COVID-19 Coronavirus, HPAI H5N1, Measles, Vaccinations and Virus UK and World News Update 27th June 2025
Last report I mentioned NB.1.8.1 Nimbus COVID variant. It's still under close scrutiny and expected to cause a COVID wave around the world due to its speed, and ability to bypass older immunity. In May, the US CDC's airport surveillance program began detecting cases in travellers from a range of countries. By the last week of May it accounted for almost half of the cases they detected.
In the last 4 weeks, of those samples which have been sequenced and uploaded to GISAID, NB.1.8.1 has accounted for 81.8% of cases in Hong Kong, 76.9% in China, 75% in Japan, 56.5% in South Korea, 45.6% in New Zealand, 40.3% in Australia, and it's spread to Europe at the rapid speed we were promised. 41.7% in the Netherlands, 37.5% in Finland, 23.8% in Norway, 21.5% in Ireland, 20% in Portugal, 19.5% in Germany, 12.5% in the UK and 10% in France. Slightly slower domination in North America, but 21.1% of cases in Canada, and 9.9% in the USA.
