Over 4.1 million gather at Grand Mosque on 29th night of Ramadan    Myanmar earthquake death toll climbs to 144    Zelenskyy says new US draft minerals deal 'significantly differs,' rules out treating aid as a loan    Sudanese army says it has cleared final RSF positions in Khartoum    Trump renews push to acquire Greenland    Interior minister visits Grand Mosque operations center    Saudi Arabia prepares over 19,000 mosques and open-air prayer grounds for Eid Al-Fitr prayers    Reef Saudi bazaar celebrates rural heritage with traditional crafts and strong public turnout    World's largest barbershop opens at Clock Towers Center in Makkah to serve pilgrims    Saudi non-oil exports jump 10.7% in January    Saudi creatives shine at Jeddah's Fawanees Nights with art, fashion, and storytelling    OMODA&JAECOO Accelerate Global Expansion JAECOO J8 records strong first month orders in Saudi Arabia, J5 prepares for launch    LOT - The Value Shop makes its grand debut in Hafar Al-Batin    100 Thieves claim Marvel Rivals Invitational NA crown as 2025 scene heats up    T1 CEO confirms Gumayusi's return for LCK Spring after lineup shakeup    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Saudi Arabia hold Japan to goalless draw in Saitama to stay in World Cup hunt    Disney's Snow White film tops box office despite bad reviews    NewJeans announces hiatus after setback in court battle    George Foreman, heavyweight champion and cultural icon, dies at 76    Court rules against K-pop group NewJeans in record label dispute    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    King Salman prays for peace and stability for Palestinians in Ramadan message King reaffirms Saudi Arabia's commitment to serving the Two Holy Mosques and pilgrims    Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan 'out of danger' after attack at home in Mumbai    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



COVID-19 variant identified in India may increase risk of hospitalization, UK officials say
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 04 - 06 - 2021

The B.1.617.2 coronavirus variant that was first identified in India is now believed to be dominant in the United Kingdom, Public Health England (PHE) said on Thursday, adding that early evidence suggests it could cause an increased risk of hospitalization in comparison to the strain that was first detected in England.
While PHE cautioned that more data is needed, its early findings showed that the B.1.617.2 or "Delta" variant was more likely to cause serious illness than the B.1.1.7 or "Alpha" variant, which had been dominant in the United K since it was first detected in southeast England last fall.
An analysis of 38,805 sequenced cases in England showed that the Delta variant carried 2.61 times the risk of hospitalization within 14 days compared with the Alpha variant, when variables such as age, sex, ethnicity and vaccination status were taken into consideration.
This week, at least 278 people with the Delta variant attended hospital emergency departments across the UK, resulting in 94 people being admitted to hospital overnight -- an increase from the 201 people with the Delta variant who attended emergency departments last week, including 43 overnight admissions, PHE outlined. "The majority of these had not been vaccinated," PHE highlighted.
Grant Shapps, the UK's transport secretary, said the decision was based on rising positivity rates in Portugal and a growing concern that returning travelers could bring in more coronavirus variants, specifically mutations to the fast-spreading Delta variant.
"We just don't know the potential for that to be a vaccine-defeating mutation, and we don't want to take the risk as we come up to 21 June and the review of the fourth stage of the unlock," Shapps said Thursday in an interview with the BBC.
Portugal's President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has criticized the UK's decision, warning that a balance needed to be found in order to avoid "health fundamentalism" and stressed the need to "move forward."
Coronavirus cases in England are continuing to climb, with the number of people testing positive hitting the highest level in six weeks on Thursday. A total of 17,162 people tested positive for the coronavirus in England in the week up to May 26, a 22 percent increase compared to last week, according to the UK's National Health Service Test and Trace program.
Speaking to CNN, Hancock said that while the UK will remain cautious, the uptick in cases will not necessarily lead to a higher mortality rate due to vaccination levels.
"The big change, of course, is the vaccine ... the number of cases doesn't automatically lead to hospitalizations and sadly deaths — as it automatically did in the past — because we've broken that link, but it's not completely broken so we're watching this very, very carefully," he said.
Half of all adults in the UK are now fully vaccinated, UK Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi announced in a tweet on Thursday, describing it as an "important milestone."
Vaccination still appears to be making an impact on the spread of the virus.
"One shining light however is that vaccination still appears to be making an impact on spread," Meaghan Kall, an epidemiologist with PHE, said on Twitter. According to PHE, 73 percent of Delta cases are in unvaccinated people, compared to only 3.7 percent in people who have received both doses.
Similarly, only 5% (seven infections) of the confirmed Delta cases that were admitted to hospital overnight — and two deaths — were people who had received both doses.
The PHE data also reveals the spread of variants within schools in England. In the first week of June, there had been 140 outbreaks of the Delta variant within educational settings. Delta cases also made up for about half of known school outbreaks in the most recent week.
Reacting to the PHE report on Twitter, Christina Pagel, director of University College London's clinical operational research unit, said she was astonished at the "rosy" interpretation of the PHE data.
"I get the desire to be optimistic (honestly) but minimizing delays action and ultimately makes things worse. Exponential growth is a red flag," Pagel said.
"We *now* have evidence that delta is (a lot) more transmissible, partially vax resistant & more severe. It's now 80% of our cases. The genie is out of the bottle." — CNN


Clic here to read the story from its source.