Vaccines developed early in the COVID-19 pandemic continue to provide substantial protection against severe disease and death from the disease. The SARS-CoV-2 virus has mutated significantly since late 2019. But, in many cases, the immune system can recognize later variants such as Omicron. This ability comes in part from features […]
Following FDA regulatory action, CDC has taken steps to simplify COVID-19 vaccine recommendations and allow more flexibility for people at higher risk who want the option of added protection from additional COVID-19 vaccine doses. CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) met today to discuss these COVID-19 vaccine recommendation changes, […]
Vaccinated people who have a breakthrough case of Omicron will have better protection against COVID-19 variants than vaccinated people who receive a booster shot, two new studies show. The University of Washington, working with Vir Biotechnology of San Francisco, looked at blood samples of vaccinated people who had breakthrough cases of […]
Does the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine provide less protection to children aged 5 to 11 than to adolescents 12 to 17? A study from New York state released Monday suggests that’s the case. But new data from 10 states released Tuesday tell a different story. The data, published by the Centers for Disease Control […]
A recent study shows that two doses of mRNA (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna) or one dose of viral vector (Johnson & Johnson) COVID-19 vaccines were insufficient to produce adequate immunity to a lab-created Omicron variant or pseudovirus. The Omicron pseudovirus infected cells at a higher rate than other pseudovirus variants. The […]
Nearly everyone who had a mild case of COVID-19 still has antibodies to the coronavirus a year later, but that might not protect them from new variants circulating now, a small study suggests. Among 43 Australians who dealt with mild COVID-19 early in the pandemic, 90% still had antibodies 12 […]
his transcript has been edited for clarity. Welcome to Impact Factor, your weekly dose of commentary on a new medical study. I’m Dr F. Perry Wilson of the Yale School of Medicine. We’ve talked a lot about the concept of herd immunity during this pandemic, but mostly in the context […]
Studies from COVID-19 vaccine makers and public health officials have been suggesting for a while that protection provided by the vaccines wanes over time. In a new study published on Sept. 15 to a preprint server—the study is not yet peer-reviewed—researchers at Moderna, which makes one of the two mRNA COVID-19 […]
