Berkeley psychologist, Hugh Baras, who got a 30-month prison sentence for tax evasion and improperly claiming Social Security benefits.🧐
Read 4 tweets

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