FRENCH SCIENTISTS DISCOVER NEW CORONAVIRUS VARIANT
" French Scientists Have Detected 46 Mutations In The New Variant Dubbed B.1.640.2 Which Can Make It More Resistant To Vaccines."
January 5, 2022 By John Elberger Reporting For Englebrook Independent News,
MARSEILLE, FR.- As the world continues to struggle with the rapid spread omicron variant of the coronavirus and the still lingering delta variant, French Scientists say they have discovered a new variant that contains multiple mutations.
Infectious Disease Experts at The IHU Mediterranee Infection in Marseille said they had discovered the new variant in December in twelve patients living near Marseille, with the first patient testing positive after traveling to the Central African Country of Cameroon .
The French Scientists said they have identified Forty Six Mutations in the new variant, dubbed B.1.640.2, that can make it evermore resistant to vaccines and more infectious than the original strain of the virus. The results have been posted on the online Health Sciences Outlet MedRxiv , which publishes studies that have not been peer-reviewed or published in an academic journal. The B.1.640.2 variant has neither been detected in other countries nor been labeled as a "Variant of Concern" by The World Health Organization.
Meanwhile, a study out of Denmark reveals omicron is better at avoiding the human immune system, even in people vaccinated against Covid-19. In a study of 12,000 households, researchers at The University of Copenhagen discovered that omicron was between 2.7 and 3.7 times more infectious than delta among vaccinated Danes.
The study, which has not been peer-reviewed, also found that unvaccinated individuals are more likely to transmit the coronavirus than those who are fully vaccinated and received a booster shot. Against omicron, vaccine effectiveness was reduced to about 40% against symptoms and to 80% against severe disease, and booster shots improve those numbers to 86% against symptoms and 98% against severe disease.
" Our findings confirm the rapid spread of The Omicron Variant can primarily be ascribed the immune evasiveness rather than an inherent increase in the basic transmissibility," the researchers wrote.
Omicron's Spread:
The Omicron outbreak continues to wreak havoc on cities and countries around the world, placing an enormous strains on Health Care Systems.
In The United States, Omicron represents 95.4% of the coronavirus strains in the country as of this past Saturday, according to The Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Omicron has surpassed Delta as the dominant strain since its initial detection in The United States in December 1, pushing daily infection past the one million mark on Monday, according to John Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.
The numbers are nearly double that of the previous record of about 590,000 set just last week, driven mostly by the omicron variant.
The CDC said omicron accounted for about 77% of all the cases in The United States in the week ending December 25, a percentage sharply higher than its 58.6% projection announced the previous week.
FILED UNDER JANUARY 5, 2022: NATIONAL, WORLD, HEALTH: