COVID variants

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COVID Vaccine Season Just Got More Complex

Not as many people can automatically go to pharmacies to get their shots anymore

(Newser) - Will you get a COVID-19 vaccine? That's become a complicated question for many people, with the answer depending on one's age, insurance coverage, health, and finding a health care professional to give the shot. A once-straightforward seasonal vaccine process has become muddled this year due to new federal...

It's Summertime, and the Sneezing Is Easy
COVID Isn't Taking
the Summer Off
Aug 14, 2025 6:15 PM CDT

COVID Isn't Taking the Summer Off

Here's what to know about summer colds and the COVID-19 variant called stratus

(Newser) - Summer heat, outdoor fun ... and cold and flu symptoms? The three may not go together in many people's minds: partly owing to common myths about germs and partly because many viruses really do have lower activity levels in the summer. But it is possible to get the sniffles—or...

Biden's Doctor Provides Update on COVID Case

The symptoms are improving, physician says

(Newser) - President Biden still has a loose cough and hoarseness as he deals with COVID-19, his doctor reported Saturday, though the symptoms are easing. The president has now had six doses of Paxlovid, Dr. Kevin O'Connor wrote in a letter he released. He said tests showed that Biden contracted the...

As School Year Kicks Off, a 'Rude Reminder' From COVID
Think We're Done
With COVID? It's
Not Done With Us
THE RUNDOWN
Aug 29, 2023 9:25 AM CDT

Think We're Done With COVID? It's Not Done With Us

Illness is more manageable now, but late-summer wave shows our 'new normal' will include the virus

(Newser) - If you're seeing a sudden uptick in people around you contracting COVID, more than three years after the start of the pandemic, and more than three months after the pandemic public health emergency was declared over , you're not imagining it. Per the New York Times , there's been...

New COVID Strain Bears Watching, Scientists Say

Highly mutated strain might be better at thwarting antibodies

(Newser) - The latest coronavirus variant has only caused about a dozen illnesses globally and has surfaced in just three US states, but experts have seen reasons it should be watched closely. The BA.2.86 variant could be better equipped than other strains to evade antibodies, even in people who have...

COVID Vaccines Likely Getting a Big Update

FDA advisers endorse updating the shots

(Newser) - The COVID-19 vaccines are on track for a big recipe change this fall, the AP reports. Today’s vaccines still contain the original coronavirus strain, the one that started the pandemic—even though that was long ago supplanted by mutated versions as the virus rapidly evolves. Thursday, the Food and...

Coming Soon to Americans' Arms: a New Bivalent Booster

This one also targets omicron versions BA.4 and BA.5

(Newser) - The US on Wednesday authorized its first update to COVID-19 vaccines, booster doses that target today's most common omicron strain. Shots could begin within days. The move by the FDA tweaks the recipe of shots made by Pfizer and rival Moderna. Until now, COVID-19 vaccines have targeted the original...

Mask Mandate Won't Return Friday to Los Angeles County

Coronavirus cases and hospitalization rates are trending down in the area

(Newser) - Update: An indoor mask mandate scheduled to take effect Friday in Los Angeles County won't, after officials decided the number of new coronavirus cases has dropped enough to make it unnecessary. Hospitalization rates also have improved, the Los Angeles Times reports. Criticism of the reimposition increased as Friday neared....

'Centaurus' Omicron Variant Is Raising Concerns

India experiencing 'exponential increase' with BA.2.75

(Newser) - Another super contagious omicron variant has been detected in the US. Dubbed "Centaurus," the BA.2.75 variant was first detected in India in early May and is now spreading rapidly there. "It's still really early on for us to draw too many conclusions" but "...

Most Contagious Variants Yet Now Dominating US
These 2 New Variants
Are Extra-Contagious
THE RUNDOWN
Jul 5, 2022 10:20 AM CDT

These 2 New Variants Are Extra-Contagious

BA.4 and BA.5 are great at evading protections, including from past omicron infections

(Newser) - Two new extra-contagious variants of omicron with transmissibility similar to measles are together dominating COVID-19 cases in the US, leading to talk of new indoor mask mandates. Here's what you need to know:
  • Background: BA.4 was first detected in South Africa in January, while BA.5 was first
...

Administration: 100M New Cases Are Possible

Warning of big wave this fall and winter is designed to increase preparation and funding

(Newser) - With a combination of factors making a major wave of coronavirus infections look more likely later this year, the Biden administration has raised the alarm by suggesting a distressing scenario: 100 million new cases over fall and winter. Deaths and hospitalizations would post sharp increases, the Washington Post reports. A...

Extra-Contagious COVID Strain Is Taking Over

BA2 is now dominant in 68 countries, including the US

(Newser) - In the latest battle of the coronavirus mutants, an extra-contagious version of omicron has taken over the world. The coronavirus version known as BA2 is now dominant in at least 68 countries, including the United States.The World Health Organization says it makes up about 94% of sequenced omicron cases...

Yes, Pfizer Recipients Will Need 4th Dose: CEO
Pfizer CEO
Says 4th Dose
'Is Necessary'
UPDATED
Mar 16, 2022 12:44 AM CDT

Pfizer CEO Says 4th Dose 'Is Necessary'

But he's hoping company will soon have a shot that works against all variants

(Newser) - Update: Pfizer, along with its partner BioNTech, on Tuesday asked US regulators to authorize an additional COVID vaccine booster for seniors. The pharmaceutical company says data from Israel as well as an ongoing study of healthcare workers suggest those 65 and older would benefit from a fourth dose, the AP...

White House Details Plan for Life With COVID

Approach includes familiar preventive tools and efforts to catch new variants quickly

(Newser) - White House officials detailed their approach to the next, less disruptive stage of life with COVID, in which Americans would mostly return to their pre-pandemic routines. But precautions and vigilance still will be required, CNN reports. "Vaccines, treatments, tests, masks—these tools are how we continue to protect people...

Studies Find No Rush for Next Booster Shot

Antibodies produced after third dose appear to do well against variants

(Newser) - It's reasonable to assume health officials will soon recommend a second booster shot of the coronavirus vaccine to maintain protection against COVID-19. Israel has made fourth shots available, per CNN . The UK plans to do so this spring for people over 75. In the US, the FDA said that...

900K Americans Have Died of COVID
US COVID Death Toll
Approaches 1M
Feb 5, 2022 2:20 PM CST

US COVID Death Toll Approaches 1M

900,000 people have died, officials say

(Newser) - The US death toll from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is inching closer to 1 million as the Omicron variant rages throughout the world, the AP reports. More than 10% of the 900,000 Americans lost to the virus died after Dec. 12, per Reuters . “If you had told most...

An Omicron Offshoot Reaches 40 Countries
'Stealth Omicron' Has
Arrived in the US
THE RUNDOWN
Jan 26, 2022 10:05 AM CST

'Stealth Omicron' Has Arrived in the US

BA.2, now in 40 nations, may be more contagious than original omicron, though data is limited

(Newser) - Cases of an omicron subvariant have popped up in at least 40 countries, including the US. Health officials in California's Santa Clara County confirmed two cases of "stealth omicron," or BA.2, on Tuesday, adding to 11 existing cases in the state as of Monday, reports the...

'Lot of Infections' From Omicron After 4th Dose: Trial

In preliminary study from Israel, the first of its kind, antibodies rise after 2nd booster, infections persist

(Newser) - Preliminary results are in on a clinical trial testing the efficacy of a fourth COVID shot, the world's first, and when it comes to omicron, that booster isn't doing the job researchers had hoped for. The Times of Israel reports that, in a study that began last month...

Congress Hit by 'Unprecedented' Surge in Cases

Lawmakers urged to meet virtually amid wave of COVID-19 cases

(Newser) - The Capitol physician is warning lawmakers of an "unprecedented" number of cases hitting members of Congress and their staffers. At the on-site testing center, the 7-day positivity rate is higher than 13%, compared to less than 1% before the rise of the omicron variant, Politico reports. Omicron accounts for...

Just Don't Take a Cruise, CDC Advises

Warning applies regardless of the traveler's vaccination status

(Newser) - In response to a series of onboard outbreaks , the CDC on Thursday advised all Americans—vaccinated or not—to stay off cruise ships. The agency cited a rise in coronavirus infections and the quick-spreading omicron variant, per NBC News . COVID-19 "spreads easily between people in close quarters on board...

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