PhD Biomedical researcher, data scientist, and finder of large prime numbers. Views are my own. @jeffgilchrist@mstdn.science @jeffgilchrist.bsky.social
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A sample of some threads listed on the website ( covid.gilchrist.ca ):
XEC is a combination of KP.3.3 and KS.1.1 that recombined together. MC.1 is a direct descendant of KP.3.1.1 with one spike mutation at T571I. To learn more about how variant naming works, you can read this article I wrote with @paulseaman31 ( ). 2/docs.google.com/document/d/1q0…
Link to full study here ( ).sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
The web version of this article with nice table of contents and is easy to share with others can be found here ( ) or ( ). 2/ tinyurl.com/VariantsSummer…
New hospitalizations in Ottawa *due* to COVID-19, Flu or RSV are unfortunately increasing again. There were two big spikes over the past month ( ). 2/3 ottawapublichealth.ca/en/reports-res…
KP.3.1.1 has the #FLuQE mutations and also a key point in the spike protein deleted which gives it much more immune evasion than other variants. 2/
A group of concerned stakeholders advocating for broader access to diverse COVID-19 vaccine options for Canadians, particularly those beyond the mRNA vaccines currently dominating the public offering wrote a letter to the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC)... 2/ 
Recall that the JN.1 variant became dominant in many parts of the world in December 2023 so by the time the fall 2024 vaccine program rolls out it will be almost a year old. 2/
The web version of this article with nice table of contents and easy to share with others can be found here ( ) or ( ). 2/ tinyurl.com/AirQualityPoll…
JN.1 #Pirola has dropped to 7% frequency and JN.1.4 down to 9% while KP.3 FLuQE is now most prevalent at 26% while the FLiRT variants are much lower at KP.2 (6%) and KS.1 (5%). 2/ 
FLiRT is a nickname for variants with F456L & R356T mutations which seem to provide an advantage over the JN.1 Pirola variants without them. You can see the current FLiRT variants here from @dfocosi. 2/ 
FLiRT is a nickname for variants with F456L & R356T mutations which seem to provide an advantage over the JN.1 Pirola variants without them. You can see the current FLiRT variants here from @dfocosi. 2/ 
RSV WW levels are 7.7x lower than the peak which was much lower than last year. Influenza had much higher peaks this year than last year and while Flu A levels are low, Flu B hit its peak at the beginning of March and is now declining but still above the peak from last year. 2/ 
Right now the JN.1 and JN.1.4 Pirola variant are still the most prevalent. The JN.1.11.1 variant, its descendants (KP.*) and other FLiRT variants will be the ones to watch as they start growing in Ontario and may be able to escape immunity from JN.1 infections. 2/ 
PHO stopped updating COVID-19 hospital admissions and now provide bed occupancy in their recent Respiratory Virus Tool update which uses different age categories ( ). 2/publichealthontario.ca/en/Data-and-An…
After being admitted to hospital, his heart failed and he was required to be put on the most invasive form of life support extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), which temporarily does the job of the heart and lungs. H/T: @MeetJess 2/
Contents of Post:
The Pirola clan still makes up more than 90% of sequences in Ontario but may have reached its peak for now. The JN.1 variant dropped from 50% down to 38% while its child JN.1.4 is gaining ground above 25%. 2/ 
But not all PM is equal so look later in the thread for different types of PM that are more dangerous. 2/