WHO recommendations for influenza virus vaccine composition for the 2019–2020 northern hemisphere season

Published

2 years ago

March 1, 2019

On 18–20 February 2019 in Beijing, China, the World Health Organization (WHO) agreed on the recommended composition of the quadrivalent influenza vaccine for the northern hemisphere 2019–2020 influenza season: an A/Brisbane/02/2018 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus, a B/Colorado/06/2017-like virus (B/Victoria/2/87 lineage), a B/Phuket/3073/2013-like virus (B/Yamagata/16/88 lineage) and an A(H3N2) virus component to be announced on 21 March 2019. The recommendation for the A(H3N2) component was postponed in light of recent changes in the proportions of genetically and antigenically diverse A(H3N2) viruses to allow more time for the selection of the appropriate virus strain. It is recommended that the influenza B virus component of trivalent vaccines for use in the 2019–2020 northern hemisphere influenza season be a B/Colorado/06/2017-like virus of B/Victoria/2/87-lineage.

The WHO recommendations are based on the viruses currently circulating globally. These viruses are collected through intensive surveillance efforts, where European laboratories and ECDC play a major role.

WHO recommended a change in the (H1N1)pdm09 component compared to the current trivalent and quadrivalent vaccines for the northern hemisphere 2018–2019 influenza season. The majority of circulating A(H1N1)pdm09 viruses have haemagglutinin (HA) gene sequences that belong to the genetically diverse phylogenetic subclade 6B.1A. In Europe and worldwide, predominant viruses also carry amino acid substitution S183P in HA1. Although almost all currently circulating A(H1N1)pdm09 viruses are antigenically similar to the 2018–2019 vaccine virus A/Michigan/45/2015 in haemagglutination inhibition (HI) assays, serological studies showed that a virus component representing this newly emergent subgroup would be more appropriate. The A(H1N1)pdm09 virus component was therefore changed from A/Michigan/45/2015 to A/Brisbane/02/2018.

There is considerable genetic and antigenic diversity of recently circulating A(H3N2) viruses. The majority of circulating A(H3N2) viruses in Europe belong to the phylogenetic subclade 3C.2a1b. However, the number of clade 3C.3a viruses has increased substantially since November 2018 in several geographic regions in Europe and worldwide. The 3C.2a and 3C.3a viruses are antigenically distinct. A low proportion of A(H3N2) viruses was inhibited well by antisera raised against the 2018–2019 egg-propagated vaccine virus A/Singapore/INFIMH-16-0019/2016, while none of the 3C.3a viruses were recognised by the 2018–2019 vaccine virus. The recommendation for the A(H3N2) vaccine component will be announced by WHO in 21 March 2019.

In Europe and globally, both B virus lineages co-circulate in very low numbers. All circulating B/Yamagata/16/88 lineage viruses are well inhibited by antisera raised against B/Phuket/3073/2013. The same component was retained for the quadrivalent 2019–2020 vaccine.

WHO recommended the inclusion of the B/Victoria lineage in the trivalent vaccine for the northern hemisphere 2019–2020 influenza season. All circulating B/Victoria viruses belong to clade 1A, but are genetically and antigenically diverse, with the majority belonging to either the subgroup that carries two amino acid deletions (Δ2) or the one that carries three amino acid deletions (Δ3) in HA. The recommended 2018–2019 vaccine virus B/Colorado/06/2017 that belongs to the Δ2 subgroup was retained for the trivalent and quadrivalent 2019–2020 vaccines.

Further antigenic and genetic characteristics of recent seasonal influenza viruses are described in the full report of the recommendation.

Source: https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/news-events/who-recommendations-influenza-virus-vaccine-composition-2019-2020-northern-hemisphere

Blockchain

Kraken Daily Market Report for January 26 2021

Published

2 hours ago

January 27, 2021

Republished by Plato

Overview

Total spot trading volume at $1.33 billion, near the 30-day average of $1.65 billion.
Total futures notional at $542.6 million.
The top 5 traded coins were, respectively, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, Polkadot, and Chainlink.
Although Chainlink (-1.0%), Litecoin (-1.7%) and others were down; Bitcoin(+1.2%), Ethereum (+3.3%), and Uniswap (+23%) were up.

January 26, 2021 $1326.2M traded across all markets today Crypto, EUR, USD, JPY, CAD, GBP, CHF, AUD
XBT $32529. ↑1.2% $552.5M	ETH $1358.7 ↑3.3% $442.4M	USDT $1.0011 ↑0.1% $149.3M	DOT $17.117 ↓0.4% $40.4M	LINK $23.059 ↓1.0% $25.0M
USDC $0.9999 ↑0.0% $20.2M	BCH $427.28 ↓0.9% $19.6M	UNI $13.853 ↑23% $18.5M	ADA $0.3441 ↑0.7% $16.7M	LTC $134.74 ↓1.7% $14.6M
XRP $0.2681 ↑0.3% $13.2M	AAVE $277.08 ↑13% $8.43M	XLM $0.2614 ↑0.3% $5.41M	XTZ $2.9084 ↓0.26% $4.2M	FIL $22.180 ↓1.0% $3.61M
CRV $2.1399 ↑7.2% $3.43M	ALGO $0.6021 ↑8.6% $3.36M	SNX $16.771 ↑8.6% $3.2M	XMR $137.92 ↑0.6% $2.92M	DAI $1.0005 ↑0.02% $2.64M
GRT $0.5361 ↑1.5% $2.22M	EOS $2.6297 ↓0.6% $2.18M	ICX $0.8948 ↑11% $2.08M	COMP $236.97 ↑12% $1.95M	ATOM $7.7332 ↑0.29% $1.82M
YFI $30280. ↑3.6% $1.69M	KEEP $0.3131 ↓4.2% $1.5M	KSM $102.03 ↑3.4% $1.33M	BAT $0.2989 ↓3.0% $1.28M	OMG $3.4422 ↓2.7% $1.19M
DASH $104.90 ↑0.4% $1.19M	TRX $0.0295 ↑0.2% $1.11M	XDG $0.0082 ↓0.7% $1.09M	QTUM $3.4386 ↑4.6% $1.04M	MLN $36.117 ↓5.6% $1.01M
NANO $3.2120 ↑1.2% $1.0M	MANA $0.1665 ↑1.0% $916K	ZEC $89.189 ↑1.6% $914K	WAVES $6.8173 ↑2.5% $905K	KAVA $2.3313 ↓1.5% $643K
ETC $7.4335 ↓0.7% $520K	STORJ $0.4256 ↑9.9% $393K	KNC $1.3156 ↓0.04% $355K	OXT $0.2995 ↑1.7% $288K	ANT $4.0750 ↑5.1% $270K
SC $0.0044 ↓1.2% $266K	PAXG $1869.4 ↑0.3% $246K	REP $21.454 ↑4.4% $221K	LSK $1.3000 ↓1.6% $187K	GNO $115.59 ↑0.8% $177K
BAL $21.730 ↑3.7% $127K	REPV2 $19.177 ↓0.6% $59.7K	TBTC $33172. ↓2.6% $56.2K

#####################. Trading Volume by Asset. ##########################################

Trading Volume by Asset

The figures below break down the trading volume of the largest, mid-size, and smallest assets. Cryptos are in purple, fiats are in blue. For each asset, the chart contains the daily trading volume in USD, and the percentage of the total trading volume. The percentages for fiats and cryptos are treated separately, so that they both add up to 100%.

Figure 1: Largest trading assets: trading volume (measured in USD) and its percentage of the total trading volume (January 26 2021)

Figure 2: Mid-size trading assets: (measured in USD) (January 26 2021)

Figure 3: Smallest trading assets: (measured in USD) (January 26 2021)

#####################. Spread %. ##########################################

Spread %

Spread percentage is the width of the bid/ask spread divided by the bid/ask midpoint. The values are generated by taking the median spread percentage over each minute, then the average of the medians over the day.

Figure 4: Average spread % by pair (January 26 2021)

.

#########. Returns and Volume ############################################

Returns and Volume

Figure 5: Returns of the four highest volume pairs (January 26 2021)

Figure 6: Volume of the major currencies and an average line that fits the data to a sinusoidal curve to show the daily volume highs and lows (January 26 2021)

###########. Daily Returns. #################################################

Daily Returns %

Figure 7: Returns over USD and XBT. Relative volume and return size is indicated by the size of the font. (January 26 2021)

###########. Disclaimer #################################################

The values generated in this report are from public market data distributed from Kraken WebSockets api. The total volumes and returns are calculated over the reporting day using UTC time.

Source: https://blog.kraken.com/post/7623/kraken-daily-market-report-for-january-26-2021/

Blockchain

Solana targets growth in Southeast Asia with a $5M grants scheme

Published

2 hours ago

January 27, 2021

Republished by Plato

Solana has turned its focus towards decentralized finance in Southeast Asia with a new $5 million development fund.

The Solana Foundation created the fund in partnership with Vietnam-based investment firm Coin98 Ventures, enabling regional startups building on Solana to receive technical, marketing, and community support, as well as up to $100,000 in funding. The fund will run for the next three years with a specific focus on projects within the DeFi and Web3 spaces, including marketplaces, exchanges, and other DApps or tooling.

This is one of the first grants specifying a core region of interest, with a particular focus on Vietnam. Solana Foundation Executive Director Eric Williams:

“Our goal is to create the optimal conditions for developers in Southeast Asia to build amazing things on Solana.”

According to the announcement, “project teams may be distributed, but must have a physical presence in Southeast Asia.” The announcement makes it clear that if they do not have a presence there, they will not qualify for the fund.

Williams explained that the foundation partnered with Coin98 Ventures because of the technical and community support they can provide, adding that the key to this fund being successful is the combination of financial and technical support:

“Sometimes hurdles can be solved with extra money, other times they cannot.”

DeFi is gaining traction within the Solana ecosystem, driving trading volume to all-time highs earlier this month.

Using treasuries and fund campaigns to boost developer ecosystems within blockchains is common with programs already available for a range of blockchain networks including Bitcoin, Ethereum, OkCoin, and Polkadot.

In September last year, Polkadot received one of the largest fund boosts to date with Digital asset development company RockX investing $20 million to support the Polkadot ecosystem over the next five years.

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/solana-targets-growth-in-southeast-asia-with-a-5m-grants-scheme

Blockchain

TA: Bitcoin Holds Strong At $31K, Why The Bulls Are Facing Uphill Task

Published

3 hours ago

January 27, 2021

Republished by Plato

Bitcoin price is stuck in a range below the $33,500 and $33,800 resistance levels against the US Dollar. BTC is likely to continue lower unless it clears the $33,800 resistance.

Bitcoin retested the $31,000 zone and managed to stay in a range.
The price is currently facing resistance near $32,800 and the 100 hourly simple moving average.
There is a short-term ascending channel or a » Read more

” href=”https://www.newsbtc.com/dictionary/bear/” data-wpel-link=”internal”>bear flag forming with support near $31,900 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken).

The pair could trade in a range, with a strong resistance near $33,500 and $33,800.

Bitcoin Price Is Facing Strong Resistance

After a failed attempt to clear the $35,000 resistance, bitcoin price trimmed gains and traded below $33,800. BTC even broke the $32,500 level and settled below the 100 hourly simple moving average.

There was a spike below the $31,000 level, but it remained stable above $30,800. A low is formed near $30,823 and the price is currently recovering higher. It surpassed the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the $34,915 high to $30,823 low.

Bitcoin price is currently facing resistance near $32,800 and the 100 hourly simple moving average. The 50% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the $34,915 high to $30,823 low is also near $32,800.

Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

At the outset, it seems like there is a short-term ascending channel or a » Read more

” href=”https://www.newsbtc.com/dictionary/bear/” data-wpel-link=”internal”>bear flag forming with support near $31,900 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair. To continue higher, the bulls need to gain strength above $32,500, $32,800 and the 100 hourly SMA.

The next strong resistance is near the $33,500 and $33,800 levels. A close above $33,800 could increase the chances of a steady rise in the coming sessions.

Fresh Dip in BTC?

If bitcoin fails to clear the $32,800 resistance or $33,500, it could start a fresh decline. An initial support is near the channel support at $31,900.

A clear break below the channel support could open the doors for a larger decline towards the $30,800 support. Any more losses may possibly call for a downside break below the $30,000 support zone.

Technical indicators:

Hourly MACD – The MACD is struggling to gain momentum in the bullish zone.

Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for BTC/USD is now close to the 50 level.

Major Support Levels – $31,800, followed by $30,800.

Major Resistance Levels – $32,800, $33,500 and $33,800.

Source: https://www.newsbtc.com/analysis/btc/bitcoin-holds-strong-at-31k/