BAD CORONAVIRUS VARIANT DATA—Folks, the B117 #SARSCoV2 variant from 🇬🇧 is a dangerous *hellish beast*. This new UK data shows attack rates (% exposed who get infected) of B117 vs common variants: B117 has 33-36% higher attack rate overall. It’s also maybe worse in kids.🧵#COVID19
2) While the B117 variant is has 33-36% higher attack rate vs common types overall... it’s even greater in youngest kids. Notably, in kids 0-9, the new B117 is 43% higher in the shortcut B117 test. assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/upl…
3) Furthermore, in genetic tests of b117, the B117 has 47.5% higher attack rate vs common virus type among kids age 0-9!
Compare that w/ only 39.5% higher for B117 among adults.
Two separate sets of data—same thing—with both pointing to higher relative increase in young kids.
4) Bottomline, it seems new UK 🇬🇧 B117 variant has not only ~ 33-36% higher attack rate compared to common #SARSCoV2 type, but it is 43.5-47.5% higher for young kids!
➡️While kids lower risk than adults overall, the new B117 virus is potentially relatively worse for young kids.
5) this is why Denmark’s CDC urgently warned to crush the pandemic now or else!
6) How much of a beast—suppose we have 1000 cases/day now... with an R=0.86 we could reduce it to 500/day in 2 weeks.
➡️But w/ added contagiousness of B117 variant that has ~60% higher R, in 2 weeks, we’d have 3000 new cases/day instead—3x baseline.
➡️6x higher vs old variant.
7) I’m gonna simplify key things with the new attack rate data:
—New b117 variant is more contagious (high attack rate)
—kids still lower transmission but not as much as before
—B117’s increase in attack over the old type appears greater in kids 0-9 than increase in adults.
8) other data on kids transmission. This is data mostly based on old common variant, not the new B117. It’s already worrying. (SAGE is UK govt expert group)
💡Did you know—US intel/DOJ was once able to identify a terrorist from hostage video w/ terrorist’s face shielded behind a ski mask? Only used the eyes + voice pattern.
P.s. 6 months ago, that “horn guy” is also a pandemic denier— calling #COVID19 was “bullshit”.
2) Others suggested cell phone location data—while useful for general localization in an area, cell phones aren’t accurate enough to pinpoint if a person was inside the Capitol or was merely on the steps outside. But can maybe corroborate video.
GOOD NEWS—a mutation seen in a few #SARSCoV2 variants doesn’t seem to harm the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, finding “no reduction in neutralization activity against virus”.
HOWEVER—did not yet test for worrisome E484K mutation, which many experts say might.🧵 statnews.com/2021/01/08/pfi…
2) A colleague of mine, @AliNouriPhD, wrote a post on a recent reinfection case involving the E484K mutation. We know it can “escape” many current neutralizing antibodies.
3) What do we mean by “escape neutralizing antibodies”? It means antibodies known to bind the common type of the #SARSCoV2 virus no longer bind to the mutated version. And that is what we are noticing with the E484K mutation that’s in receptor binding domain. (@jbloom_lab credit)
HORRENDOUS—Physician for US Congress sends a warning that the protective safe room for Members of Congress where tons of people were huddle together—had someone w/ #COVID19, and thus everyone possibly exposed. Everyone asked to get PCR test.
We knew this could happen. Horrible.
2) We knew something like this could happen. That’s why @LisaBRochester tried to hand out masks to everyone in the safe room.
This speech will go down as one of the greatest speeches. @Schwarzenegger is right—Jan 6th 2021 was our Kristallnacht. Austria 🇦🇹 tried to resist Hilter takeover for years but succumbed because Hitler’s lies went unchallenged. We must #impeach now.
2) My wife @andreafeigl1’s 🇦🇹 great grandfather secretly fought Hilter’s Nazi regime & smuggled many Jews to safety as an aircraft engineer. He was thrown into a concentration camp.
She knows a few things about Nazi history—and today was downright fascist all the way. Read 👇
FOLKS—if you think #COVID19 cases is really bad in the US, it is even more epically surging in the UK 🇬🇧 & Ireland 🇮🇪. I made a short video... and highlighted the simultaneous rise in the more contagious b117 variant. Denmark CDC thinks B117 will become dominant strain by Feb. 🧵
2) the new variant B117 is now 25% of all cases in Ireland last week. Up form 9% 2 weeks before that.
Ireland 🇮🇪 & N. Ireland are in a serious #COVID19 crisis. Cases surging past 🇬🇧.
➡️Ireland also has increased presence of the B117 variant—now found in **25%** of cases that underwent further testing in week to Jan. 3, up from just 9% two weeks earlier. reuters.com/article/us-hea…
2) This dooms day B117 variant taking over scenario with sharp vertical increase is exactly the most feared scenario Denmark CDC — Denmark 🇩🇰 is also seeing sharp rise. And they fear they will soon lose control. See thread 🧵
3) To be clear—even if we hold the virus in check with a minimum R=0.96... by the time the new virus variant takes hold, it will be woefully insufficient, since the B117 strain is 40-80% more infectious (multiply current R*1.4 or *1.8). Other experts agree....