UK - Delta: Variant first identified in India labelled as variant of concern by Public Health England - B.1.617.2 - May 8, 2021

[kiwibird]

https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/br...ndian-coronavirus-variant-reports-2021-05-07/

Public Health England designated variant B.1.617.2, one of three variants identified in India that has spread to Britain, a variant of concern. Surge testing was being carried out in areas where evidence indicates community spread.

Cases of the B.1.617.2 variant increased to 520 from 202 over the last week, PHE said, mainly in London and the northwest town of Bolton, with almost half the cases related to contact with a traveller.

?I think we?ve got to be very careful about that,? Johnson told reporters, in reference to the variant.

"We're doing a huge amount, obviously, to make sure that when we do find outbreaks of the Indian variant that we do surge testing, that we do door-to-door testing."

PHE cited evidence that it spreads more quickly than the original version of the virus and could spread as quickly as the so-called "Kent" variant which fuelled England's second wave of infections.

 

[kiwibird]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-57016110

The UK has seen a sharp increase in one type in particular, known as B.1.617.2, which now makes up the majority of all Indian variant cases and appears to be growing faster than other versions.

Cases have increased from 202 to 520 in the last week, with most detected in London and the North West of England.

Almost half were related to travel or contact with a traveller but there have been examples of community transmission linked to work and religious gatherings.

In one cluster at a care home, 14 elderly residents who had all been vaccinated, were infected with the variant, a source told the BBC. A number needed hospital treatment, but not for severe disease, and it is thought all have now recovered.

 

[sharon sanders]

This variant has increased by 260% in 9 days (since May 9 update):

B.1.617.2

India

3,424

+2,111

https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...variants-distribution-of-cases-data#Variant12

 

[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.ft.com/content/a70d423a-7d7c-4736-8828-0a485d7c3a8e


Two vaccine doses needed for strong protection against variant found in India, data show
UK government figures suggest single shot less effective against fast-spreading Covid-19 strain
John Burn-Murdoch, Anna Gross and Sarah Neville in London 4 hours ago

New UK government research suggests two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine are needed to provide strong protection against symptomatic infection from the coronavirus variant first identified in India, according to two people briefed on the preliminary data.

Two vaccine doses provided 81 per cent protection against the B.1.617.2 variant found in India, and 87 per cent against the B.1.1.7 strain first identified in Kent in south-east England, according to the Public Health England data that was presented to a meeting of the government?s New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag).

Two people who attended the Nervtag meeting on Friday said the data showed that one dose offered 33 per cent protection against symptomatic infection from B.1.617.2, and 51 per cent against B.1.1.7...

 

[sharon sanders]

Vaccines highly effective against B.1.617.2 variant after 2 doses


New study by PHE shows for the first time that 2 doses of the COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective against the B.1.617.2 variant first identified in India.


From:Public Health England
Published22 May 2021Last updated22 May 2021 ? See all updates

Vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic disease from the B.1.617.2 variant is similar after 2 doses compared to the B.1.1.7 (Kent) variant dominant in the UK, and we expect to see even higher levels of effectiveness against hospitalisation and death.

The study found that, for the period from 5 April to 16 May:

• the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was 88% effective against symptomatic disease from the B.1.617.2 variant 2 weeks after the second dose, compared to 93% effectiveness against the B.1.1.7 variant
• 2 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine were 60% effective against symptomatic disease from the B.1.617.2 variant compared to 66% effectiveness against the B.1.1.7 variant
• both vaccines were 33% effective against symptomatic disease from B.1.617.2, 3 weeks after the first dose compared to around 50% effectiveness against the B.1.1.7 variant

The analysis included data for all age groups from 5 April to cover the period since the B.1.617.2 variant emerged. It included 1,054 people confirmed as having the B.1.617.2 variant through genomic sequencing, including participants of several ethnicities. Data published on Thursday 20 May for vaccine effectiveness covered the period since December for those aged over 65.

The difference in effectiveness between the vaccines after 2 doses may be explained by the fact that rollout of second doses of AstraZeneca was later than for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, and other data on antibody profiles show it takes longer to reach maximum effectiveness with the AstraZeneca vaccine.

As with other variants, even higher levels of effectiveness are expected against hospitalisation and death. There are currently insufficient cases and follow-up periods to estimate vaccine effectiveness against severe outcomes from the B.1.617.2 variant. PHE will continue to evaluate this over the coming weeks.

Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said:

This new evidence is groundbreaking ? and proves just how valuable our COVID-19 vaccination programme is in protecting the people we love.

We can now be confident that over 20 million people ? more than 1 in 3 ? have significant protection against this new variant, and that number is growing by the hundreds of thousands every single day as more and more people get that vital second dose. I want to thank the scientists and clinicians who have been working around the clock to produce this research.

It?s clear how important the second dose is to secure the strongest possible protection against COVID-19 and its variants ? and I urge everyone to book in their jab when offered.​

Dr Mary Ramsay, Head of Immunisation at PHE, said:

This study provides reassurance that 2 doses of either vaccine offer high levels of protection against symptomatic disease from the B.1.617.2 variant.

We expect the vaccines to be even more effective at preventing hospitalisation and death, so it is vital to get both doses to gain maximum protection against all existing and emerging variants.​

Minister for COVID-19 Vaccine Deployment Nadhim Zahawi said:

Almost every day we get more and more encouraging evidence about the difference our COVID-19 vaccines are making to people?s lives ? with 13,000 lives saved and 39,100 hospitalisations prevented overall.

Today?s data is astounding and a true reflection of just how important it is to get both your jabs when offered.

I encourage all those offered an appointment to get their jab booked in as soon as possible and take full advantage of the high levels of protection the vaccines bring.​

Separate PHE analysis indicates that the COVID-19 vaccination programme has so far prevented 13,000 deaths and around 39,100 hospitalisations in older people in England, up to 9 May.

Public Health England press office

Wellington House
133-155 Waterloo Road
London
SE1 8UG

Emailphe-pressoffice@phe.gov.uk

Telephone020 7654 8400

Out of hours020 8200 4400

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/v...-after-2-doses

 

[sharon sanders]

hat tip Michael Coston for link

snip

Evidence of reduced vaccine effectiveness National vaccine effectiveness monitoring shows a reduction in vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic infection after 1 dose of vaccine for B.1.617.2 compared to B.1.1.7 (moderate confidence).

Current data suggest this is an absolute reduction of approximately 20% after 1 dose. Vaccine effectiveness is higher and similar between variants after 2 doses with a possible small reduction for B.1.617.2 (low confidence).

Although this is observational data subject to some biases, it holds true across several analytic approaches, is consistent with observed outbreaks, and is supported by pseudovirus and live virus neutralisation data. There are no data on whether prevention of transmission is affected.

There are insufficient data on vaccine effectiveness against severe disease. Based on neutralisation data, vaccines are expected to remain effective against severe disease.

Monitoring continues.

Risk assessment for SARS-CoV-2 variant: VOC-21APR-02 (B.1.617.2) (publishing.service.gov.uk)

 

[sharon sanders]

Covid-19: UK in early stages of third wave - scientist


By Katie Wright
BBC News
Published6 minutes ago

snip

He said: "Of course the numbers of cases are relatively low at the moment - all waves start with low numbers of cases that grumble in the background and then become explosive, so the key here is that what we are seeing here is the signs of an early wave."

However, he said the number of people who had been vaccinated in the UK meant this wave would probably take longer to emerge than previous ones.

"There may be a false sense of security for some time, and that's our concern."

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-57304515

 

[Pathfinder]

Delta variant Covid symptoms ‘include headaches, sore throat and runny nose’


Researchers warn that UK’s most widely established variant may be mistaken for milder illness

Natalie Grover Science correspondent
@NatalieGrover
Mon 14 Jun 2021 11.20 EDT
...
The data, collected as part of the app-based Zoe Covid symptom study, suggests that the Delta variant first detected in India feels like a “bad cold”, according to Tim Spector, a professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London, who is leading the work.

“Covid is … acting differently now, it’s more like a bad cold,” he said. “People might think they’ve just got some sort of seasonal cold, and they still go out to parties … we think this is fuelling a lot of the problem. So, what’s really important to realise is that since the start of May, we’ve been looking at the top symptoms in all the app users, and they’re not the same as they were. So, the number one symptom is headache … followed by sore throat, runny nose and fever.”

...
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...-include-headaches-sore-throat-and-runny-nose