Pakistan reports 39 new Covid cases

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has reported 39 new cases of Covid-19 during the past 24 hours, surging the total number of cases to 1,572,112, ARY News reported on Sunday, quoting National Institute of Health (NIH).

According to the latest figures by the National Institute of Health (NIH), one death was registered during last 24 hours. The nationwide tally of fatalities has jumped to 30,619.

Pakistan has conducted 10,371 tests in the past 24 hours and the COVID Positivity Ratio was recorded at 0.38 percent.

COVID-19 Statistics 02 October 2022
Total Tests in Last 24 Hours: 10,371
Positive Cases: 39
Positivity %: 0.38%
Deaths: 01
Patients on Critical Care: 46

— NIH Pakistan (@NIH_Pakistan) October 2, 2022

Meanwhile at least 46 patients are critical care across the country.

France became the latest country to authorise new Covid-19 vaccines that have been updated to target Omicron subvariants ahead of autumn booster campaign.

– Mutating to evade immunity –

Two of the first vaccines developed to fight the original strain were made by the US-German team of Pfizer-BioNTech and by US firm Moderna, both using new mRNA technology.

While traditional vaccines use a weakened or inactivated germ to prepare the body for a future attack from the real virus, mRNA deploys snippets of genetic material that carry instructions showing the body’s cells how to produce a protein — in this case, Covid’s famous spike protein.

The body’s immune system then triggers antibodies to fight off that spike protein, making it ready for when the real coronavirus comes knocking.

However, the Covid virus has mutated throughout the pandemic, growing new spikes to help it evade the immune response built up by the original vaccines.

The Omicron variant, which has milder symptoms but is more infectious, has become dominant across the world this year — particularly in recent months its subvariants BA.4 and BA.5.

Vaccine makers have been racing to catch up, aiming to provide updated booster shots ahead of an expected new wave of Covid cases in the northern hemisphere’s winter.