British and international authorities are closely monitoring a subtype of the Delta variant that is causing a growing number of infections in the United Kingdom.
This descendant of the Delta variant, known as AY.4.2, accounted for an estimated 6% of cases in the week of September 27 -- the last week with complete sequencing data -- and is "on an increasing trajectory,"Little is known about AY.4.2. Some experts have suggested it could be slightly more transmissible than the original Delta variant, though that has not yet been confirmed. While it accounts for a growing number of infections, it is not yet classified in the U.K.
, former U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb called for "urgent research" into this Delta offshoot and said it was a "reminder that we need robust systems to identify, characterize new variants." The most recent data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that they reduce the likelihood of testing positive for COVID-19 by six-fold and the likelihood of death by 11-fold, she added.
Although the COVID-19 vaccines provide strong protection against severe disease and death in healthy people, multiple myeloma patients are among the immunocompromised groups who may not respond as well, studies have shown. One study published in Nature in July showed that only 45% of multiple myeloma patients developed an adequate response to the vaccine, while 22% had a partial response. One-third had no response.
Millions of Russians face strict new Covid-19 restrictions from this week, after a slow vaccination drive, an overwhelmed health care system, and widespread mistrust in government combined to plunge the country into its most deadly phase of the pandemic to date,On Tuesday, Moscow's mayor ordered all unvaccinated residents over 60, as well as unvaccinated people "suffering from chronic diseases," to remain home for four months until late February as the city grapples with a growing...
Experts point towards a lagging vaccination program and a failure in government messaging as factors behind the surge, which is now threatening to deluge hospitals across the country.
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