
![]()
A new variant of Covid-19 has arrived, known as B.1.1529. The World Health Organization relies on the Greek alphabet to name new variants of interest, which means B.1.1529 could eventually be called Nu
The B.1.1.529 variant, which has been described as having an “awful spike mutation profile,” has been exposed in a number of corona-virus cases in the country. South African scientists, who had already detected the Beta variant, say the new variant has an “extremely high” number of mutations.
In any case, while nobody knows yet what the spike protein mutation cluster actually does yet, the speculation that it will lead to another wave of global infections is already in the wild. Sure enough, Ravi Gupta, a professor of clinical microbiology at Cambridge University, said work in his lab found that two of the mutations on B.1.1.529 increased infectivity and reduced antibody recognition. “It does certainly look a significant concern based on the mutations present,” he said. “However, a key property of the virus that is unknown is its infectiousness, as that is what appears to have primarily driven the Delta variant. Immune escape is only part of the picture of what may happen.”
Prof Francois Balloux, the director of the UCL Genetics Institute, said the large number of mutations in the variant apparently accumulated in a “single burst”, suggesting it may have evolved during a chronic infection in a person with a weakened immune system, possibly an untreated HIV/Aids patient.
“I would definitely expect it to be poorly recognized by neutralizing antibodies relative to Alpha or Delta,”
Translation: in terms of vaccines, B.1.1.529 could well represent an entirely new disease, (Pestilence) as the existing neutralizing antibodies will have little to no impact on a virus with all these mutations. Which is music to the ears of politicians who have just the catalyst to order a whole new round of lockdowns and, critically, stimmies that keep them in power for another quarter or two.
Case in point, just as news of the new strain emerged, the U.K. announced it will temporarily ban flights from South Africa and five neighboring countries (Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Botswana) over worries about the new covid variant. The travel restrictions go into effect at noon Friday and are a precautionary measure to keep the spread of the new variant in check, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said. The six African countries will be placed on the U.K.’s red list as of Sunday, requiring travelers to quarantine in hotels upon arrival.
“As part of our close surveillance of variants across the world, we have become aware of the spread of a new potentially concerning variant,” Javid said in a statement, adding that the new strain it’s now under investigation… Try Looking Up (Pestilence) SRH
Israel also has banned travel from the six countries, along with Mozambique, another neighbor of South Africa, BNO News said in a tweet, without citing the source of the information.
The U.K.’s move is a further blow to the airline industry, which was starting to recover from earlier travel restrictions and lockdowns but now faces fresh curbs and a resurgent virus in parts of Europe. The measures announced Thursday mark the biggest change in the U.K.’s Covid travel rules since the so-called traffic light system was overhauled earlier in the autumn to ease border crossings. From 500 to 700 people daily arrive in the U.K. via South Africa on flights, a number that would normally be expected to increase in the next four to six weeks due to seasonal travel.
Of course, such bans never actually stop the Pestilence a.k.a virus from spreading, but they do ramp up the public frenzy about the new strain. And since B.1.1.529 is too long to pronounce, some time tomorrow we will have a new Greek letter to fear: according to the NYT, South African scientists will meet with the World Health Organization technical team on Friday, where authorities will assign a letter of the Greek alphabet to this one. It will take several weeks to see the impact of the new variant on hospitalizations and deaths and to study how it may interact with kill Shot vaccines.
![]()
Editor,
HNewsWire.com
HNewsWire@protonmail.com
I’m not injecting an unneeded, untested, and rushed concoction with no long-term data into my arm-not least one vended by convicted criminals (Pfizer) and pushed by pocket-lining politicians.
Depressingly though, the mandating of said experimental procedure is now being rolled-out across the globe. This is our reality. And even more concerning: only the minority are pushing back.
Those in charge have lied at every corner. Vaccines were supposed to spell the end of this nightmare. Original CDC guidelines stated that ‘once vaccinated you can’t catch COVID’. That was a demonstrable lie, clearly. Because not only can you still catch COVID after being vaccinated, but the efficacy of the shots has been shown to wane rapidly. Hence now that booster shots are required, as are boosters for the boosters.

![]()
