“Triple threat Arcturus variant already in U.K.,” reads the headline in the Express. It cites virologist Dr. Lennard Lee to outline three particular concerns as the latest variant spreads: vulnerable patients, the impact of long Covid, and disruption to schools. Lee also claims we face multiple Covid waves every year.
Despite conceding that vaccines have not stopped transmission, Lee emphasises the importance of making better vaccines as the virus evolves.
The Express has the story.
As of April 11th, 66 cases [of the Arcturus Covid variant] had been detected in the U.K., with the figure likely to have risen significantly since then, Dr. Lee acknowledged, while highlighting three key areas – vulnerable patients, the impact of long Covid, and disruption to schools.
The Independent SAGE adviser and Academic Clinical Lecturer in Medical Oncology at the University of Oxford told Express.co.uk he and colleagues were monitoring Arcturus carefully.
He explained: “It’s got new mutations on it which allow it to spread slightly better, not greatly better, but slightly better, and it has driven the recent surge across India. What we’re seeing at the moment is slightly different in terms of what it looks like in humans. There’s early data showing that it affects the eyes and it causes conjunctivitis.
“What it really points to is that this virus is clever, and it is continuing to evolve with time. The tricky thing is that what’s happening is viruses are emerging around the world and they spread very, very quickly nowadays, so they come to our shores very quickly.” …
Emphasising the importance of vaccine technology to keep pace with the disease, he concluded: “The issue is that first-generation vaccines have not stopped transmission, and you can still get Covid and pass it on.
“Vaccines are our tools and we need to keep improving them as the virus evolves too. Ultimately, we want to try and minimise these waves which keep landing on our shores and we have to hope that it continues to be mild like Arcturus, but also have the tools ready if it were to change.”
When will this nonsense and fearmongering end? In case Dr. Lee hadn’t noticed, the majority of excess deaths this year are from non-Covid causes.
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