By Victoria Bekiempis Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, Anthony Fauci, said on Sunday the US has “the potential to go into a fifth wave” of coronavirus infections amid rising cases and stagnating vaccination rates. He also warned that the newly discovered...
We Know Almost Nothing About the Omicron Variant
Here’s everything we do. By Katherine J. Wu As fall dips into winter in the Northern Hemisphere, the coronavirus has served up the holiday gift that no one, absolutely no one, asked for: a new variant of concern, dubbed Omicron by the World Health...
Omicron variant symptoms ‘unusual but mild’, says South African doctor
By Patrick Reilly The South African doctor who first sounded the alarm on the Omicron variant of the coronavirus said that its symptoms are “unusual but mild” in healthy patients — but she’s worried the strain could cause complications in the elderly and...
Covid: South Africa ‘punished’ for detecting new Omicron variant
South Africa has complained it is being punished - instead of applauded - for discovering Omicron, a concerning new variant of Covid-19. The foreign ministry made the statement as countries around the world restricted travel from southern Africa as details of the...
New Omicron Variant Emerges Amid COVID Spike in Massachusetts
Here's what you need to know about the potentially more contagious variant By Marc Fortier and Alison King The world is on high alert as new cases of the potentially more contagious omicron variant of the coronavirus continue to get reported in Britain and across...
U.K. confirms two cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant.
By Aina J. Khan and Isabella Grullón Paz As the world scrambled to prevent the spread of the new Omicron coronavirus variant that was first detected in southern Africa, Britain’s Health Security Agency confirmed on Saturday that two cases of the variant had been...
Covid: New variant classed ‘of concern’ and named Omicron
The WHO has classified a new variant first detected in Botswana as being "of concern" and has given it the code name "Omicron"Early evidence suggests it is more transmissible and carries a higher risk of re-infection than other variantsThe head of the lab that first...
EMA’s CHMP Recommends Comirnaty for Children Aged 5 to 11
The European Medicine Agency (EMA) human medicines committee (CHMP) just recommended granting an extension of indication for the COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty, the mRNA-based vaccine, to include use in children aged 5 to 11. The vaccine, developed by BioNTech and Pfizer,...
Patients that Received Dexamethasone less Afflicted with Long COVID
Researchers from the North Bristol NHS Trust, Academic Respiratory Unit in Bristol, UK, recently uploaded study results to the medRxiv preprint server. The study team sought to identify if the corticosteroid dexamethasone, proven to reduce COVID-19 mortality in...
New C19 mutation announced in Africa: Defies science, but good for lockdown
African timing plot twist The timing of announcements by the South African and Botswana governments, regarding a new ‘Omicron’ variant with 32 spike protein mutations, sent waves of fear but also disbelief around the world. Hong Kong announced two fully vaccinated...
New Virus Variant Stokes Concern but Vaccines Still Likely to Work
The Omicron variant carries worrisome mutations that may let it evade antibodies, scientists said. But it will take more research to know how it fares against vaccinated people. By Carl Zimmer Scientific experts at the World Health Organization warned on Friday that a...
Merck says its antiviral pill is less effective than initially reported.
By Rebecca Robbins The pharmaceutical company Merck said on Friday that in a final analysis of a clinical trial, its antiviral pill reduced the risk of hospitalization and death among high-risk Covid patients by 30 percent, down from an earlier estimate of 50 percent....
Antibodies mimicking the virus may explain long haul COVID-19, rare vaccine side effects
by Nadine A Yehya, UC Davis With around 256 million cases and more than 5 million deaths worldwide, the COVID-19 pandemic has challenged scientists and those in the medical field. Researchers are working to find effective vaccines and therapies, as well as understand...
Widespread Access to Merck’s Molnupiravir in Philippines Even Though Drug Isn’t Authorized on Emergency Basis nor Approved
While a Phase 3 clinical trial investigating Merck’s molnupiravir in the Philippines seeks patients this isn’t a surprise given the imminent accessibility the drug now has to the local patient market. Currently allowed for compassionate use at several Philippines...
Stanford Medicine Securing $15m to Conduct NIH-Sponsored RECOVER Study Investigating Long COVID
Standard Medicine principal investigators will receive nearly $15 million over a four-year term from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study long COVID. Stanford is but one of 30 research teams involved with the imminent, nationwide, NIH-sponsored RECOVER...