Why opening restaurants is exactly what the coronavirus wants us to do
3 years, 10 months ago

Why opening restaurants is exactly what the coronavirus wants us to do

Salon  

On Jan. 29, New York Gov. "It's really hard to thread this needle without sounding like a prophet of doom," said Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at Georgetown University's Center for Global Health Science and Security. While vaccines bring hope, she said, governors who are moving to expand indoor dining are "completely reckless"; if they don't course correct, "I don't think it's hyperbolic to say the worst could be yet to come." "Regardless of what's happening with this variant, we're much better with seeing SARS-CoV-2 after seeing the vaccine than not," said Derek Cummings, a biology professor at the University of Florida's Emerging Pathogens Institute. "We need to start responding like the variants are going to take over and they are one of the biggest threats," said Cummings, "or we won't have vaccinated enough people when this rolls through."

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History of this topic

The new COVID vaccine is out — but you might not want to rush to get it
4 months, 1 week ago

The new COVID vaccine is out — but you might not want to rush to get it

Raw Story  

The FDA has approved an updated covid shot for everyone 6 months old and up, which renews a now-annual quandary for Americans: Get the shot now, with the latest covid outbreak sweeping the country, or hold it in reserve for the winter wave? “Covid is still very transmissible, very new, and people congregate inside in air-conditioned rooms during the summer,” …

FDA advisers urge targeting JN.1 strain in recipe for fall’s COVID vaccines
7 months ago

FDA advisers urge targeting JN.1 strain in recipe for fall’s COVID vaccines

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Government advisers Wednesday said it’s time to update the recipe for the COVID-19 vaccines Americans will receive in the fall -- targeting a version of the ever-evolving coronavirus called JN.1. But just a few months later, numerous offshoots of JN.1 already are on the rise, prompting Moderna and Pfizer to also test a slightly different vaccine formula targeting …

What You Need to Know About the Kraken Covid Variant
1 year, 11 months ago

What You Need to Know About the Kraken Covid Variant

Wired  

Since Omicron became the world’s dominant Covid variant, it’s taken on a lot of shapes. While XBB.1.5 infections are swelling, the WHO says there’s no evidence that this variant’s mutations would result in more severe infections—but it’s still early. Roychoudhury says it’s important to get eyes on variants early to identify them and consider how to design future vaccines: “Until …

Vaccines four times weaker against BQ.1.1 Covid variant
2 years ago

Vaccines four times weaker against BQ.1.1 Covid variant

Daily Mail  

A rising Covid subvariant soon to become dominant across the US is significantly more resistant to the updated bivalent vaccines, according to a study. Researchers found that the bivalent Covid booster was effective against the BA.5 variant but only had a fourth of the effective antibodies against the growing BQ.1.1 strain. It is expected to soon take over as the …

As COVID-19 spikes in California, booster shots could make all the difference
2 years, 1 month ago

As COVID-19 spikes in California, booster shots could make all the difference

LA Times  

With coronavirus cases and hospitalizations rising in Los Angeles County, officials are voicing new confidence in the effectiveness of the updated COVID-19 booster shot. New data has found that the updated COVID-19 vaccines offer “significant additional protection” against symptomatic infection in people who were previously vaccinated or boosted with the older formula. “We have seen very low uptake of the …

Coronavirus will be with us this winter, experts tell Nu.nl
2 years, 3 months ago

Coronavirus will be with us this winter, experts tell Nu.nl

Dutch News  

The Netherlands should be prepared to deal with a flare up in coronavirus in the coming months, even though the World Health Organisation has said the end of the pandemic is in sight, according to virologist Marion Koopmans. ‘And in the winter, in particular, hospitals cannot deal with much more.’ Koopmans, a professor at the Erasmus teaching hospital in Rotterdam, …

Coronavirus will be with us this winter, experts tell Nu.nl
2 years, 3 months ago

Coronavirus will be with us this winter, experts tell Nu.nl

Dutch News  

The Netherlands should be prepared to deal with a flare up in coronavirus in the coming months, even though the World Health Organisation has said the end of the pandemic is in sight, according to virologist Marion Koopmans. ‘And in the winter, in particular, hospitals cannot deal with much more.’ Koopmans, a professor at the Erasmus teaching hospital in Rotterdam, …

U.S. authorizes updated COVID-19 boosters targeting newest variants
2 years, 4 months ago

U.S. authorizes updated COVID-19 boosters targeting newest variants

LA Times  

The U.S. on Wednesday authorized its first update to COVID-19 vaccines, booster doses that target today’s most common Omicron strains. “Give a clear, forward-looking set of expectations.” Here’s the rub: The original vaccines still offer strong protection against severe disease and death from COVID-19 for most generally healthy people, especially if they got that important first booster dose. First, FDA …

Will Americans have the right COVID-19 vaccine this fall? Maybe
2 years, 5 months ago

Will Americans have the right COVID-19 vaccine this fall? Maybe

LA Times  

A man walks underneath the marquee of the Alex Theatre in Glendale. Determining which recipe should go into those doses to induce optimal protection — the vaccine’s “composition” — is an exercise in educated guesswork. Getting a timely and accurate fix on all this “is truly a challenge, and it is science at its hardest,” Dr. Peter Marks, the U.S. …

Coronavirus in California is becoming easier to get, much harder to avoid. Here’s why
2 years, 6 months ago

Coronavirus in California is becoming easier to get, much harder to avoid. Here’s why

LA Times  

The number of coronavirus cases reported in California is on the brink of crossing 10 million, a milestone that probably undercounts the total significantly yet still carries an increasing sense of inevitability. “It is likely, as COVID-19 variants continue to evolve to be more transmissible and acquire the ability to evade the protection of antibodies against infection, which results in …

FDA grapples with whether to modify COVID vaccine for fall
2 years, 6 months ago

FDA grapples with whether to modify COVID vaccine for fall

LA Times  

The Food and Drug Administration will debate Tuesday whether it’s time to update COVID vaccine formulas. “This is science at its toughest,” said FDA vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks, adding that a final decision is expected within days of the advisory panel’s recommendation. In an analysis prepared for Tuesday’s meeting, FDA officials acknowledged targeting last winter’s version of Omicron is …

Coronavirus is under control in the U.S., but the pandemic isn’t over, Fauci says
2 years, 8 months ago

Coronavirus is under control in the U.S., but the pandemic isn’t over, Fauci says

LA Times  

Dr. Anthony Fauci said Wednesday the coronavirus is under better control in the United States, but the pandemic isn’t over — and the challenge is how to keep improving the situation. “We are in a different moment of the pandemic,” said Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-disease expert, in an interview with the Associated Press. “By no means does that mean …

BA.2: What to know about world’s dominant Omicron sub-variant
2 years, 9 months ago

BA.2: What to know about world’s dominant Omicron sub-variant

Al Jazeera  

The coronavirus sub-variant accounts for nearly 86 percent of all sequenced cases, according to the WHO. BA.2, a sub-variant of the Omicron coronavirus variant, has now become dominant globally, representing nearly 86 percent of all sequenced cases, according to the World Health Organization. A key concern about BA.2 was whether it could re-infect people who had already had BA.1, particularly …

Scientists worry virus variant may push up COVID-19 cases in the U.S.
2 years, 9 months ago

Scientists worry virus variant may push up COVID-19 cases in the U.S.

LA Times  

After about two months of falling COVID-19 cases, pandemic restrictions have been lifted across the U.S. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government’s top infectious-disease expert, told ABC’s “This Week” over the weekend that he also thinks the U.S. will face an “uptick” similar to what’s happening in Europe, particularly the United Kingdom, where BA.2 is the dominant strain. It’s clear, …

Coronavirus live |
2 years, 10 months ago

Coronavirus live |

The Hindu  

It is too early to say anything definite on the COVID-19 pandemic becoming an endemic, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Wednesday while inaugurating the revamped canteen of the Ministry. National India adds 30,757 COVID-19 cases, tally increased to 4,27,54,315 With 30,757 people testing positive for the coronavirus infection in a day, India’s total tally of cases rose to …

US coronavirus: The US is averaging more than 100,000 new Covid-19 cases a day, the highest level in two months
3 years, 1 month ago

US coronavirus: The US is averaging more than 100,000 new Covid-19 cases a day, the highest level in two months

CNN  

CNN — For the first time in two months, the US is averaging more than 100,000 new Covid-19 cases each day, shortly after millions of Americans traveled for the Thanksgiving holiday. The vast majority of new cases in the US continue to be from the Delta variant, but US health officials have detected the new Omicron coronavirus variant in at …

November 30, 2021 Omicron coronavirus variant news
3 years, 1 month ago

November 30, 2021 Omicron coronavirus variant news

CNN  

The US Food and Drug Administration is working “as quickly as possible” to find out more about the Omicron coronavirus variant, according to Dr. Janet Woodcock, the agency’s acting commissioner. Read the whole statement here: “As we have with previous emerging COVID-19 variants, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is actively working with our federal partners, international regulators and medical …

New variant cause for concern, not panic, Biden tells US
3 years, 1 month ago

New variant cause for concern, not panic, Biden tells US

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden called the new coronavirus variant omicron a cause for concern but “not a cause for panic” Monday and said he was not considering any widespread U.S. lockdown. When omicron arrives, and it will, Biden said, America will “face this new threat just as we’ve faced those that have come before it.” He appealed to the …

Rich countries blamed for new Omicron COVID variant: "It was entirely preventable"
3 years, 1 month ago

Rich countries blamed for new Omicron COVID variant: "It was entirely preventable"

Salon  

This article originally appeared at Common Dreams. Tim Bierley of the U.K.-based advocacy group Global Justice Now said in a statement that the B.1.1.529 mutation is an "entirely avoidable" consequence of deliberate policy decisions by rich countries, which have hoarded vaccine doses and refused to force pharmaceutical giants to share technology with developing nations. Ursula von der Leyen, president of …

How big a threat is the Omicron variant of coronavirus? Here’s what we know
3 years, 1 month ago

How big a threat is the Omicron variant of coronavirus? Here’s what we know

LA Times  

A medical staff member prepares the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at Tudor Ranch in Mecca. “If you look at the pattern of what’s going on right now in southern Africa — particularly in South Africa — when you have a spike of infections, they are very heavily weighted toward this new variant, the Omicron,” Fauci said. “And, therefore, you have to …

Omicron coronavirus variant raises questions among scientists
3 years, 1 month ago

Omicron coronavirus variant raises questions among scientists

Live Mint  

The fast-spreading Omicron coronavirus variant recently identified in South Africa has virologists and health authorities on edge because of its many mutations, but much about its infectiousness and virulence remains unknown. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday that Omicron hadn’t been identified in the U.S. “The U.S. variant surveillance system has reliably detected new variants in this …

Explainer: How worried should we be about the Omicron variant?
3 years, 1 month ago

Explainer: How worried should we be about the Omicron variant?

India Today  

The new Omicron coronavirus variant - identified first in South Africa, but also detected in Europe and Asia - is raising concern worldwide given the number of mutations, which might help it spread or even evade antibodies from prior infection or vaccination. News of the variant prompted countries to announce new travel restrictions on Friday and sent drugmakers scrambling to …

Omicron coronavirus variant seen as a clarion call to vaccinate the globe
3 years, 1 month ago

Omicron coronavirus variant seen as a clarion call to vaccinate the globe

LA Times  

For almost a year since COVID-19 vaccines first became available, many leading health authorities have urged wealthy nations and vaccine manufacturing companies to prioritize inoculating people in poorer Southern Hemisphere nations to help prevent troublesome new variants from emerging. “With this level of vaccine inequality, variants like Omicron are completely predictable,” said Matthew Kavanagh, director of the Global Health Policy …

As Europe virus cases surge, UK plows on with its new normal
3 years, 1 month ago

As Europe virus cases surge, UK plows on with its new normal

Associated Press  

LONDON — The bars are shut in Vienna, and the Christmas market is empty in Munich, as several European nations tighten up or even lock down to combat a spike in coronavirus infections. But while Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned that a “blizzard from the east” could still ruin Britain’s Christmas, many scientists say the wind is now blowing …

Frequent mutations, rapid spread: All about the new coronavirus variant in South Africa
3 years, 1 month ago

Frequent mutations, rapid spread: All about the new coronavirus variant in South Africa

Hindustan Times  

A new coronavirus variant detected in South Africa's most populous Guanteng district has sent governments around the world in a state of high alert – especially in view of the fact that the variant, according to infectious diseases experts, displays a high number of mutations and rapid spread among young people. The new coronavirus variant detected in South Africa, currently …

The EU wants to stop flights from southern Africa over a new COVID variant
3 years, 1 month ago

The EU wants to stop flights from southern Africa over a new COVID variant

NPR  

The EU wants to stop flights from southern Africa over a new COVID variant Enlarge this image toggle caption Denis Farrell/AP Denis Farrell/AP BRUSSELS — The European Union said Friday it is planning to stop air travel from southern Africa to counter the spread of a new COVID-19 variant as the 27-nation bloc is battling a massive spike in cases. …

New wave of coronavirus infections next autumn seems unavoidable, experts say
3 years, 1 month ago

New wave of coronavirus infections next autumn seems unavoidable, experts say

NL Times  

Medical experts told NOS that a spike in coronavirus infections next fall is likely despite an increasing number of people fully vaccinated against Covid-19. Extra measures, such as face masks, to stop the spread of the coronavirus will continue to be part of daily life, the experts said. Yet, the experts said that additional measures to prevent the spread of …

The Race Is On to Develop a Vaccine Against Every Coronavirus
3 years, 2 months ago

The Race Is On to Develop a Vaccine Against Every Coronavirus

Wired  

On October 21, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gave most of the US population permission to get a Covid vaccine booster—a shot in such high demand that 10 million people somehow obtained it in advance of that approval in an effort to feel a little safer. In a fistful of papers and preprints published in the past six …

Can new variants of the coronavirus keep emerging?
3 years, 2 months ago

Can new variants of the coronavirus keep emerging?

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Can new variants of the coronavirus keep emerging? But that doesn’t mean new variants will keep emerging as regularly, or that they’ll be more dangerous. With more than half the world still not vaccinated, the virus will likely keep finding people to infect and replicating inside them for several months or years to come. And while it could …

Oxford Covid jab creator criticises west for ‘embarrassment of riches’ in vaccine suppy
3 years, 3 months ago

Oxford Covid jab creator criticises west for ‘embarrassment of riches’ in vaccine suppy

The Independent  

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy One of the creators of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid jab has hit …

US coronavirus: Antiviral pill could be a game changer, but vaccines are still America’s way out of the pandemic, experts say
3 years, 3 months ago

US coronavirus: Antiviral pill could be a game changer, but vaccines are still America’s way out of the pandemic, experts say

CNN  

CNN — A pill that could potentially treat Covid-19 is a “game-changer,” but experts are emphasizing that it’s not an alternative to vaccinations – which remain the most effective path to ending the coronavirus pandemic if enough people get their shots. “I think getting an oral pill that can inhibit viral replication – that can inhibit this virus – is …

United Kingdom counts on vaccines, ‘common sense’ to keep coronavirus at bay
3 years, 3 months ago

United Kingdom counts on vaccines, ‘common sense’ to keep coronavirus at bay

India TV News  

Britons are encouraged these days- though in most cases not required- to wear face coverings in crowded indoor spaces. For critics, that image encapsulates the flaw in the government’s strategy, which has abandoned most pandemic restrictions and is banking on voluntary restraint and a high vaccination rate to curb the spread of the coronavirus. “The story of this government in …

Coronavirus LIVE Updates: 6 Kids Among 39 Byculla Jail Prisoners to Test Positive in 10 Days, Moved to Isolation Centre
3 years, 3 months ago

Coronavirus LIVE Updates: 6 Kids Among 39 Byculla Jail Prisoners to Test Positive in 10 Days, Moved to Isolation Centre

News 18  

Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Changes in the gap between two doses of Covishield will be based on scientific evidence and not “random” demands, Dr NK Arora, chairman of the Covid-19 working group of National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation, has said, citing scientific studies suggesting the vaccine’s higher efficacy when the interval between the shots was longer. There is a mandatory …

Explainer: New COVID–19 infections cause mutations and are the main driver of new variants, not vaccines
3 years, 3 months ago

Explainer: New COVID–19 infections cause mutations and are the main driver of new variants, not vaccines

Firstpost  

Nearly all mutations that occur are harmless glitches that don’t change how the virus works – some can harm the virus while a small fraction may make the virus more infectious. But how mutations, random chance and natural selection produce variants is a complicated process, and there has been a lot of confusion about how and why new variants emerge. …

COVID booster use may be expanded, US health officials say
3 years, 3 months ago

COVID booster use may be expanded, US health officials say

Al Jazeera  

FDA advisory body this week recommended coronavirus booster shots for people more than age 65 and those at high risk. Top health officials in the United States have said broader approval of COVID-19 booster shots could be weeks away, after a Food and Drug Administration expert advisory panel this week recommended a third jab for a limited segment of the …

Coronavirus update: Latest Covid-19 vaccine and US reopening news
3 years, 3 months ago

Coronavirus update: Latest Covid-19 vaccine and US reopening news

CNN  

The current evidence on Covid-19 vaccines does not appear to support a need for booster shots in the general public right now, according to an international group of vaccine scientists, including some from the US Food and Drug Administration and the World Health Organization. The FDA and other public health agencies around the world continue to examine evidence on Covid-19 …

Coronavirus Booster Shots Can Help Vulnerable, WHO Europe Head Says
3 years, 4 months ago

Coronavirus Booster Shots Can Help Vulnerable, WHO Europe Head Says

News 18  

A coronavirus booster shot is a way to keep the most vulnerable safe and not a luxury robbing people who have yet to have even a single jab, a senior World Health Organization official said on Monday. The comments from WHO Europe head Hans Kluge appeared to be more positive than the U.N. health body’s past assessments of the third …

Coronavirus could become a disease of the young in the UK as vaccination rates slow while Delta spreads
3 years, 4 months ago

Coronavirus could become a disease of the young in the UK as vaccination rates slow while Delta spreads

ABC  

After a horrifying 2020 during which the coronavirus killed at least 69,000 people across England and Wales, the UK's vaccine rollout has undoubtedly been an astonishing success. Key points: The UK has fully vaccinated more than 40 million people, which is more than 77 per cent of its adult population The UK has fully vaccinated more than 40 million people, …

UK must not take its ‘eye off the ball’ as Covid could roar back, experts warn
3 years, 4 months ago

UK must not take its ‘eye off the ball’ as Covid could roar back, experts warn

The Independent  

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The UK must not take its “eye off the ball” with …

Why a fast-spreading coronavirus and a half-vaccinated public can be a recipe for disaster
3 years, 4 months ago

Why a fast-spreading coronavirus and a half-vaccinated public can be a recipe for disaster

LA Times  

If you were responsible for tracking the pandemic, divining what the coronavirus’ next trick will be, and keeping illness and death to a minimum, you’d be really worried right now. And then everybody’s back at the beginning.” Said Dr. Megan Ranney, associate dean of Brown University School of Public Health: “This situation we’re in, where half of us are fully …

Seven states make up half of COVID cases in the US: White House
3 years, 5 months ago

Seven states make up half of COVID cases in the US: White House

Al Jazeera  

Officials say the highly transmissible Delta variant is driving a surge in states with low coronavirus vaccination rates. Seven United States states with the lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates account for half of the country’s new cases and hospitalisations in the last week, despite making up less than 25 percent of the nation’s population, the White House said on Thursday. “Driven …

WHO: 4 million new coronavirus cases reported globally
3 years, 5 months ago

WHO: 4 million new coronavirus cases reported globally

India TV News  

There were more than 4 million new COVID-19 cases reported globally in the last week, driven mostly by spikes in the Middle East and Asia. In the last week, the highest numbers of coronavirus cases were reported by the U.S., India, Indonesia, Brazil and Iran. After nearly a month of rising cases, WHO said the European region reported a 9% …

COVID Delta variant: With vaccines, how to stay safe
3 years, 5 months ago

COVID Delta variant: With vaccines, how to stay safe

LA Times  

As cases surge with the dominance of the Delta variant, experts still agree that COVID-19 vaccines offer the safest route out of the pandemic. Wearing masks indoors Researchers have found that when infected with the Delta variant, both vaccinated and unvaccinated people had similar viral loads in their upper respiratory systems. The confidential CDC document also cites discouraging reports about …

CDC document paints more dire picture of threat posed by Delta variant
3 years, 5 months ago

CDC document paints more dire picture of threat posed by Delta variant

LA Times  

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, adjusts her face mask during a Senate hearing on the federal coronavirus response. A confidential document prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about the highly transmissible Delta variant argues that even people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 will need to take more aggressive steps …

Delta covid variant is biggest risk to the world at the moment: Top expert
3 years, 5 months ago

Delta covid variant is biggest risk to the world at the moment: Top expert

Live Mint  

The Delta variant is the fastest, fittest and most formidable version of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 the world has encountered, and it is upending assumptions about the disease even as nations loosen restrictions and open their economies, according to virologists and epidemiologists. "The biggest risk to the world at the moment is simply Delta," said microbiologist Sharon Peacock, who …

U.S. to keep existing travel restrictions due to surge in Delta variant infection rates
3 years, 5 months ago

U.S. to keep existing travel restrictions due to surge in Delta variant infection rates

LA Times  

The United States will keep existing COVID-19 restrictions on international travel in place for now due to concerns about the surging infection rate because of the Delta variant, according to a White House official. President Biden earlier this month said that his administration was “in the process” of considering how soon the U.S. could lift the ban on European travel …

UK Investigates New Coronavirus Variant After 16 Cases Emerge: All You Need to Know
3 years, 5 months ago

UK Investigates New Coronavirus Variant After 16 Cases Emerge: All You Need to Know

News 18  

After being discovered in a handful of other countries, including the United States, a new coronavirus variant known as B.1.621 is being investigated in the United Kingdom after 16 cases emerged, according to Public Health England. B.1.621 was categorised as a “variant under investigation” on Wednesday, prompting an inquiry, according to Public Health England. PHE said it is conducting “laboratory …

Indonesia: Raging pandemic offers fertile ground for new variants
3 years, 5 months ago

Indonesia: Raging pandemic offers fertile ground for new variants

Al Jazeera  

The speed and scale of the coronavirus outbreak in Indonesia has created a perfect breeding ground for a potential new super-strain that could be even more contagious and deadly than the Delta variant, infectious disease experts from around the world are warning. “New variants always appear in regions or countries that cannot control outbreaks,” said Dicky Budiman, an Indonesian epidemiologist …

July 12, 2021 coronavirus news
3 years, 5 months ago

July 12, 2021 coronavirus news

CNN  

World Health Organization leaders asked wealthy countries on Monday to hold off on giving booster doses of coronavirus vaccines to their residents before people in other countries can even get their first doses. “Some countries and regions are actually ordering millions of booster doses before other countries have had supplies to vaccinate their health workers and most vulnerable,” WHO Director-General …

Covid: Delta variant cases up by 34% in past week, Public Health England says
3 years, 5 months ago

Covid: Delta variant cases up by 34% in past week, Public Health England says

The Independent  

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The number of Coronavirus infections linked to the dominant Delta variant …

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