Due to the Thanksgiving Holiday, only partial reporting is available from the Texas DSHS for Week 89. Updates will resume on Monday, November 29. As a result, this past week's data will be combined with Week 90 and publiashed on or before December 6.
For today, I will aggregate the best articles from my sources on the omicron (O) variant. Using the same format as in the Read This! part of the Blog, I will provide a short summary of the article along with why I recommend reading it.
First up is BNO News from The Netherlands. They provide a map of Countries where O cases have been measured. They enter data 24-7 and so go back frequently as the situation is in its early stages. So far, as of this writing, the US does not show. However, our sequencing effort relies on samples that are on the order of two months old; therefore, we are not likely to get any hits unless the focus changes. Remember, that WHO declared Delta a Variant of Concern long before the US did; and, therefore, we missed it until cases started increasing exponentially.
The Washington Post has a first-rate article on efforts of an African Company, Afrigen, to manufacture vaccines is working hard to deliver vaccines to the continent without any help from Moderna, which has been very protective of its Intellectual Property rights. Unphased, it is needing on the order of three years to have full-scale capability. At the same time, Moderna is rushing to build facilities in Senegal, Rwanda, or S. Africa. It is a tragedy that the two organizations cannot work together to speed up the supply.
The LA Times reports that Pretoria's hot spot is centered on the University where young adults have been slow to obtain vaccinations. Presently, only 41% of the 18-34 year olds have gotten their shots. In fact, the country told Pfizer and Moderna to slow down their deliveries since, at current rates, they were not able to use up their supplies fast enough. The situation has clearly changed.
Peter Hotez (Co-director of the Center for Vaccine Development at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston) speaks up on an MSNBC Panel about all the ambiguous claims buried below caveats that have come out since Friday. I agree wholeheartedly with his comments. After all, there are many parts of the country where vaccination rates exceed 60% and vulnerable groups have been given access to the vaccine (despite protests to give such doses to the third world).
And for those of you like me who are suckers for the Who/Why/How/Where .... concise articles for the latest information, check out the Wall Street Journal
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