Vermillion Posted August 11, 2023 Posted August 11, 2023 Looks like we’re getting XBB updates this fall, not EG5. Idiotic.
Rebel Lion Posted August 11, 2023 Posted August 11, 2023 I wonder if covid mutates so much that everyone gets sick everyday to the point that if you live in a big city you wont be able to have one day where you don't feel sick. It would force everyone to go back to the old days and live in remote areas of the world.
Pikachoo Posted August 13, 2023 Posted August 13, 2023 So apparently there's a new variant called Eris? At least in Canada? The way this will never ever end
Rebel Lion Posted August 13, 2023 Posted August 13, 2023 9 minutes ago, Pikachoo said: So apparently there's a new variant called Eris? At least in Canada? The way this will never ever end No hunny. This will mutate to the point that we'll all get infected nonstop unless if you live in a remote part of the world.
Vermillion Posted August 13, 2023 Posted August 13, 2023 12 minutes ago, Pikachoo said: So apparently there's a new variant called Eris? At least in Canada? The way this will never ever end EG5 wasn't considered its own variant of interest as it was a subvariant of XBB15 which has been around a while until this week. The fall boosters in the U.S. which were developed for a variant similar to EG5 won't be available until late September which is problematic. It's not more transmissable than the Omicron variants but the data's too early on reinfection rates or Long Covid damage. Quote It is a descendant of the Omicron variant XBB.1.9.2 and has one notable mutation that helps it to evade antibodies developed by the immune system in response to earlier variants and vaccines. That advantage may be why EG.5 has become the dominant strain worldwide, and it could be one reason Covid cases have started to rise again. [...] But EG.5, which has also been called Eris, does not appear to have any new capacities when it comes to its contagiousness, its symptoms or its likelihood of causing severe illness. Diagnostic tests and treatments such as Paxlovid continue to be effective against it, Dr. Pekosz said. New York Times
Vermillion Posted August 21, 2023 Posted August 21, 2023 So the updated fall booster won't be covering BA.2.86 (Pirola). It keeps feeling like we're behind the eight ball.
Devin Posted September 3, 2023 Posted September 3, 2023 I heard the booster that protects the new variant got pushed to early October?
Genius1111 Posted September 5, 2023 Author Posted September 5, 2023 North Korea is slowly reopening after 3 and half years of covid isolation - The Washington Post Quote During the lockdown, North Korea tried to make do with its ideology of self-reliance, such as boosting domestic manufacturing in limited areas, including textiles and agriculture. The regime has also ramped up its cybercrime activities to steal foreign currency in forms of cryptocurrency and other virtual assets, cyber analysts say. But worsening economic conditions have pushed the Kim regime to seek external relief and partially reopen its borders to trade, according to experts. “The cost of isolation that piled up over the years, however, has reached a breaking point for Kim,” said Heo Jeong-pil, a professor of North Korean studies at Dongguk University in Seoul. Quote “Many hundreds, or thousands, of North Koreans have been stuck outside of their home country for more than three and a half years now and so these first chances are for them to return,” said Simon Cockerell, the general manager of Beijing-based North Korea tour operator Koryo Tours. Among the North Koreans facing imminent repatriation are students studying abroad, diplomats and laborers, as well as defectors detained in China. As a close ally of Pyongyang, Beijing regards North Korea defectors not as refugees but as illegal economic migrants. Some experts believe North Korea may push to send more workers abroad to take the place of repatriated laborers. They provide an important source of foreign income for the regime, despite international sanctions banning overseas workers. I'm honestly curious to know how many people in North Korea have managed to survive the pandemic, given that there was no immunization drive in the country.
Genius1111 Posted September 5, 2023 Author Posted September 5, 2023 China - Dropped the requirement for uploading negative rapid test results North Korea - 1 week quarantine for returning citizens abroad (foreigners not allowed in at the moment) Turkmenistan (i.e. the Central Asian version of North Korea without the nuclear weapons) - on-arrival PCR test required, for now
Genius1111 Posted September 5, 2023 Author Posted September 5, 2023 It amuses me to no end that for the past year or so, I've seen articles by UK and US publications talking about the need to bring back masks. In East and Southeast Asia, a good 30%-40% of the population still wears them. Some countries still also impose mask mandates on workers preparing/cooking food while some companies outside of F&B and medical settings also impose mask requirements (e.g. security personnel in airports).
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