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“Double mutant” Covid strain originally discovered in India has been reported in the Bay Area. “The new variant has two mutations, including one found in the California strain, in the spiky protein that the virus latches onto..” https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/first-confirmed-case-indian-coronavirus-variant-u-s-found-california-n1262982
“It is now extremely common to see more than one mutation at once - even if we limit ourselves to the spike gene.” https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-56517495
The new variant, first detected in India last month, was reported in the Bay Area this week. India just reported its largest one-day increase on record. Reminder: The US only sequences 0.3% of all COVID cases—43rd in the world. We’re looking at an incomplete picture. https://twitter.com/BNODesk/status/1379522519129014273
The new variant “has not been found in sufficient numbers to account for the increase in COVID-19 cases across the country.” Rather, the increase is believed to be attributed to large public gatherings & pandemic fatigue. https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2021/4/5/should-we-be-worried-about-indias-double-mutant-covid-19-strain
The situation in India is rapidly deteriorating & it’s frightening. They are building funeral pyres on pavement. Modeling suggests they’ll hit 5000 deaths/day by next month. The pandemic isn’t over until it’s over for everyone. Daily flights to/from India continue in the US. https://twitter.com/joerwallen/status/1384442672883146755
Flights from Delhi are still arriving in Canada. “A federal government website that lists flights where someone has been confirmed to have been infected with COVID shows that from April 4-16, there were 120 flights with COVID-positive passengers.” https://nationalpost.com/news/amid-surging-cases-and-double-mutant-variant-flights-from-india-touch-down-in-canada
You’re in for a surprise if you thought the US has a robust contact tracing program for air travelers. We don’t have one at all. We can’t find what we aren’t looking for, which is the entire point. Airlines are aware, which is why they fund their own dubious Covid studies. https://twitter.com/LauraMiers/status/1384209747100856334
This variant is already here. “Some public health experts suspect a new variant—B.1.617—is behind the rapid spread of the disease in India...It's affecting a lot of young people & children, too, & the symptoms are different from what we saw last year.” https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-india-deaths-hospitals-second-wave/
Delhi hospitals are running out of oxygen. I don’t think people understand how catastrophic this is. It’s revolting watching Americans pretend the pandemic is over while this takes place. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/21/india-covid-storm-hits-new-records-as-oxygen-supplies-run-short
Some of India’s hardest-hit areas currently were believed to have high levels of exposure, between 50%-60%. This was the case in areas of Brazil also. https://twitter.com/dgurdasani1/status/1385598107241570312
“I think we all want re-assurance and positivity right now (I definitely do), but it's important to convey uncertainty, where things aren't clear at the moment & avoid false reassurance.” https://twitter.com/dgurdasani1/status/1385598115097481220
