Biden heads to church after White House claimed he was ‘fully briefed’ on Omnicron variant

Scientists are racing to tweak existing vaccines against the new Covid variant spreading rapidly across the planet.

The ‘monster’ strain, named Omicron and designated a ‘variant of concern’ by the World Health Organization on Friday, has reached the UK and Belgium after being discovered in South Africa.

The UN public health body sparked panic by warning that preliminary evidence suggested that the mutation has an increased risk of reinfection and is more transmissible than other strains. Downing Street’s scientists previously said that the variant could be vaccine resistant.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid banned flights from South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Namibia yesterday, telling MPs that there is ‘huge international concern’ about the mutation. 

The Prime Minister is due to hold a press conference at 5pm this evening after health officials confirmed two cases of Omicron were found in Nottingham and Brentwood. 

Now a number of pharmaceutical firms have said they are working to adapt their vaccines to beat Omicron. AstraZeneca said it has ‘developed, in close collaboration with Oxford University, a vaccine platform that enables us to respond quickly to new variants that may emerge’ and is ‘already conducting research in locations where the variant has been identified’. 

Pfizer and BioNTech said that in the event of a variant which could escape the effects of the vaccines, the firm expects ‘to be able to develop and produce a tailor-made vaccine against that variant in approximately 100 days, subject to regulatory approval’. 

Novavax said it has ‘already initiated development of a new recombinant spike protein based on the known genetic sequence of B.1.1.529 and will have it ready to begin testing and manufacturing within the next few weeks’.

And Moderna said: ‘Since early 2021, Moderna has advanced a comprehensive strategy to anticipate new variants of concern. This strategy includes three levels of response should the currently authorized 50 microgram booster dose of mRNA-1273 prove insufficient to boost waning immunity against the Omicron variant.’ 

Professor Sir Andrew Pollard, the director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, expressed cautious optimism that existing vaccines could be effective at preventing serious disease from the Omicron variant. Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, he added that that most of the mutations are in similar regions seen in other Covid variants so far.

Scientists are racing to tweak existing vaccines against the new Covid variant spreading rapidly across the planet

The EU, US and Canada all followed Britain’s move to impose travel restrictions on visitors from southern Africa ahead of the WHO adding the strain, also known as B.1.1.529, to its highest category for concerning variants. 

Mr Javid told the Commons on Friday that there are concerns the variant may be more transmissible, make existing vaccines less effective, and it may hinder one of the UK’s Covid treatments, Ronapreve.

Ministers were facing calls to go further to prevent a wave of the new variant arriving in Britain while a Delta surge is ongoing, as Belgium became the first EU country to announce a case.

Professor John Edmunds, who advises the Government as part of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), warned that could create a ‘very, very, very difficult situation’. 

However, Prof Pollard said a new vaccine to combat Omicron could begin ‘very rapidly’ if required, adding: ‘The processes of how one goes about developing a new vaccine are increasingly well-oiled, so if it’s needed that is something that could be moved very rapidly.’

Marc Van Ranst, a virologist at the Rega Institute in Belgium, said a sample was confirmed as the variant in a traveller who returned from Egypt on November 11 before first showing symptoms 11 days later.

The six African countries were added to the UK’s travel red list on Thursday evening and passengers arriving in the UK from these countries from 4am on Sunday will be required to book and pay for a Government-approved hotel quarantine for 10 days. Downing Street urged anyone who has arrived from those countries recently to get tested.

Mr Javid said discussions are ongoing over the prospect of adding further countries to the red list, telling the Commons the Government ‘won’t hesitate to act if we need to do so’.

Boris Johnson held a call with South Africa’s president Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday afternoon after foreign minister Naledi Pandor said the flight ban ‘seems to have been rushed’.

The Prime Minister ‘commended South Africa’s rapid genomic sequencing’ and its ‘leadership in transparently sharing scientific data’, Downing Street said.

‘They discussed the challenges posed globally by the new Covid-19 variant and ways to work together to deal with it and reopen international travel,’ a statement said.

Prof Edmunds said the new strain ‘is a huge worry’ and that ‘all the data suggests’ it would be able to evade current immunity.

‘Our fears are it would do so to a large extent,’ he told BBC Radio 4’s PM program.

CHELMSFORD: The other was found in Chelmsford, Essex, which has seen a similar trend. The city saw at least 135 new cases on Wednesday, the latest date regional data is available for

Prof Edmunds urged ministers to look at extending travel restrictions and to prepare a plan to deal with Omicron because ‘at some point we’re going to get this variant here in the UK’.

Professor Calum Semple, another Sage adviser, told BBC Breakfast: ‘If you can slow the virus coming into the country because you’re timed for the booster campaign to get ahead of it, and it (then) leaves the scientists to see if there is anything to worry about, which it doesn’t seem it.

‘The virus will get here by hook or crook, eventually, it will come here as people are asymptomatic, but it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try and slow it down.’

He said he is an advocate of masks and hand-washing and said: ‘I feel particularly uncomfortable on public transport. I’m pro-mask in the shops and public transport. We still have high levels of coronavirus but the vaccines are working.’

Professor Semple encouraged people to get their coronavirus booster vaccines.

Professor Brendan Wren, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said people should ‘stay calm and not overreact’, adding that scientists can ‘easily modify vaccines to meet new variants’.

Striking an optimistic tone in the Daily Mail, he wrote: ‘In the arms race against the virus, humanity is winning – and we are well prepared. This is not the last time another variant will emerge.

‘In the meantime, it is vital to remember to stay calm and not overreact.’

The relationship between China and the World Health Organization has come under renewed scrutiny after the UN body appeared to skip over the Greek letter ‘Xi’ and call the new Covid variant ‘Omicron’ instead.

Last night the WHO sparked criticism from China hawks after it named the mutation ‘Omicron’ instead of ‘Nu’ or ‘Xi’.

The UN body has been using Greek letters such as ‘Alpha’, ‘Beta’ and ‘Delta’ to describe the variants, saying on its website it would ‘be easier and more practical to be discussed by non-scientific audiences’.

However, its decision to name the variant from southern Africa ‘Omicron’ has sparked speculation that the WHO deliberately skipped over ‘Xi’ to avoid angering the President of China, Xi Jinping.

President Xi is alleged to have significant influence over WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, a former Ethiopian minister whose country has been a major recipient of Chinese investment.

Tedros has been accused of using his role to make further appointments that were preferable to Beijing, including making Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe a goodwill ambassador. 

The Chinese government has been accused of using an ‘aggressive’ influence campaign on the WHO’s response to the initial Covid outbreak which led to it missing its chance to stop the pandemic. It is also alleged that the UN body’s independence was eroded prior to the global spread of the virus in early 2020.

Donald Trump Jr wrote on Twitter: ‘As far as I’m concerned the original will always be the Xi variant.’  

Donald Trump Jr tweeted: ‘As far as I’m concerned the original will always be the Xi variant’

President Xi is alleged to have significant influence over WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, a former Ethiopian minister whose country has been a major recipient of Chinese investment

The relationship between China and the World Health Organization has come under further scrutiny after the UN body appeared to skip over the Greek letter ‘Xi’ and call the new Covid variant ‘Omicron’ instead

And Republican Senator Ted Cruz retweeted a Telegraph editor who cited a WHO source saying Xi was skipped to ‘avoid stigmatizing a region’.

‘If the WHO is this scared of the Chinese Communist Party, how can they be trusted to call them out next time they’re trying to cover up a catastrophic global pandemic?’ Mr Cruz said.

Wall Street Journal columnist Ben Zimmer suggested: ‘Kudos to the WHO for skipping over the potentially confusing Nu and Xi names and going straight to Omicron.’

A WHO spokesman told The New York Post that it avoided ‘Nu’ because it feared ‘people would think it was the new variant, rather than a name’.

They added: ‘And Xi because it’s a common surname and we have agreed [to] naming rules that avoid using place names, people’s names, animal, etc. to avoid stigma.’

Earlier this year, an investigation by The Sunday Times revealed efforts by Beijing to control the WHO’s decision making, sabotage investigations and even install officials.

The newspaper claims the WHO failed to publicly challenge Chinese misinformation, delayed declaring an international emergency, and discouraged governments from placing travel bans on China to protect its economy.

It has also been suggested officials agreed a ‘backroom deal’ with the Chinese to water down the inquiry into the origins of Covid-19.

This meant steering scientists away from the theory coronavirus actually escaped from a Wuhan laboratory, rather than coming from wild animals in a wet market in the city in December 2019.

The theory was initially dismissed as ‘extremely unlikely’ by the WHO but now experts say there might have been ‘human error’ at the lab.

Central to the paper’s claims is that close ties between the WHO’s leadership and China had impacted on its ability to challenge the country over the emergence of the virus.

It is suggested China has for some time been using financial leverage over poorer nations to install its preferred figures into key roles at the WHO as well as other UN-governed bodies.

Chief among the decision makers at the WHO is Tedros, who is a long-time friend of China. He visited President Xi in January 2020, two months before the pandemic began. 

Between 2000 and 2012, there were around 130 official Chinese finance projects in Zimbabwe, with some totalling hundreds of million of pounds to build hydroelectric dams and provide agricultural machinery.

In June last year, Zimbabwe was one of 53 countries to back the Hong Kong national security law at the United Nations, derided by Western nations as a clampdown on protestors and free speech by China.

Professor Richard Ebright, a fellow of America’s Infectious Disease Society, told the Times that China’s efforts had a ‘decisive role’ in affecting the agency’s failure to act. 

An investigation has claimed that China used ‘aggressive’ influence on the World Health Organization to control decision making, sabotage investigations and even install preferred officials in the run up to the coronavirus pandemic

While China has tried to insist the virus originated elsewhere, academics, politicians and the media have begun to contemplate the possibility it leaked from a high-level biochemical lab in Wuhan – raising suspicions that Chinese officials simply hid evidence of the early spread 

‘There was no scientific or medical or policy justification for the stance that the WHO took in January and February of 2020. That was entirely premised on maintaining satisfactory ties to the Chinese government,’ he said.

‘Through that process, the WHO actively resisted and obstructed efforts by other nations to implement effective border controls that could have limited the spread, or even contained the spread of the outbreak.’ 

The support for Tedros especially had a ‘remarkably high return on the investment’ compared to the funds and influence used to help him get elected.

A spokesperson for the organization hit back at the claims, saying: ‘WHO’s top priority is ending the acute stage of the Covid-19 pandemic.’

They later added: ‘The Sunday Times piece is riddled with inaccuracies, falsehoods, half-truths, unsubstantiated assertions, willful distortions and the intentional omission of anything that didn’t fit the pre-determined premise of the story.

‘There have been several independent reviews of the global response to Covid-19, including the work of WHO, and these reviews note the work of the organization and the early warnings we issued.

‘Frankly, WHO’s top priority is ending the acute stage of the Covid-19 pandemic and we are supporting countries to implement comprehensive, evidence-based responses, based on the consistent use of public health measures and the equitable use of life-saving tools including vaccines.

‘In particular, we are working to enable all countries to vaccinate health workers, older people and other vulnerable groups, at a time when 75 per cent of vaccinations have taken place in only 10 countries.’

Two cases of the super-mutant Omicron Covid variant have been detected in the UK, the Health Secretary has announced. 

Sajid Javid announced this afternoon that two cases of the strain were found in Nottingham and Brentwood, Essex — with both cases linked to travelling to southern Africa.

Some 48 flights carrying up to 300 people each – nearly 15,000 people in total – from South Africa have come to the UK since November 11, when the variant was first discovered in Botswana.

The individuals and all members of their households were told to enter self-isolation after the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) confirmed the sequencing.

Boris Johnson will hold a press conference at 5pm this evening to discuss Britain’s reaction to the new strain, with four more countries expected already added to the no-fly list this afternoon. 

Mr Javid said the health secretary said Angola, Mozambique, Malawi and Zambia would be added to the list, adding ‘we’ve always been very clear that we won’t hesitate to take further action if that is what is required’.

Last night the World Health Organization branded the mutation a ‘variant of concern’ as countries including Britain and the US moved to shut their borders to six countries from southern Africa, where the variant is believe to have emerged.  

Its sudden appearance this week sparked panic in Whitehall circles, with Downing Street’s scientists warning it made vaccines at least 40 per cent less effective at preventing transmission compared to Delta and Mr Javid threatening to reimpose lockdown if necessary. 

Britain’s first two Omicron infection came as a spate of cases were found across Europe, with at least 61 new cases of Covid entering the Netherlands from South Africa this morning. Authorities are currently sequencing the tests for the new variant. 

Europe’s first case of the variant was spotted in Belgium yesterday — despite the unvaccinated woman who caught it having travelled to Turkey and Egypt, not souther Africa where the strain emerged.

And Germany and the Czech Republic both confirmed suspected cases today. Germany’s initial sequencing suggests a traveler from South Africa was carrying the virus with several mutations shared by Omicron. Officials are awaiting full sequencing later today. 

And Australian authorities – who also banned travel to nine countries in the region – fear the variant may have already entered the country. 

Britain has sequenced two cases of the Omicron variant in Nottingham and Chelmsford, Health Secretary Sajid Javid confirmed this afternoon

NOTTINGHAM: One case of Omicron has been found in Nottingham, where infections have been creeping up steadily in recent weeks in line with the national picture

South Africa recorded 2,828 new Covid cases yesterday, more than double the 1,374 recorded last Thursday, but infection levels have yet to skyrocket and no hospitalizations with the new variant have occurred so far. Graph shows: The seven-day average  for cases in the country

On another day of coronavirus chaos: 

• The first European case in Belgium was revealed to be an unvaccinated young woman tested positive;
• The number of patients hospitalized with Covid fell sharply in the UK;
• An official report concluded that a visit to the theatre or a football match puts you at no more risk of catching Covid than seeing your friends;
• South African experts suggested there was ‘every indication’ that vaccines were still effective against the variant;
• Speculation mounted that the discovery of the strain would lead to vaccine experts approving booster jabs for all adults soon;
• Another 50,091 virus cases and 160 deaths were reported in Britain.

In an announcement this afternoon, Mr Javid said: ‘Today I can announce one thing that we are doing immediately is carrying out targeted testing and sequencing of positive cases in the two areas that are affected.

‘We know there’s this new variant out there. We don’t know enough about it yet but from what we do know, the protections that we have – especially the vaccines – are hugely important.

‘We will do whatever is necessary to protect the progress we have made as a country. 

‘We’ve come a long way since the summer and we keep all of this under review and if we need to take further action, we will.’ 

Mr Javid said anyone who has travelled in the last 10 days to the 10 countries now on the red list, they must self-isolate and take PCR tests.

England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty said: ‘We will continue to work closely with the international community to quickly gather and analyse information on this variant to understand any possible increase in transmissibility or resistance to vaccines.’ 

It comes as Mr Johnson prepares to implement fresh travel bans on a host of countries, after Britain halted flights to South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Botswana, Eswatini and Zimbabwe yesterday.

Experts warned Britain could face restrictions being reintroduced in the country this Christmas but the Prime Minister hopes travel bans could prevent the need for another lockdown. 

Professor Whitty previously said he fears Britons will not accept another national lockdown to fight off the variant over the winter because of ‘behavioral fatigue’ caused by two years of restrictions. 

South Africa recorded 2,828 new Covid cases yesterday, more than double the 1,374 recorded last Thursday, but infection levels have yet to skyrocket in the country and no hospitalizations with the new variant have occurred so far.

And Professor Sir Andrew Pollard, one of the Oxford scientists behind the AstraZeneca vaccine, today expressed cautious optimism that existing vaccines could be effective at preventing serious disease from the variant. 

The US has joined the growing list of countries to close their borders, with Joe Biden saying the pandemic will not end until global vaccinations are in place. New York governor Kathy Hochul yesterday declared a state of emergency as Covid transmission reached rates not seen since April 2020 

Officials in Germany today confirmed the first suspected case of Omicron in the country came from someone returning from South Africa.

‘The Omicron variant has with strong likelihood already arrived in Germany,’ Kai Klose, social affairs minister in the western state of Hesse, tweeted, referring to the strain first detected in southern Africa.

Klose said that tests late Friday on the traveller who had returned to Germany from South Africa revealed ‘several mutations typical of Omicron’.

‘As there is this strong suspicion, the person has been isolated at home. The full sequencing is still to be completed.’

Klose’s ministry said that the person had arrived in Germany, the EU’s most populous country, at Frankfurt international airport, the country’s busiest. 

Meanwhile, Sir Andrew today moved to calm fears in Britain, claiming most of the strain’s mutations are in similar regions seen in other variants so far. 

Red Cross health workers transport passengers infected with coronavirus returning from South Africa for a quarantine in a hotel in Schiphol, the Netherlands, today

A woman from the KLM flight KL598 from Cape Town, South Africa, queues for her Covid test at Amsterdam Airport last night

Passengers sit in their seats aboard KLM Flight 598 on the tarmac at Schipol airport in Amsterdam after it landed from Cape Town, South Africa, yesterday

Passengers from KLM flight KL598 from Cape Town, South Africa, wait to be screened at Amsterdam Airport yesterday

This chart shows the proportion of cases that were the B.1.1.529 variant (blue) and Indian ‘Delta’ variant (red) over time in Guateng province in South Africa, where the virus is most prevalent. It suggests that the mutant strain could outcompete Delta in the province within weeks

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘That tells you that despite those mutations existing in other variants the vaccines have continued to prevent serious disease as we’ve moved through Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta.

‘At least from a speculative point of view we have some optimism that the vaccine should still work against a new variant for serious disease but really we need to wait several weeks to have that confirmed.

‘It’s extremely unlikely that a reboot of a pandemic in a vaccinated population like we saw last year is going to happen.’ 

Professor Pollard said a new vaccine to combat Omicron could begin ‘very rapidly’ if required.

‘The processes of how one goes about developing a new vaccine are increasingly well-oiled, so if it’s needed that is something that could be moved very rapidly.’ 

South African experts yesterday also attempted to calm the wave of panic over the variant, describing it as a ‘storm in a tea cup’. 

Meanwhile, British vaccine task force member Sir John Edmunds said travel bans will not keep the new variant away from British shores but could delay a potential surge in cases beyond the festive period to protect the NHS from further pressure.

Experts however have insisted there is ‘no plausible scenario’ in which Omicron will take the UK back to ‘square one’, and called for ‘calm heads’ despite the halting of flights from southern Africa. 

Health Secretary Sajid Javid told MPs that, while there was ‘huge international concern’, vaccines had put Britain in a strong position.

Scientists said existing jabs could be tweaked to tackle the variant. And a World Health Organisation representative said that resorting to ‘Plan B’ measures so quickly, such as working from home or vaccine passports, would be an over-reaction.

But news of the variant saw the FTSE 100 — the UK’s leading share index — suffer its sharpest drop since January, closing down at 3.7 per cent, spelling alarm for travel companies banking on winter bookings.

A senior aviation source told the Times there were ‘serious jitters’ in all corners of the industry, adding: ‘There is now a massive question mark over Christmas. It is clear the red list will expand and that will have a massive knock on.’ 

Government sources said ministers ‘want to restrict travel to avoid restrictions at home at all costs’, even if it means risking a serious blow to the travel industry.

Originally known as the ‘Botswana’ variant, the strain was last night named ‘Omicron’ by the WHO and officially designated a ‘variant of concern’.

Its discovery earlier this week was so significant because it has around 30 mutations, including some linked to an increased risk of transmission. One expert described it as the ‘worst’ variant so far.

In a rush to limit the spread, the EU suspended all flights to southern Africa after the first case was confirmed in Europe. Britain had already put six nations on the travel ‘red list’ – and was poised to add two more last night.

A government adviser suggested that the public should be ‘ready for the possibility’ of a return to Covid restrictions. But a senior government source told the Mail: ‘People should not panic.’