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A new coronavirus variant that shares some similarities with a more transmissible and intractable variant discovered in South Africa is on the rise in New York City, researchers said on Wednesday. The new variant, known as B.1.526, was first identified in samples collected in New York in November, and by mid-February represented about 12% of cases, researchers at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, said on Wednesday. The variant was also described in research published online this week by the California Institute of Technology. Neither study has been reviewed by outside experts. The Columbia researchers said an analysis of publicly available databases did not show a high prevalence of coronavirus variants recently identified in South Africa and Brazil in case samples from New York City and surrounding areas. “Instead we found high numbers of this home-grown lineage,” Dr. Anne-Catrin Uhlemann, assistant professor in the division of infectious diseases at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons, said in a statement. The Columbia study found that B.1.526 shares some worrying characteristics with B.1.351, the variant first identified in South Africa, and P.1., which was first identified in Brazil. Several studies have suggested that those new variants are more resistant to some existing vaccines than earlier versions of the coronavirus. The researchers said the main concern is a change in one area of the virus’ spike protein, called E484K, that is present in all three variants. The E484K mutation is believed to weaken the body’s immune response to the virus. Studies have shown that recently launched coronavirus vaccines are still likely to neutralize the virus and protect against severe illness, even for infections with new variants. Vaccine makers are also working to develop booster shots to combat mutated versions of the virus. …

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Dead Japanese man in Hanoi diagnosed with new Covid-19 variant The Saigon Times A medical worker performs Covid-19 tests. A Japanese man who died in Hanoi City on February 13 was identified to be infected with a new variant of Covid-19 that has never been reported in Vietnam before – PHOTO: MOH HCMC – A Japanese man who died in Hanoi City on February 13 was identified to be infected with a new variant of Covid-19 that has never been reported in Vietnam before. Speaking at an online meeting on February 24, Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said that the new Covid-19 strain has become the fifth variant to be reported in Vietnam. Associate Professor Dr. Tran Dac Phu, senior advisor at the Center for Emergency Response to Public Health Events of Vietnam, said that the spread of the new strain is not too rapid. The Covid-19 strain appears mainly in South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and India, Phu added. Earlier, Vietnam had reported three variants of Covid-19, which originated from Britain, South Africa and Rwanda, and another variant appearing in Danang City in July and August last year. The Japanese patient, tagged as the 2,229th Covid-19 case, was an expert at Mitsui Vietnam. The 54-year-old man entered Vietnam through the HCMC-based Tan Son Nhat International Airport on January 17 and was sent to a concentrated quarantine center in Tan Binh District’s Ward 2. He tested negative for the disease on January 17 and 31. On February 1, the man flew to Hanoi City and stayed at a hotel in Tay Ho District. He was found dead in his hotel room at 7.00 p.m. on February 13. His positive test result came out on February 14. Two of 586 people linked to the patient tested positive for Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. …

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Speaking at a meeting between the permanent cabinet members and the standing members of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control on February 24, the minister said localities around the country have performed well in implementing prevention and control measures. As of the morning of February 24, Vietnam had 2,403 COVID-19 infections, with 1,760 recoveries. Ten localities hit by the latest outbreak have now gone many days without new cases, he noted. In Hai Duong, the pandemic is now under sound control with faster testing and contact tracing. He said that SARS-CoV-2 variants found in cases in Vietnam include the 20C variant, which was contracted by a Japanese patient found dead in Hanoi earlier this month and another recent case in the capital. This variant is mostly found in the Republic of Korea, India, and Taiwan (China), but not Japan. Its infection speed is not high, while its strength is yet to be determined. The SARS-CoV-2 variant found in Hai Duong originated from the UK and South Africa, while that in Quang Ninh was also detected in the UK. The minister asked localities to continue applying preventive measures against the pandemic in line with the Prime Minister’s Directive No 05, while paying greater attention to supervising medical facilities and patients exhibiting fevers and coughs as well as foreign experts and people entering the country from abroad. Source: VNA …

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