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Dr Emma Hodcroft Profile picture
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10 Jan, 4 tweets, 3 min read
Can we PLEASE STOP making COVID-related phone-apps geo-locked?

We should not make getting #COVID19 test results, showing certificates, or participating in contact tracing difficult.

ANYONE should be able to download these apps. #makeCOVIDAppsAvailable
IF for some reason you need particular information to use the app, by all means ask for it!
But PLEASE stop assuming that because I use the UK Google Play Store that I don't have a Swiss address, Swiss credit card, Swiss insurance number, Swiss permit number........
Small things like this stop people who are trying to do the right thing. They turn people off from using services & taking actions that benefit *all of us*.

This seems crazy to have to say it but: Don't assume someone's residency or nationality from their app store!!
So, a call to action for the two apps that I've encountered this issue with recently:

@aycandigital @smartvisit used by @UniSpitalBasel

#Navica by @AbbottNews for the BinaxNOW test with @eMedCertified

#makeCOVIDAppsAvailable!

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More from @firefoxx66

Dr Emma Hodcroft Profile picture
11 Jan
✨CoVariants.org Update!✨

New! 21L (Omicron) (aka BA.2) now has its own page & is included in all plots.

New! A variant-relationship chart!

Bugfix! Starting a new year is hard - CoVariants has gotten over its hangover & is processing Week 1 data correctly!

1/8
Some had already noticed that there were a growing number of 'other' sequences showing up - sparking some questions.

These are 21L (BA.2) sequences - part of the Omicron family & a sister to 21K! But since CoVariants was only plotting 21K, 21L was relegated to 'other'.

2/8 Image
21L (Omicron) is now officially a full member of CoVariants, with its own page, mutations -- & most importantly, a place in the plots!

We can see 21L sequences clearly in Denmark, India, South Africa, & Sweden. Numbers are often incoming, so interpret dynamics cautiously.

3/8 Image
Read 8 tweets
Dr Emma Hodcroft Profile picture
3 Jan
As we pry open our inboxes & settle into 2022, it's temping to breathe a sigh of relief that we managed to navigate a high-risk, high-stress holiday season. 🥴

But it's critically important we keep a mask on for that sigh 😷, & remain watchful 👀 of the #COVID19 situation!

1/12
What are we facing, as we stand on the doorstep of Jan 2022? 🚪

1. For many, cases are high & still rising 📈
2. Case detection may be impacted 🧑🏾‍🤝‍🧑🏻🧑🏼‍🤝‍🧑🏻
3. Holiday infections are still being detected 🎄
4. "Back to work" means new transmission chances 🤝

Let's walk through.

2/12
>1. For many, cases are high & still rising 📈

Holidays may have passed, but chances are they've only started leaving their mark - even before they started, cases were rising, & in many places are still shooting up.

(source @OurWorldInData 3Jan)

3/12
Read 12 tweets
Dr Emma Hodcroft Profile picture
7 Dec 21
🧨NO! There is no new variant that isn't detectable by PCR😤

The a new set of sequences, closely related to #Omicron has been detected & we *absolutely can* detect cases with PCR. What we can't tell as easily is /that they are Omicron or Omicron-like/.

theguardian.com/world/2021/dec…
First things first - I'm a huge @guardian fan & immensely disappointed by this irresponsible headline. This kind of alarmist headline causes panic & makes *the work of scientists like myself 10 times harder*.

Please do better.

2/N
So what is this all about then? Well, one 'nice' thing about Omicron is that it has what we call S:69/70del - a deletion that means it has S-gene-drop-out (SGTF), meaning that some PCR tests can see straight away that it might be Omicron. This makes helps surveillance!

3/N
Read 9 tweets
Dr Emma Hodcroft Profile picture
5 Dec 21
I've gotten a few Qs lately about what the odds are that a SGTF (S-gene-drop-out) is Omicron vs another variant with S:69-/70-

I track S:69- routinely for CoVariants.org, so I pulled out data from 30 Aug - 7 Nov (pre Omicron) as a baseline:
github.com/hodcroftlab/co…

1/5
This only includes countries CoVariants tracks - so at least 500 seqs in any variant or mutation.

As @CorneliusRoemer illustrated a few days ago, knowing this can help you get an idea of whether an SGTF is Omicron or /nOmicron/ 😛(seq to confirm!)

2/5
VERY Importantly: This is going to change quickly now -- for a lot of countries the odds that they're detecting Omicron are rising markedly.

But particularly if looking back at SGTF data from the last few weeks, knowing your 'baseline' can be helpful.

3/5
Read 6 tweets
Dr Emma Hodcroft Profile picture
2 Dec 21
✨CoVariants.org is updated with new data, & a new 21K #Omicron build is up as well.✨
I won't continue tweeting every time there's an update - I'm currently trying to update both daily, as much as possible. Just keep checking back!

1/4
We can now start to see a hint of Omicron appearing in recent sequencing from countries with recent imported cases, with Netherlands as an example below. (#Omicron is in purple, top right)

2/4
In the focal build, we can see more #Omicron sequences coming in from more countries, thanks to hard work by labs worldwide, & #opendata.
These builds lag behind the latest data in GISAID, so countries may take 1-2 days to appear!

3/4
Read 5 tweets
Dr Emma Hodcroft Profile picture
1 Dec 21
Important to put stories like this in context: given the apparent prevalence of Omicron in South Africa & relatively high travel connections with Europe, it's not very surprising that introductions may have happened a few weeks ago.

npr.org/2021/11/30/106…
It does *not* mean that Omicron originated in Europe or is widespread here (as I've read in a few tweets) - our genetic surveillance suggests strongly that's not the case.

We *don't know* where Omicron originated right now, though it was first detected in Botswana/S Africa.
This may be because their own great surveillance efforts picked it up after it arrived there from elsewhere, with less ability to do this surveillance. But that place isn't Europe.

What this does illustrate is that travel bans come after some introductions have already happened.
Read 5 tweets

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