Thread by @Laurie_Garrett, The UK mutant B.1.1.7 form of #COVID19 first hit #Denmark on Dec. [...]

The UK mutant B.1.1.7 form of #COVID19 first hit #Denmark on Dec. 14 -- a country that was doing a great job controlling the virus. But then is soared, by 70%/week, and the country is in ER mode.
Are we ready, America?
MORE https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/uk-variant-covid-denmark/2021/01/22/ddfaf420-5453-11eb-acc5-92d2819a1ccb_story.html

Denmark is sequencing all coronavirus samples and has an alarming view of the U.K. variant

Cases are exploding exponentially and lockdowns may not be enough.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/uk-variant-covid-denmark/2021/01/22/ddfaf420-5453-11eb-acc5-92d2819a1ccb_story.html

2/ In early December the tiny Italian town of Guardiagrele reported a cluster of 4 cases of B.1.1.7 cases & warned national authorities. It soon was spreading all over Italy, which is seeing surging numbers.
MORE https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/italy-covid-uk-variant/2021/01/16/0732bd24-544e-11eb-acc5-92d2819a1ccb_story.html

A lab in Italy reported a cluster of the U.K. coronavirus variant. Four cases grew to 29 before the...

Governments may be missing the window to stop the spread.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/italy-covid-uk-variant/2021/01/16/0732bd24-544e-11eb-acc5-92d2819a1ccb_story.html

3/ The Rep. of Ireland was a paragon of #COVID19 control, until B.1.1.7 turned up.
Now it has the highest per capita incidence of new cases in the entire world.
MORE https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/ireland-covid-curve/2021/01/11/aeb08592-51cc-11eb-a1f5-fdaf28cfca90_story.html

Ireland had one of the lowest coronavirus rates in Europe. It’s now highest in the world.

Relaxed policies over Christmas coincided with spread of the U.K. variant.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/ireland-covid-curve/2021/01/11/aeb08592-51cc-11eb-a1f5-fdaf28cfca90_story.html

4/ In the UK doctors think the B.1.1.7 variant has a greater propensity to spread in the air, in aerosols. An d they are demanding the govt provide far better PPE safety equipment for healthcare personnel.
MORE https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n146?utm_source=etoc&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=tbmj&utm_content=weekly&utm_term=20210122

Covid-19: Doctors’ leaders call for revised PPE guidance to reflect new variants

Medical leaders have urged Public Health England to strengthen its guidance on personal protective equipment (PPE) to reflect the more transmissible forms of SARS-CoV-2 that healthcare staff are...

https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n146?utm_source=etoc&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=tbmj&utm_content=weekly&utm_term=20210122

5/ As bad as all this B.1.1.7 news sounds, UK officials say variants found in South Africa and Brazil are worse -- they seem to escape the immune system, and #COVID19 survivors can b e re-infected.
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-55768627
and
https://science.sciencemag.org/content/371/6527/329?utm_campaign=toc_sci-mag_2021-01-21&et_rid=325825488&et_cid=3638463
MORE

New mutations raise specter of ‘immune escape’

> Science's COVID-19 reporting is supported by the Pulitzer Center and the Heising-Simons Foundation When the number of COVID-19 cases began to rise again in Manaus, Brazil, in December 2020, Nuno...

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-55768627

6/ So I ask again, are we ready America?
No.
The US ranks 43rd in the world in genomic screening of #COVID19 viruses -- we test abt 0.3% of new cases/day, haphazardly. About 80 B.1.1.7 cases have been found so far, plus homegrown variants.
We have NO strategic screening.

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