New Omicron Variants Are Here--What We Know So Far
The variants appear to sneak past the immune system, but vaccines will likely continue to hold strong.....»»
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.....»»
Researchers find newer variants of SARS-CoV-2 can infect mice, unlike the original version of the virus
A team of biology researchers at Georgia State University has found that some of the newer variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 can infect the respiratory tract of wild mice, unlike the original strain that emerged from China......»»
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.....»»
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......»»
What"s Holding Up New Omicron Vaccines?
Vaccine makers worry yet another variant will start dominating in the months it takes to roll out shots against this one -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com.....»»
Pregnant People Are Still Not Getting Vaccinated Against Covid
Misinformation and muddled public health messaging have failed expectant parents. Now Omicron's surge is putting both carriers and babies at risk......»»
AstraZeneca says third dose helps against Omicron
A test tube labelled with the Vaccine is seen in front of AstraZeneca logo in this illustration taken, September 9, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationAstraZeneca said on Thursday that preliminary data from a trial showed that its COVID-19 shot, Va.....»»
Immune system vs. virus: Why omicron had experts worried from the start
How the immune system targets viruses and shapes viral evolution. Enlarge / Illustration of antibodies responding to an infection of SARS-CoV-2. (credit: Getty Images/Kateryna Kon/Science Photo Library) Right from omicron's f.....»»
As Omicron Surges, Parents of the Youngest Kids Wait for Vaccines
With vaccine authorization months away and schools in chaos now, families fret over how best to protect their children......»»
Twin panda cubs debut at Tokyo zoo, woo devoted fans
Twin panda cubs made their first public appearance Wednesday before devoted fans in Tokyo, but they will be on display only briefly for now—over three days—due to a spike in COVID-19 cases driven by the omicron variant......»»
FDA head: Omicron is a “natural disaster… most people are gonna get COVID”
Acting FDA commissioner offers sobering perspective of the next few weeks. Enlarge / Dr. Janet Woodcock, acting commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, testifies during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committe.....»»
US COVID Hospitalizations Hit New Record High, Raising Risks for Patients
The omicron-driven surge has sent COVID-19 hospitalizations skyrocketing across the U.S., reaching a new pandemic high this week with 145,982 patients hospitalized. From a report: This exceeds the previous high recorded in January last year, accordin.....»»
Omicron May Infect Half of Europeans Within Weeks, WHO Says
Image Credit:CIPhotos via Getty Images More than half of Europe's population could become infected with omicron within weeks at current transmission speeds, a World Health Organization official said.The fast-spreading variant represents a "west-.....»»
Doctors fear health care collapse amid omicron surge
Many hospitals across the country are in crisis as cases surge and staffing is at critical lows. Enlarge / A medical worker in PPE works with a patient with Covid-19 in a negative pressure room in the ICU ward at UMass Memorial Medical.....»»
This AI Software Nearly Predicted Omicron’s Tricky Structure
New algorithms that decipher complex sequences of amino acids offered an early view of the coronavirus variant. They could point the way to future drugs......»»