Moderna to make two different omicron boosters: one for US, another for UK, EU
Moderna says its BA.1-targeting vaccine boosts protection against BA.4/5. Enlarge / A vial containing Moderna COVID-19 booster vaccine at a vaccination center. (credit: Getty | SOPA Images) The type of COVID-19 booster dose yo.....»»
How to Deal With Rocket Boosters and Other Giant Space Garbage
As an errant SpaceX rocket booster careens toward the moon, here are some of the ways space agencies and companies are trying to deal with huge pieces of debris......»»
Omicron-specific vaccine boosters are now in humans as trials begin
The boosters may be ready in March, but what comes next is anyone's guess. Enlarge / A vial of the current Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. (credit: Getty | Ivan Romano) The first doses of omicron-specific COVID-19 vaccines went into.....»»
Moderna Starts Trial of an Omicron-specific COVID-19 Vaccine
Moderna gave its omicron-specific COVID-19 vaccine to the first participant in a clinical trial, the company announced Wednesday. The report comes a few days after Pfizer / BioNTech launched a trial of its shot targeting the fast-spreading variant. F.....»»
Omicron’s wave is at least 386% taller than delta’s—and it’s crushing hospitals
Omicron wave's hospital admissions are 76% higher than delta's, CDC reports. Enlarge / Medical Director of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) checks the vital signs of a COVID-19 patien while her husband rests in a bed next to her at Provid.....»»
WHO warns of potential for more variants as omicron subvariant found in US
"Learning to live with COVID cannot mean that we give this virus a free ride." Enlarge / World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (credit: Getty | Fabrice Cof) The head of the World Health Or.....»»
Why Omicron Is Putting More Kids in the Hospital
The huge jump in cases means more hospitalizations. And children’s small airways can be more easily blocked by infections -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com.....»»
Israel Says Fourth Vaccine Dose Brings 2X Protection Against Omicron Infection, 3X Against Serious Illness - For Those Over 60
Friday the results of several large studies showed that getting a third Covid vaccine "booster shot" dramatically decreased infections from the Omicron variant. And now the Times of Israel reports that the country's Health Ministry "said on Sunday.....»»
Scientists scrutinise characteristics of new Omicron sub-variant
Image Credit:CIPhotos via Getty ImagesStudies are underway to find out the precise characteristics of the latest Covid-19 variant ‘BA.2’. It already accounts for the majority of most recent cases in a number of countries, including India, D.....»»
COVID Quickly, Episode 21: Colds Build COVID Immunity, and the Omicron Vaccine Delay
Today we bring you a new episode in our podcast series COVID, Quickly. Every two weeks, Scientific American’s senior health editors Tanya Lewis and Josh Fischman catch you up on the... -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com.....»»
Our Best Bets against COVID
Early studies show that to fight new variants like Omicron boosters are necessary -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com.....»»
Three Large Studies Show COVID Vaccines Fight Omicron - With Booster Shots
"Three studies released Friday offered more evidence that COVID-19 vaccines are standing up to the omicron variant, at least among people who received booster shots," reports the Associated Press: They are the first large U.S. studies to look at vac.....»»
Unvaccinated 5X more likely to get omicron than those boosted, CDC reports
Real-world data shows booster doses are standing up to omicron. Enlarge / A tray of prepared syringes for booster vaccinations with Moderna's vaccine. (credit: Getty | Picture alliance) Amid the stratospheric rise of the omic.....»»
WHO says no evidence healthy children, adolescents need COVID-19 boosters
Photo Credit: Fabrice Coffrini | ReutersAt present, there is no evidence that healthy children and adolescents need booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, World Health Organization chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan said on Tuesday. .....»»
COVID and schools: Australia is about to feel the full brunt of its teacher shortage
The omicron wave is likely to exacerbate Australia's existing teacher shortages and demanding workloads. As school starts at the end of January and beginning of February across the country, many teachers will be at risk of contracting COVID. They wil.....»»
Fourth Pfizer Dose Is Insufficient to Ward Off Omicron, Israeli Trial Suggests
A fourth dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was insufficient to prevent infection with the omicron variant of Covid-19, according to preliminary data from a trial in Israel released Monday. Bloomberg reports: Two weeks after the start of the trial o.....»»
China Claims First Omicron Case Arrived Through Foreign Mail
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Insider: Officials in Beijing are telling people to avoid international mail and to open their packages outdoors and with gloves, saying cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant could have spread through forei.....»»
Pfizer and Moderna expect seasonal booster shots after omicron wave
Seasonal COVID boosters may be combined with flu shots in the future, Moderna says. Enlarge / EINDHOVEN, NETHERLANDS - 2022/01/08: A vial containing Moderna COVID-19 booster vaccine at a vaccination centre. (credit: Getty | SOPA Images.....»»
Omicron Surge Shows Signs of Easing in States Hit Early by the Fast-spreading Variant
Following weeks of soaring infections, the latest Covid surge is showing signs of slowing in a handful of areas hit earliest by the omicron variant -- offering a glimmer of hope that this wave is starting to ease. From a report: The U.S. has reported.....»»
Decades of Research: the Story of How mRNA Vaccines Were Developed
Long-time Slashdot reader fahrbot-bot wanted to share this New York Times article which makes the point that "The stunning Covid vaccines manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna drew upon long-buried discoveries made in the hopes of ending past e.....»»
Garbage and recyclables pile up as omicron takes its toll
The omicron variant is sickening so many sanitation workers around the U.S. that some cities have had to delay or suspend garbage or recycling pickup, angering residents shocked that governments can't perform this most basic of functions......»»