Scientists at the IHU Mediterranee Infection in Marseille, France, have announced the discovery of a new variant of SARS-CoV-2, which they say has more mutations than Omicron and may be more resistant to vaccines. Firstpost has the story.
Here’s what we know so far of this new COVID-19 variant:
• Researchers say that it contains 46 mutations – even more than Omicron – which makes it more resistant to vaccines and infectious.
• Some 12 cases have been spotted so far near Marseille, with the first linked to travel to the African country Cameroon.
• Tests show the strain carries the N501Y mutation – first seen on the Alpha variant – that experts believe can make it more transmissible
• According to the scientists, it also carries the E484K mutation, which could mean that the IHU variant will be more resistant to vaccines.
• It is yet to be spotted in other countries or labelled a variant under investigation by the World Health Organisation.
The variant was discovered on December 9th, so we might have expected it to have spread a bit further and faster by now if it is going to make a big impact – Omicron, by comparison, was already on its way to world domination by this point. So this may be just one of many non-event variants.
France is currently experiencing a strong winter surge dominated by the Omicron variant and the Government is responding by tightening the vaccine passport regime.
In an attempt to battle this surge, French MPs have proposed legislation that would require most people to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to enter public spaces such as bars, restaurants and long-distance public transport.
It is expected to come into force on January 15th after passing through the upper house Senate.
News agency AFP reported that the bill’s headline measure is aimed at getting France’s remaining five million unvaccinated people over 12 to accept a shot.
At present a health pass is required to access numerous everyday venues including bars, cafés, restaurants, cinemas, theatres, gyms, leisure centres and long distance train travel – but a recent negative test is accepted for the health pass.
The bill aims to replace the health pass with a vaccine pass – which would only allow people who are fully vaccinated to gain access to those venues.
But if new variants, whether Omicron or the ‘IHU’ variant or another yet to be discovered, evade vaccines – and the vaccinated are anyway dominating outbreaks – how do vaccine passports make any kind of sense? Politicians now appear to be just doing anything to look tough in this ‘war’ on the virus, even if they defy all rational justification and there is no evidence they will do anything to help.
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Courts seem to exist primarily to provide income for the legal profession and satisfaction to the political profession.
With the summary provided it is difficult to understand why Simberg should only have been fined $1,000 in comparison to Steyn’s $1 million.
If Mann’s lawyers intentionally deceived the court, have they been arrested? Has Mann been charged with perjury?
Good luck to Mark Steyn and I hope he gets all his legal costs back, and more, and that his health steadily improves.
Courts seem to exist primarily to provide income for the legal profession.
I recall the tale of the 2 lawyers in a case concerning a contested will. Bumping into each other in the court’s toilets, one of them said: “Let’s spin this out for a few more weeks; after all, if we settle now, the money will only be frittered away by the beneficiaries”
That was exactly the case with my late grandfather’s estate. He had intended to leave equal provision to his stepson, son, and daughter, but the daughter chose to dispute her step-brother’s entitlement to an equal share. The case rumbled on, to no-one’s benefit other than the lawyers, with the legal costs being deducted from an already modest estate.
My daughter is a lawyer. I had hoped she would pursue something more honourable such as used car salesman, traffic warden or pole dancer – but no such luck.
Or estate agent?
I once saw a painting of two farmers arguing over a cow, one pulling at its horns, the other at its tail, with a lawyer sitting on a stool between them milking it. Sums them up.
Good news.
Mark Steyn one of life’s most intelligent Good Guys
This case should now start to crumble the rest of project Climate fear !!
The Climate Con. Mann is no scientist. To rephrase what the judge wrote – Mann is a liar and a charlatan.
Steyn was taken to court, not on the ‘science’, but in comparing Mann to a child predator. The case had zero to do with ‘science’.
That Mann lied is of no surprise at all. That seems to be what ‘the science’ is – an industry of liars, thieves, self promoters, totalitarians and self worshippers.
TheScience™
Roger Pielke Jr, The Honest Broker’s take…
https://rogerpielkejr.substack.com/p/in-bad-faith
“…A Washington DC court sanctions climate scientist Michael Mann and his lawyers for misconduct extraordinary in its scope, extent, and intent.”
New administration in Washington, new verdict. Justice seen to be done.
The times they are a changin’.
Even back in the 17C the approval of the legal profession was not high. I present Dick the Butcher from Henry VI Part II who advised, “The first thing we do is, let’s kill all the lawyers”. A tad extreme, I agree, but a useful first step in the general push to improve our society.
Agreed. Also to note that in Shakespeare’s time, “lawyers” meant lawmakers, i.e. politicians.
Are lawyers over-represented in the UK House of Commons, at the expense of engineers and scientists? Judging from the “debate” over the Climate Change Bill, I would not be surprised if some backbencher were to introduce a Bill To Repeal The Second Law of Thermodynamics in order to Save The Planet. (As today is International π Day, we could reflect on the 1897 attempt in Indiana to “adjust” the values of π.)
And he also blocked Steyn on X when he got news of the 5K fine, reduced from around 1 million.
Protestors storm the BBC amid anger over funding to Syria, with the persecution and murder of Christians and other minorities like the Alawites.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cd0sFtooj8
Mann said “….. research is distorted and the truth about the climate threat is dissembled”.
He hit the nail on the head but not in the way he intended.
One of the funniest distortions was when Mann used the Tiljander proxies upside down (the age of some lake sediments went the wrong way). That is, owing to a silly slip, a slide was presented upside down at some conference of The Climate Faithful, yet the obvious blunder was downplayed. The joke is easily understood by non climate scientists. Perhaps Macavity Mann has finally been nailed to the crime scene!
Apperently there is no comment from Gavin Schmitt on his Real Climate blog which was one of Mann’s cheerleaders.
Oh dear, how sad, never mind.
Perhaps he’s writing a detailed explanation of why he supported a lemon.
It would seem that Mann is a serial liar. I’ve just checked the Guardian and can’t find anything about this, however I did quickly find an article there about Mann winning the original $1m. They mention the hockey stick but nothing about it being discredited.
Perhaps an aspiring poet could pen something on deniers v liars in the style of The Great McGonagall.
The image of Michael Mann makes my foot itch.
Perhaps now we will see an end to Mann made climate change.
I wouldn’t be so sure. The Minnesotans thought the Mann era was over in 2011, yet he’s still around. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMqc7PCJ-nc
Here is some commentary on the original Mann defamation claim. https://junkscience.com/michael-mann-defamed-or-defined-by-hide-the-decline/
There is far more behind this article than a defamation suit. One starting point might be YAD06 – the Most Influential Tree in the World – and its part in Mann’s downfall.