The Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center is probably the most valuable tool for monitoring …
the COVID-19 pandemic. The tracker is clearly hilghlighting that we a currently in the midst of the third global wave – although cases and death rates are not as severe as the wave of December 2020 and July 2021. We are getting better at managing COVID-19 in some cases getting in early with neutralizing monoclonal antibodies; steroids (dexamethasone), are also helping.
The current wave is driven largely by the delta variant, which has some “bad charateristics”: 1) it is highly transmissible (gets into host cells more efficiently and probably binds better to ACE2 receptors); 2) it appears that it is easier to spread asymptomatically compared to other variants, 3) it is more likely to cause breakthrough infections in vaccinated people, and 4) it most likely leads to higher hospitalization rates in unvaccinated people. In Darwin’s words “it is a more fitter SARS-CoV-2 virus.
The Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus has excellent statistics and keeps immaculate records on specific events. For example there data for the 2020 (2021) Summer Olympics in Japan; a total of 855 cases were reported (and thankfully zero deaths). Japan has had an interesting journey with the coronavirus – it was able to effectively manage earlier waves, however, as with many countries the delta surge has proven to be difficult to contain; cases peaked at ~25,000 on August 25 2021, and now over 10,000 cases have been reported in the past few days. It’s a difficult variant to control.
Japan has also had a few issues with the Moderna mRNA-vaccine; stainless steel contaminants have caused some issues; delaying some vaccination efforts. Also, there have been three deaths associated with vaccination in Japan; the causes of death are currently being investigated; something is being said about a buckwheat allergy for one of the cases… not sure if that is related. The Moderna vaccine has had some bad press in Japan but studies indicate that people may produce ~double the antibodies compared to the most popular Pfizer vaccine.
Talking about vaccines, the J&J vaccine is associated with higher breakthrough infections that the mRNA-based Moderna and Pfizer vaccines; and it clear the most protection from a serious COVID-19 infection is a previous infection infection with virus.
So there are three take home messages: 1) get vaccinated – it prevents from severe COVID-19 and hospitalization and 2) maybe we should be looking at antibody levels in people when considering vaccine passports – hot topic to be discussed in later issue, and 3) the “mu” SARS-CoV-2 variant is coming strong on the radar – hopefully, it is not that bad!
Until next time …