COVID-19 remains deadlier than influenza in severe cases requiring hospitalization, a new study shows. People who were hospitalized with Omicron COVID-19 infections were 54% more likely to die, compared to people who were hospitalized with the flu, Swiss researchers found. The results of the study continue to debunk an earlier […]
As part of its ongoing work to track variants, WHO’s Technical Advisory Group on SARS-CoV-2 Virus Evolution (TAG-VE) met on the 24 October 2022 to discuss the latest evidence on the Omicron variant of concern, and how its evolution is currently unfolding, in light of high levels of population immunity […]
Unsupervised SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen testing with three commercial kits had 70% to 81% sensitivity during the period when Omicron emerged and became predominant in the Netherlands. Rapid antigen testing for COVID-19 has largely replaced RT-PCR testing in the ambulatory setting, but accuracy data are limited. Dutch investigators performed a prospective […]
That’s according to a study in JAMA Network Open, which says 56% of people who have the Omicron variant of the coronavirus are unaware of their infection. And it has an upside and a downside, depending on how you look at it, according to Time magazine. “It’s good news, in some ways, since it underscores the […]
Los reguladores de medicamentos británicos se han convertido en los primeros en el mundo en autorizar una versión actualizada de la vacuna contra el coronavirus de Moderna que tiene como objetivo proteger contra el virus original y la variante ómicron. En un comunicado este lunes, la Agencia Reguladora de Medicamentos (EMA) y Atención […]
Omicron BA.5 is now the dominant COVID-19 variant in the United States.1Experts said that while this subvariant may be more capable of evading natural and vaccine-induced immunity, BA.5 symptoms are similar to those caused by earlier versions of Omicron. It is very hard to distinguish one variant from the other based […]
Omicron is mutating in giant leaps, with scientists racing to keep up. Its diversity is challenging vaccine efficacy and complicating treatment. But this fall, broad spectrum bivalent vaccines may help mitigate the seemingly never ending spread of COVID-19. In this Q&A, adapted from the June 6 episode of Public Health On Call, Stephanie […]
A new Omicron subvariant on the radar of the World Health Organization—one some experts say could be the most immune-evasive yet—has been identified in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told Fortune on Thursday. There have been two cases of BA.2.75, dubbed “Centaurus,” detected in the U.S., with the […]
The B.1.1.529 (omicron) variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has a shorter incubation period and a higher transmission rate than previous variants.1,2 Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended shortening the strict isolation period for infected persons in non–health care settings from 10 days to 5 […]
On Tuesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s independent experts on the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee met to publicly discuss whether a change to the current vaccine strain composition of COVID-19 vaccines for booster doses is necessary for the 2022 fall and winter seasons. The COVID-19 vaccines […]
