Health News Roundup: Brazil detects two cases of new coronavirus variant; China reports first case of new coronavirus variant and more

Brazil detects two cases of new coronavirus variant found in UK A Brazilian lab said on Thursday it has detected two cases of the new coronavirus variant that has spread rapidly in Britain, and urged reinforcement of quarantine measures for travelers coming from Europe.

British doctors have said a government decision to delay giving a coronavirus vaccine booster shot to vulnerable patients who have already had a first dose will be distressing and disruptive, their trade union said on Thursday. The government said on Wednesday it wanted to give a first dose to as many people as possible before starting to administer boosters at 12 weeks, in an effort to provide more people with a degree of protection more quickly.

Brazil detects two cases of new coronavirus variant found in UK

A Brazilian lab said on Thursday it has detected two cases of the new coronavirus variant that has spread rapidly in Britain, and urged reinforcement of quarantine measures for travelers coming from Europe. Diagnostic medicine company Dasa said in a statement that it had detected the SARS-CoV-2 strain B.1.1.7 through genetic sequencing done in partnership with Sao Paulo University's Tropical Medicine Institute.

China reports first case of new coronavirus variant - CDC publication

China has detected its first imported case of the new coronavirus variant that is spreading rapidly around Britain, according to a publication run by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Countries around the world have cut off travel links to Britain to stop the spread of the new variant, which scientists have said is 40-70% more transmissible than the original virus.

Local funding crisis threatens U.S. vaccine rollout

Seattle public health officials have so little COVID-19 funding on hand they worry they will have to shut down some virus testing sites as they mount a campaign to dose their 2.3 million residents with Pfizer Inc's and Moderna Inc's vaccines. King County, which represents greater Seattle, has $14 million of COVID-19 funding for 2021, roughly what it spends in a month to run public testing sites and other services, and a fraction of the $87 million emergency COVID-19 aid it received in 2020, said Ingrid Ulrey, the public health policy director for King County.

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