Wednesday, December 23, 2020

World News Briefs -- December 23, 2020 (Evening Edition)

DW: WHO confirms COVID variant 'substantially' more infectious 

The World Health Organization has said it found a "substantial increase in transmission of the virus but no evidence yet of increased severity." 

The World Health Organization (WHO) in Europe met on Wednesday to discuss the new coronavirus variant, which has wreaked havoc on the UK and caused high alert across Europe. 

The WHO's European region comprises 53 countries, including Russia and several Central Asian nations. In total, the region has registered nearly 24 million coronavirus cases and over 500,000 deaths. 

WHO Europe said it gathered its members to discuss strategies to counter the new, more infectious variant: 

Read more .... 

 MIDDLE EAST 




Trump administration 'is considering granting Saudi Crown Prince Salman immunity in lawsuit that accused him of sending a squad of hit men to Canada to assassinate rival's top aide'. 






 ASIA 








 AFRICA 









 EUROPE 



Truck drivers in UK resume travel to France after tense two-day coronavirus blockade. 





Three police officers shot dead, fourth injured in Puy-de-Dome in central France. 

 AMERICAS 



Trump pardons more allies, including Kushner's father: White House. 



Canadian regulators approve Moderna COVID-19 vaccine



ECONOMY/FINANCE/BUSINESS 




1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Substantial increase in transmission of the virus but no evidence yet of increased severity

It is surmised that the Chinese altered COVID so that it has extra docking proteins.

We are told more docking proteins, equates more chances to latch onto cells and invade the, That is more docking proteins means it is more infectious.

Given it more or less spherical surface and its average diameter, there can only be so many docking proteins.

Maybe the docking proteins are codded slightly different and so latch better due to geometry.

They have proteins on hw proteins fold. They are not perfect, but there has been a lot of work over 2 decades. There has got to be or will be programs that predict infectivity of a virus given it docking proteins.

Give the WSJ article comparing the health systems of Bolivia, Peru, and Chile to the severity of the mid 1990's cholera outbreak, I was not surprised that South Africa is the origin. It is not race or geography but the fact that there are so many HIV cases It is a weak population from the virus's standpoint.

Or we might be getting zoomed, again. If you have a population with a double digit HIV rate, COVID is going to have a field day with such a weak population.