Since it was detected in August 2023, the JN.1 variant of Covid has spread widely. It has become dominant in Australia and around the world, driving the biggest Covid wave seen in many jurisdictions for at least the past year. The World Health Organization (WHO) classified JN.1 as a “variant of interest” in December 2023 […]

The post JN.1 ‘step change’ evolution cause for new Covid concern appeared first on Asia Times.

The United States experienced its second-largest Covid wave of the pandemic in January 2024. For the year to December 2023, in England, Covid rates peaked at around one in 24 people. During the same month, Singapore also experienced record Covid cases and a spike in hospitalizations. Covid, then, is still a major public health problem, […]

The post Risky Covid complacency spreading far and wide appeared first on Asia Times.

Since the Covid variant omicron emerged in late 2021, it has rapidly evolved into multiple subvariants. One subvariant, BF.7, has recently been identified as the main variant spreading in Beijing, and is contributing to a wider surge of Covid infections in China. But what is this new variant, and should we be worried? Although reports […]

The post New ‘stealth omicron’ variant spreading fast in China appeared first on Asia Times.

The Omicron variant of concern has splintered into multiple subvariants. So we’ve had to get our heads around these mutated forms of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, including BA.1 and the more recent BA.5. We’ve also seen recombinant forms of the virus, such as XE, arising by genetic material swapping between subvariants. More recently, […]

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The omicron subvariant known as BA.5 was first detected in South Africa in February 2022 and spread rapidly throughout the world. As of the second week of July 2022, BA.5 constituted nearly 80% of Covid-19 variants in the United States. Soon after researchers in South Africa reported the original version of the omicron variant (B.1.1.529) […]

The post How omicron BA.5 became a master of disguise appeared first on Asia Times.

Four new cases of monkeypox have been reported in the UK, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to seven. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is urgently looking for the source of the outbreak. The first case in the current outbreak was confirmed on May 6. But this is not the first time monkeypox […]

The post Monkeypox truths and myths appeared first on Asia Times.

By now, many of us will be familiar with the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid. This variant of concern has changed the course of the pandemic, leading to a dramatic rise in cases around the world. We are also increasingly hearing about new Omicron sub-variants with names such as BA.2, BA.4 […]

The post Omicron threat mutating fast and furious appeared first on Asia Times.

Since early in the COVID pandemic, the Network for Genomics Surveillance in South Africa has been monitoring changes in SARS-CoV-2. This was a valuable tool to understand better how the virus spread. In late 2020, the network detected a new virus lineage, 501Y.V2, which later became known as the beta variant. Now a new SARS-CoV-2 […]

The post What we know so far about Omicron appeared first on Asia Times.

China’s public health authority is recommending hundreds-year-old traditional prescriptions for people to fortify themselves against Covid mutations as infections among fully vaccinated workers have damaged trust in modern, homegrown shots.  The National Health Commission (NHC) and National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine issued a list of historical and modernized herbal and minerals prescriptions from ancient herbology […]

The post Beijing touts herbal fix for vaccine doubters appeared first on Asia Times.

Beijing is scrambling to give its vaccines performance a shot in the arm, with most of the 1.6 billion doses administered nationwide supplied by Sinovac being scorned due to their mediocre protection against new strains.  Trials in Brazil suggesting 50% effectiveness is borne out by takers of Sinovac contracting the Delta strain in current outbreaks […]

The post Inside China’s mega-farm where the Covid virus grows appeared first on Asia Times.

The Greater Sydney lockdown in Australia began on June 26 and almost a month later, the state of New South Wales is recording around 100 new Covid cases a day. We are also seeing the virus spread well beyond the initial eastern suburbs cluster. The virus then spread from NSW to the neighboring state of Victoria […]

The post Delta flexes its deadly grip Down Under appeared first on Asia Times.

Last month, the Indian government detected a new mutation in the Delta coronavirus variant, prompting it to classify it as a variant of concern. The Indian Health Ministry classifies a variant as one of concern as soon as there’s evidence for increased transmission. The new variant, known as “Delta Plus”, AY.1 or B.1.617.2.1, has an extra mutation […]

The post India’s ‘Delta Plus’ variant rings new viral alarm bells appeared first on Asia Times.

The clock is ticking on China’s immunization blitz. The next 30 days or so will see if it can deliver on key Covid control imperatives such as fully vaccinating 40% of its population, or 560 million people, by the end of June. All the numbers suggest Beijing has its work cut out. National Health Commission (NHC) […]

The post Covid outbreaks vanquish Chinese vaccine doubts appeared first on Asia Times.

Chinese people’s pent-up demand for travel and revelry, suppressed in previous national holidays and celebrations, is set to be unleashed. The nation’s travel, catering and hospitality industries  are salivating at the prospect of a surge in business unseen since the start of the pandemic as people pack for trips and book tickets and tables for […]

The post Beijing swings between holiday splurge and Covid appeared first on Asia Times.

SEOUL – A leading vaccine expert suggested Tuesday that countries holding, but not using, doses of the controversial AstraZeneca vaccine should release them so they can be supplied to the developing world. “We need all the vaccines we have,” said Dr Jerome Kim, head of the Seoul-based International Vaccine Institute that supplies vaccines across the […]

The post The lethal risks of Global North vaccine hoarding appeared first on Asia Times.

Few places around the world are giving people the choice of two competing Covid-19 vaccines, but in Hong Kong, Chinese and Western versions are on offer. But while the less-than-impressive efficacy rate of China’s Sinovac has tempered hopes of a high take-up in the former British colony, unfolding issues relating to the packaging of BioNTech […]

The post Vial flaws deal fresh blow to Hong Kong vaccinations appeared first on Asia Times.

The US Food and Drug Administration has authorized the use of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine in adults. Maureen Ferran, a virologist at the Rochester Institute of Technology, explains how this third authorized vaccine works and explores the differences between it and the Moderna and Pfizer–BioNTech vaccines that are already in use. How does the Johnson & Johnson vaccine work? […]

The post Johnson & Johnson one-shot vaccine a pandemic game changer appeared first on Asia Times.

For nine days, China has logged no local Covid-19 infections. Counties in the northern provinces of Hebei and Heilongjiang, in the grip of the virus at the end of 2020 when clusters threatened to spill into Beijing, have both vanquished the outbreak.  The nation now has no zone marked high or medium-risks of catching the […]

The post Jabs less urgent as China sees cases drop to zero appeared first on Asia Times.

A universal vaccination drive has been underway in Beijing and 5 million people had already booked their shots since last week as the capital city prepares to host the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) – the top political advisory body – in one week. Chinese authorities have been […]

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More batches of Chinese vaccine against Covid-19 are primed for Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, with planes carrying supplies landing in airports across the region.  The first consignment of one million doses from Chinese drugmaker Sinovac was flown into Hong Kong on February 19 as an advance delivery. The company’s plant in Beijing has extended […]

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