Rapid viral evolution

BA.5, immune escape Vaccines and previous infections are protective against severe disease Percentages of positives that were infected more than 90 days ago Progressively increasing Now, 12 % reinfections 3 months ago, 8% reinfections 6 months ago, 5% reinfections https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwQp3Yc82ak R = 1.1 Up 27% on the week UK, 1 in 21 Scotland 1 in 15, highest ever rates Young people and young adults highest Will go up for a time, summer mixing, festivals Consistent with ONS data https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/articles/coronaviruscovid19/latestinsights One week ahead Hospital admissions up 37% List of covid symptoms Runny nose, 66% Sore throat, 65% Headache, 64% Persistent cough, 63% Fatigue, 62% Sneezing, 53% Hoarse, 44% Joint pains, 35% Fever, 31% Chills or shivers, 30% Muscle pains 29% Dizzy, 27% Brain fog, 24% Sore eyes, 22% Altered smell, 21% Lower back pain, 22% Swollen glands, 19% Skipped meals, 17% Chest pain, 15% BA.5 is milder than previous variants Still time off work Hospital admissions due to large numbers Official data UK https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk Coronavirus vaccines should be updated for fall https://www.fda.gov/advisory-committees/advisory-committee-calendar/vaccines-and-related-biological-products-advisory-committee-june-14-15-2022-meeting-announcement FDA advisory committee Deadline, vaccine formula for October, now BA.1 vaccine, in human tests for months Arnold Monto, FDA advisory committee We’re being asked, more or less, to have a crystal ball today New multi-strain vaccine, original and omicron Some wanted BA.4 and BA.5, others BA.1 Moderna, Novavax, Pfizer, each presented data to support their strategy Moderna, bivalent, for example, original version + BA.1 variant Pfizer BioNTech, only BA.1 Pfizer presented mouse data on BA.4 and BA.5 Novavax’s vaccine (not yet authorized in United States), additional doses of its existing vaccine could be protective ? will these new formulations apply to children without testing ? local or global Lyme disease