The Brick Castle: COVID-19 Coronavirus UK and World News Update 16 / 17th October 2021

COVID-19 Coronavirus UK and World News Update 16 / 17th October 2021

UK Daily Statistics:
Cases: 8,449,165 (+45,140 - the highest figure since June)
Losses of Life: 138,584 (+57)
Tests: 980,883
Vaccinations 1st Dose: 49,398,211 (85.9% UK aged 12+)
Vaccinations Fully Vaxxed: 45,358,472 (78.9%)

Rep. Of Ireland: 413,734 cases and 5,306 losses of life.

World: 241,410,075 reported cases and 4,913,151 losses of life.

COVID Variant distribution UK 15th October 2021 - nothing of any note

I was pretty scathing about Matt Hancock's appointment as UN Special Envoy To Help Africa's COVID Recovery, and I wasn't the only one. The UN have withdrawn the offer, and it appears it may be due to political and public backlash.
I expect Matt is pretty devastated, but honestly, it wasn't the job for you - maybe you can retrain in cyber like that ballet dancer in the advert.

The Johnson&Johnson vaccine is being reported really negatively, as being a poor cousin to mRNA, but remember that this is still one of the world's best performing vaccines - and being top 10 is nothing to be embarrassed about. It's also single dose and can be stored in a fridge. It is incredibly user-friendly worldwide.
The US FDA have recommended a Johnson&Johnson Booster Shot for certain people who originally received the single-dose vaccination - however, some of the advisory committee did make it clear they view the additional vaccination more as a 'part 2' to the original, than a true Booster Shot.
They earlier recommended both Pfizer and Moderna high risk recipients for boosters using the same vaccine given originally, and are discussing allowing mix & match options.

Reinfection in Iran has been at incredibly high levels. COVID there has never been brought under any real level of control, and in some areas, a number greater than 100% of the population have been infected - meaning lots of people have actually been infected 2 or more times.

Famous People With COVID:
Convicted Murderer Robert Durst, who was finally sentenced around 4 days ago. He was given life imprisonment without parole for the murder in 2000 of the person who was his alibi when his wife 'went missing' in 1982. He said 'I killed them all" in a Netflix documentary in 2020, which unsurprisingly led to his arrest.
He is currently critically ill and ventilated.

Scientists from the University Of Texas have been looking into why Delta and Alpha Variants are so easily caught and passed on. It seems to be about developing and replicating more quickly. We have had hints before that this is the case, now we have some (not-yet-peer-reviewed) evidence.
If you remember the "virus are photocopiers who print more photocopiers" thing, well, this one is on full speed.
It's nothing to be concerned about, it's been the case for the past year or more, and it'll be another aspect for scientists to look into and compare when studying new variants that come along.

Two boys, one who had been vaccinated against Smallpox and 1 who hadn't

Apparently many Americans who are reluctant to be vaccinated can't wait to get a shot of monoclonal antibodies once they are.diagnosed with COVID. Doctors in the US are pretty perplexed, and pointing out that apart from being a bit of a ridiculous stance, antibodies really aren't a substitute for vaccination. Antibody cocktails may help you stay out of hospital, but they're of no benefit regarding infecting everyone else, and definitely shouldn't be relied on to get you well. And if you're going to have them, why on Earth won't you just get vaccinated and save everyone the trouble...

Melbourne in Australia is about to ease restrictions. This population have spent more time under lockdown than possibly anyone else - 262 days. There is a price to pay for such low levels of COVID - and low levels of people lost.
Buenos Aires has had the second highest number of days under lockdown, 234 since the beginning of the pandemic.

A quiet news weekend - I think the UK at least deserves less exciting press for a while. It may not be so 'quiet' underneath the surface. It's very easy to forget that in several areas hospitals are really stretched - A&E waiting times are creeping over 4 hours, the military are helping with ambulance driving, and public health authorities are asking schools to reinstate COVID safety measures. We have a lot of cases, and 97% effective still means 3 in 100 are likely to end up in hospital. That adds up to a lot of people. It's not time to throw caution to the wind just yet... one day absolutely, but not this Autumn.

Some numbers. Every single one is a person:

Countries / Cases / Losses of life (since midnight GMT. In larger countries, such as the USA and India, some states /provinces have yet to report today):

UK 8,449,165 (+45,140) 138,584 (+57)

Russia 7,992,687 (+34,303) 223,312 (+997)

Turkey 7,654,277 (+24,114) 67,623 (+186)

India 34,081,040 (+14,280) 452,321 (+165)

Romania 1,457,260 (+11,546) 41,781 (+298)

Iran 5,784,815 (+11,396) 124,075 (+199)

Ukraine 2,635,170 (+11,288) 60,633 (+219)

Thailand 1,783,701 (+10,863) 18,273 (+68)

Philippines 2,720,368 (+6,913) 40,675 (+95)

Malaysia 2,390,687 (+6,145) 27,921 (+63)

USA 45,779,726 (+5,551) 744,390 (+5)

Mexico 3,755,063 (+5,203) 284,321 (+313)

Serbia 1,048,835 (+5,077) 9,105 (+53)