Countries that have reported variants of SARS-CoV-2. A new SARS-CoV-2 variant has one or more mutations that differentiate it from predominant virus variants already circulating among the general population. Variants are expected to occur as viruses are constantly changing. Surveillance can help investigate how some variants may impact COVID-19 disease […]
Public health officials in the Midwest and Northeast are sounding the alarm about steep new increases in COVID-19 cases in children. The increases seem to be driven by greater circulation of more contagious variants, just as children and teens have returned to in-person activities like sports, parties, and classes. “I […]
As the virus that causes COVID-19 continues to evolve, drugmakers are racing to adapt their vaccines to the changes in the virus’ genetic code that appear to help it escape our immune defenses. Of the three “variants of concern” recognized by the World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control […]
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have established new criteria to classify variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The criteria are meant to clarify how much is known about recent changes to the circulating viruses. The levels also help […]
The unchecked spread of the more contagious SARS-CoV-2 variants in Brazil appears to have created even more dangerous versions of the virus that causes COVID-19. The changes are documented by a team of researchers from FIOCRUZ, a large public health research lab run by Brazil’s Ministry of Health. The findings […]
Across the world, there are multiple variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). SARS-CoV-2 variants have been classified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as variants of interest, variants of concern, and variants of high consequence. Three […]
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have established new criteria to classify variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The criteria are meant to clarify how much is known about recent changes to the circulating viruses. The levels also help convey […]
On January 10, 2020, the first genomic sequence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) isolated from a patient in Wuhan, China, was posted online. As of February 3, 2021, 468 000 sequences of SARS-CoV-2 from COVID-19 cases globally have been uploaded into publicly available databases, including more than […]
As COVID-19 cases resulting from infection with SARS-CoV-2 variants accumulate in the US and around the world, one question looms large: How well do the COVID-19 vaccines developed so far protect against these novel coronavirus spinoffs? “The virus is telling us it’s going to throw out a lot of mutations,” […]
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have established new criteria to classify variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The criteria are meant to clarify how much is known about recent changes to the circulating viruses. The levels also help convey […]
