New Variant(s)

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by laird

The problem with getting African countries to accept a vaccine program is very difficult ,a lot of Africans still believe in witch doctors etc ...

I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt, and assume that, by witchdoctor, you meant traditional healer.

For many poor Africans, there is nowhere else to go. Traditional healers are often the first, and last line of defence, against the most contagious, and debilitating diseases that plague their lives.
Although Western medicine is generally accepted throughout Africa, it has not replaced but rather augmented indigenous health approaches. Practitioners remain central to the lives of many. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 70 to 80 per cent of people in Africa regularly seek the services of traditional healers.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines traditional medicine (TM) as ‘the sum total of knowledge, skills and practices based on the theories, beliefs and experiences indigenous to different cultures, whether explicable or not, that are used to maintain health, as well as to prevent, diagnose, improve or treat physical and mental illnesses’ [1]. Therefore, African traditional medicine (ATM) would be the TM indigenous to the different African cultures.

What is the advice of the African National Healers Association (ANHA), or the Traditional Healers Oreganization (THO), on the subject of vaccination?

How would a reliance on traditional healing impact vaccine hesitancy/acceptance?

[1] ➥ https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/65475

[N Coast Murray]

Some African countries have one doctor for every 20,000 inhabitants. Keep in mind that's the average...if you live outside a large city that number is probably even more bleak.

By comparison, Canada has 19 doctors per 10,000 inhabitants.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o..._of_physicians

[Nord Sal]

World Health Organization criticizes travel restrictions to south African countries. Calls for borders to remain open.

[laird]

Looks like countries are closing down their borders again my buddy has just had his visa stopped due to the new strain ,he had all his duck lined up ,PCR test , quarantine hotel ,approved taxi ,flight tickets etc he was flying. out to the. Philippines, not anymore

[N Coast Murray]

Some good-ish leaning news from the doctor who first alerted officials about Omicron:

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/29/omic...ow-so-far.html

[Alan Mighty]

Seems Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta et al., hold concerns (according to Harry):-

[N Coast Murray]

Still too early to know what sort of impact Omicron will have, but comparing the gradual curves at the start of South Africa's previous waves of Covid-19 to the near vertical start to this one is an attention grabber:

(See second graph)

https://www.worldometers.info/corona.../south-africa/

[N Coast Murray]

Early Omicron study indicates an r0 of 2.3 (most infectious Covid variant so far) and a "substantial" reinfection rate. Probably have to wait another week or two to get the first estimates at how deadly it is, what percentage end up in hospital, etc.

In late November 2021, the Omicron (B.1.1.529 / 21K) variant was detected in Gauteng Province and associated with rapidly increasing case numbers (9). The estimated effective reproduction number in Gauteng based on PCR-confirmed cases was 2.3 as of 18 November, which is as high as has been seen at any point during the three waves to date…

We find evidence of a substantial and ongoing increase in the risk of reinfection that is temporally consistent with the timing of the emergence of the Omicron variant in South Africa, suggesting that its selection advantage is at least partially driven by an increased ability to infect previously infected individuals.

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...068v2.full.pdf

[N Coast Murray]

Now doubling every 2 days:

(2nd graph down)

https://www.worldometers.info/corona.../south-africa/

[carlosproa]

[aqfishing]

[N Coast Murray]

Originally Posted by aqfishing

5,263,091 have died from this (that have been documented) in less than two years. Nice show of empathy.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

[N Coast Murray]

I hope this turns out to be true.

Omicron may have swapped a bit of genetic material with the common cold in a person who had both viruses at the same time. This may lead to higher transmissibility and less harmful symptoms:

https://www.reuters.com/business/hea...us-2021-12-03/

[N Coast Murray]

Originally Posted by N Coast Murray

I hope this turns out to be true.

Omicron may have swapped a bit of genetic material with the common cold in a person who had both viruses at the same time. This may lead to higher transmissibility and less harmful symptoms:

https://www.reuters.com/business/hea...us-2021-12-03/

Research article here:

https://osf.io/f7txy/

[N Coast Murray]

Early glimmers of hope:

https://www.statnews.com/2021/12/04/...h-africa-data/