February 27, 2022 — In response to the growing consensus that the Omicron coronavirus variant is more transmissible but causes less severe disease, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released on Friday a new framework for measuring community Covid-19...
BA.2 Omicron Subvariant Apparently Does Not Make People More Sick, South African Researchers Say
February 25, 2022 — Worries that the BA.2 Omicron subvariant may cause more severe COVID-19 disease than the original BA.1 Omicron variant have been promulgated by a recent laboratory hamster study, but real-world data suggest that BA.2 isn't more dangerous. Among...
Omicron Name Used for Several Lineages of Coronavirus
February 23, 2022 — Pittsburgh, PA Meet the Omicron Family Omicron, originally referred to as B.1.1.529, has four other main lineages, BA.1, BA.1.1, BA.2, and BA.3, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). As viruses replicate, they often...
BA.2 Omicron Appears More Dangerous, Researchers Say
February 19, 2022 — According to a pre-print Japanese lab study posted this week on bioRxiv, the BA.2 Omicron subvariant is not only faster at spreading than the BA.1 Omicron variant, but may also cause more severe COVID-19 disease. To place the study in context,...
Coronavirus Cases Fall After Record Breaking Omicron Surge
February 16, 2022 — The U.S. on Tuesday reported an average of about 136,000 new COVID cases per day over the last week, down 83% from the record high average of more than 800,000 cases per day set on Jan. 15, according to a CNBC analysis of data from Johns Hopkins...
3rd Vaccine Booster Offers Strong Short-Term Protection Against Omicron, but Effectiveness Wanes, CDC Study Shows
February 11, 2022 — Booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines provided a high level of protection against COVID-19 hospitalizations, but experienced considerable decline in effectiveness after about four months, according to a study published by the...
New COVID-19 Monoclonal Antibody Treatment for Omicron Authorized by FDA
February 11, 2022 — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for bebtelovimab, a new monoclonal antibody treatment that shows efficacy against the Omicron variant. The single-dose IV infused drug by Lilly, available only...
COVID Vaccines for Young Children, Ages 6 Months to 4 Years, Postponed
February 11, 2022 — The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 6 months to 4 years old is delayed by at least 2 months in the United States. In a joint press release, the firms said they were postponing their request for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA)...
Highest-Risk COVID Patients Least Likely To Get Monoclonal Antibodies, Researchers Say
February 9, 2022 — People who would benefit the most from receiving monoclonal antibody (mAb) treatment to fight a COVID infection — older Americans with chronic health conditions — have been the least likely to receive it, according to a new study co-authored by...