Fauci says US 'rushing' to get data on new COVID-19 variant

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Source: The Hill

Top infectious diseases expert Anthony Fauci said Friday that the U.S. is "rushing" to get data on the new COVID-19 variant, which was stoked alarm after being discovered in South Africa earlier this week.

Fauci said U.S. and South African scientists will have a meeting Friday to get more information about the new strain and the molecular makeup so the U.S. can test for the variant, called B.1.1529.

"Right now, we're getting the material together with our South African colleagues to get a situation where you could actually directly test it. So, right now you're talking about sort of like a red flag that this might be an issue - but we don't know," Fauci said in an interview on CNN.

Scientists say the variant has a larger number of mutations than previous strains, and it is not clear how effective the coronavirus vaccines will be against the variant.

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/fauci-says-us-rushing-to-get-data-on-new-covid-19-variant/ar-AARaHkE?li=BBnbfcQ

[cstanleytech]

1. I suspect in the long term that we are going to have to simply to start treating this virus like we

do the flu with yearly vaccines and hope for the best.

[Blues Heron]

2. we certainly won't beat it with defeatism

I think it's a little wee bit worse than the sniffles?

[cstanleytech]

6. No, the sniffles are a cold unlike the flu which can mutate and potentially cause millions to die if

its a strain that was not predicted and thus was not incorporated into that years flu vaccine.

[Blues Heron]

7. I think "hope for the best" isn't really going to cut it with this deadly virus

We can do better than that I think.

[cstanleytech]

13. No, hope as in hope our science and medical knowledge allow us to try and save as many people

as possible.
That is what I mean when I say hope for the best.
After all it would be foolish and futile to hope it all goes away like Trump tried to do.

[Blues Heron]

14. its up to us- our behavior is driving this.

i.e we need to mask, don't party, get the vax.

[NullTuples]

8. I fear it may not be that simple?

As long as there are large enough pockets of unvaccinated, uninfected people that the virus can exploit, there will be continued evolution of the virus to create worse and worse strains. More new cases = more mutations = greater chance of a mutation favorable to the virus and unfavorable to us.

But, at some point the virus does effectively run out of large populations to exploit. At that point continued spread of the virus begins to depend on being as non-harmful as possible. That's when it becomes like the flu or common cold, as I understand it.

[Lovie777]

3. At least he and the Biden administration are on it . ....

while the GQP blames Biden and don't care that their cult is suffering and dying.

[appalachiablue]

4. K/R

[totodeinhere]

5. I wish they would get off their butts and ban travel from South Africa now like the UK has.

If they wait weeks while the scientists are studying it, by then it will be too late and it will already be here. We do not want a variant that resists immunity from the vaccines. If we get that we are back to square one.

[NullTuples]

9. It's been identified in Belgium, too. And a few other countries.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

10. Looks like they have just done so.

U.S. Imposes Travel Limits on Southern Africa Over Covid Variant

(Bloomberg) -- President Joe Biden imposed new travel restrictions on nations in southern Africa on Friday, joining efforts by other countries to try and slow the spread of a potentially potent new Covid-19 variant that’s roiled global markets.

The administration will restrict travel from South Africa and seven other countries starting on Monday, according to senior administration officials. In addition to South Africa, they include Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi.

The policy doesn’t apply to American citizens and lawful permanent residents, though they must still test negative prior to travel to the U.S., according to administration officials.

The WHO listed the mutated virus it named Omicron as a variant of concern Friday as several nations moved to halt travel from the region. Countries across Europe halted air travel from the region earlier in the day, as did Canada, while the S&P 500 posted its biggest slide on Friday since February.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/u-s-imposes-travel-limits-on-southern-africa-over-covid-variant/ar-AARb3PD

[totodeinhere]

12. Good. Dr. Fauci must have read my message on DU. n/t

[IronLionZion]

11. Unmasked antivaxxers are rushing to get it and spread it

to achieve natural immunity.

[BlueWavePsych]

15. More Darwin awards for the unvaxxed ...

[IronLionZion]

16. They're doing their part to help the US get data on infections

Their body, their choice.

[Larissa]

18. Playing with fire

What if Omicron kills the the anti-vaxxers first before they do their super spreader routine? How do these rocket scientists figure out who's got it? This is why face masks are now even more important.

[manicdem]

17. Other nations

The problem that this story illustrates is the problem lies in other countries, not necessarily the US. The US makes up 4% of the worlds 8 billion population. Undeveloped countries, half of the world's population, are unvaccinated and thats where the mutations develop. Eventually there will be a varient that is more contagious, more deadly, or resistant/immune to vaccines that enters the US.