<
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2024-01-04/covid-2024-flu-virus-vaccine>
"The pandemic is far from over, as evidenced by the rapid rise to global
dominance of the JN.1 variant of SARS-CoV-2. This variant is a derivative of
BA.2.86, the only other strain that has carried more than 30 new mutations in
the spike protein since Omicron first came on the scene more than two years
ago. This should have warranted designation by the World Health Organization as
a variant of concern with a Greek letter, such as Pi.
By wastewater levels, JN.1 is now associated with the second-biggest wave of
infections in the United States in the pandemic, after Omicron. We have lost
the ability to track the actual number of infections since most people either
test at home or don’t even test at all, but the very high wastewater levels of
the virus indicate about 2 million Americans are getting infected each day.
In several countries in Europe, wastewater levels reached unprecedented levels,
exceeding Omicron. Clearly this virus variant, with its plethora of new
mutations, has continued its evolution with mutations adapted for infecting or
reinfecting us.
There is, however, some good news about this big wave of infections. It has not
resulted in the surge of hospital admissions seen with Omicron. The “updated”
booster (based on the XBB.1.5 variant that rose to dominance in the U.S. in
February), available here since September, has some cross-reactivity with JN.1
in lab studies for inducing neutralizing antibodies to the virus, and a recent
Kaiser Permanente report showed the booster provided protection from
hospitalization in the range of about 60% against JN.1 and other recently
circulating variants.
With the marked differences in the spike protein between XBB.1.5 and JN.1, we
are very lucky to see this level of vaccine-induced immune response.
Nevertheless, only 19% of eligible Americans have gotten the updated booster.
The Kaiser study also showed low levels of protection against hospitalization
and emergency room visits for people who had received only prior versions of
the vaccine, without the updated booster. That aligns with even more striking
differences in the virus sequence of early strains compared with JN.1, and the
problem we have with waning immunity four to six months after vaccination.
All of this is occurring on top of the flu and RSV waves, both of which are at
very high levels, not clearly having peaked yet, with some people experiencing
two of these infections at once.
With all three respiratory viruses circulating at full force, you would think
we’d be seeing people wearing masks everywhere in public. That couldn’t be
further from the truth. The state of denialism and general refusal to take
simple steps to reduce the risk of infection can be seen everywhere.
It has taken healthcare systems many weeks after JN.1 showed up in October to
recognize the threat. Only very recently have some reinstated mask mandates for
healthcare workers and patients. Little has been done across the country to
improve indoor air quality, upgrading filtration and ventilation."
Via Lisa Stranger and Kenny Chaffin.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
