November 26 Omicron variant news

Scientists at BioNTech have already started investigating the impact of a new coronavirus variant on its Covid-19 vaccine, with data expected within the next couple of weeks.

The new variant appears to be spreading rapidly in parts of South Africa and scientists are concerned that its unusually high number of mutations could make it more transmissible and result in immune evasion.

BioNTech said the upcoming data would shed light on ”whether B.1.1.529 could be an escape variant that may require an adjustment of our vaccine if the variant spreads globally.”

For months, the heads of both Pfizer and BioNTech have said that the companies can adapt their vaccine, which uses mRNA technology, within six weeks and begin shipping first batches within 100 days, if needed.

The World Health Organization is working to understand more about the new coronavirus variant, WHO’s technical lead for Covid-19 Maria Van Kerkhove said during a social media question and answer session on Thursday.

“We don’t know very much about this yet. What we do know is that this variant has a large number of mutations,” she said. “And the concern is that when you have so many mutations, it can have an impact on how the virus behaves.”

The B.1.1.529 variant was detected by South African colleagues who reported it to the WHO, Van Kerkhove said, adding that there are fewer than 100 full genomic sequences available for it.

Van Kerkhove thanked South African colleagues for doing “incredible” genomic sequencing and research, adding that they are planning to do neutralization studies to understand what impact that variant may have.

WHO’s technical advisory group on virus evolution will meet Friday to discuss whether the strain will become “a variant of interest or a variant of concern,” she said.

Van Kerkhove cautioned that the more the virus circulates, the more opportunities it has to mutate, saying that transmission needs to be driven down to reduce the possibility of more variants emerging. 

Wall Street is in a frenzy on Black Friday as stocks around the world tumbled in the face of a new Covid-19 variant.

US equities opened sharply lower and continued their downward path in the first half hour of trading, with the Dow more some 900 points lower. 

Oil prices were also badly hit. 

The new variant has been detected in South Africa, Botswana, Hong Kong, Belgium and Israel, prompting some countries to put flight bans in place.

Hong Kong health authorities have identified a second case of the B.1.1.529 coronavirus variant, after South African officials earlier identified one confirmed case in a traveler from South Africa to Hong Kong.

Genome sequencing analysis by the University of Hong Kong confirmed that both cases had "highly similar genetic sequences" and belonged to the newly emerged B.1.1.529 variant, the government said in a news release Thursday.

The two cases were identified among returning travelers on the same floor of a designated quarantine hotel, the Regal Airport Hotel.

Health authorities have ordered at least 12 people in nearby rooms who stayed from Nov. 11–14 to undergo mandatory Covid-19 testing and an additional 14 days of quarantine at a government quarantine center. 

Welsh rugby union teams Cardiff Blues and Scarlets have announced they are returning home from South Africa after the country was added to the UK travel red list, following the discovery of an aggressive mutation of the Covid-19 virus there.

Scarlets added in a statement on their website: "Following the news of a new Covid variant in South Africa, Scarlets would like to assure families and friends that we are making every effort to get our touring party back home to the UK as soon as possible. We will provide further updates as soon as we can."

The UK announced it would be imposing restrictions on flights and travelers from six African nations after a new variant of the coronavirus – B.1.1.529 – was detected in South Africa. The other countries added to the list are Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, Zimbabwe and Eswatini.

Fellow EU nations Austria, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Malta have all announced imminent entry bans to all travelers who've entered South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia and Eswatini in the past two weeks.

The Vodacom United Rugby Championships announced on Friday that they will postpone matches scheduled to take place this week and next week in South Africa.

Spain will consider imposing a travel ban on flights from South Africa and Botswana during its next cabinet meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, November 30, the country's health ministry announced in a statement.

Passengers returning from high-risk countries will now have to present a negative test, it added.

No case of the new B.1.1.529 Covid-19 variant has been found in Spain, according to the statement. 

The Dow opened some 800 points lower on Black Friday as stocks around the world tumbled in the face of a new Covid-19 variant.

At the opening bell Friday, Wall Street was deep in the red, with the Dow falling 2.2%, or about 800 points. The broader S&P 500 tumbled 1.5% and the Nasdaq Composite opened down 1.1%.

"A 2% move is a big move for these markets," Romans continued. "And it just shows you the uncertainty of this new variant is really causing investors to rush to safer havens like the bond market and some different currencies."

The New York Stock Exchange will close at 1 p.m. ET after being closed Thursday for Thanksgiving. Reduced trading volume during this half-day session is also likely to exacerbate the swings in the market.

The variant, B.1.1.529 — which has been detected in South Africa, Botswana, Belgium, Israel and in a traveler to Hong Kong from South Africa — has a high number of mutations, according to scientists, and has led to travel bans in some countries.

Health officials in the Biden administration are closely monitoring a new coronavirus variant that has emerged in South Africa. However, no decision has been made on imposing travel restrictions yet, according to an official familiar with discussions.

Currently known as B.1.1.529, the newly identified variant appears to be spreading rapidly in parts of South Africa and scientists are concerned that its unusually high number of mutations could make it more transmissible and result in immune evasion.

The new strain has triggered a wave of travel restrictions in several European countries and the United Kingdom has added six African countries to its travel "red list,” including South Africa.

Major US airlines, including Delta, United and American Airlines, say they are closely watching the new Covid-19 variant but have not imposed any changes so far.

Delta “will continue to work closely with our government partners to evaluate any changes to US policy," the company told CNN.

Delta says its travel partner Virgin Atlantic has now canceled its service between Johannesburg and London Heathrow.

The Belgian government has said that one individual has tested positive for the B.1.1.529 variant, the new strain of the coronavirus that was just detected in South Africa.

Belgium is the first European country to confirm a case of the new variant.

The individual tested positive for the new variant of Covid-19 on Nov. 22, Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke said.

The patient was unvaccinated and had recently travelled from Egypt, tweeted Marc Van Ranst, Belgium’s leading virologist who originally discovered the case.

Shortly after this announcement, France announced that it is “reinforcing” control at its border with Belgium, the government’s spokesperson told reporters on Friday.