Omicron in children: Cases remain mild despite rise in hospitalisations

By Michael Le Page More school-aged children are being infected by omicron, but findings suggest it causes less severe disease than previous variants Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Several countries are reporting record numbers of children being hospitalised as omicron spreads, with babies especially likely to be admitted. While this has led to claims that omicron is … Read more

COVID-19 Vaccines Saved Over 240,000 American Lives in Just 6 Months, Study Finds

COVID-19 vaccines saved nearly 241,000 lives in the United States and prevented more than 1 million virus-related hospitalizations in the first six months of the country’s inoculation program, according to a new research model.    A research letter, published Tuesday in the peer-reviewed medical journal JAMA Network Open, found coronavirus vaccinations also prevented more than 14 … Read more

Covid-19 news: Omicron cases hit record highs in Europe

By Michael Le Page, Clare Wilson, Jessica Hamzelou, Sam Wong, Graham Lawton, Adam Vaughan, Conrad Quilty-Harper, Jason Arunn Murugesu and Layal Liverpool Free covid-19 rapid lateral flow test kits are handed out in Walthamstow, north London, England TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Getty Images Latest coronavirus news as of 2pm on 6 January Omicron continues to surge … Read more

Air pollution: One in 12 child asthma cases linked to nitrogen dioxide exposure

Researchers estimate that 1.85 million new childhood asthma cases in 2019 were linked with exposure to nitrogen dioxide, a toxic gas released by diesel vehicles Health 5 January 2022 By Adam Vaughan Heavy traffic on a street in New Delhi, India Raj K Raj/Hindustan Times/Getty Images About one in 12 new child asthma cases worldwide … Read more

Omicron cases are exploding. Scientists still don’t know how bad the wave will be | Science

As this year begins, the Omicron variant is smashing COVID-19 infection records across Europe, North America, Africa, and Australia. With massive numbers of people infected or in quarantine, tens of thousands of flights and trains have been canceled, and work and schools disrupted. Earlier in the pandemic, the frightful, near-vertical rise in cases would have … Read more

Early Studies Out of UK Indicate Omicron Has a Lower Hospitalization Rate Than Delta

Two studies from Britain published Wednesday showed COVID infections with Omicron are less likely to result in hospitalization compared to the Delta variant, the latest research confirming a trend first identified in South Africa.​   The preliminary studies – one paper from Scotland and the other from England – were cautiously welcomed by experts, who nonetheless … Read more

Covid-19 news: Isolation rules for covid cases changed in England

By Michael Le Page, Clare Wilson, Jessica Hamzelou, Sam Wong, Graham Lawton, Adam Vaughan, Conrad Quilty-Harper, Jason Arunn Murugesu and Layal Liverpool The NHS covid-19 app counts down the days left of isolation after a positive test Sara Sadler/Alamy Latest coronavirus news as of 11am on 22 December Officials say isolating for 10 days avoids … Read more

Covid-19 news: Chris Whitty urges caution as UK cases hit record level

By Michael Le Page, Clare Wilson, Jessica Hamzelou, Sam Wong, Graham Lawton, Adam Vaughan, Conrad Quilty-Harper, Jason Arunn Murugesu and Layal Liverpool Chris Whitty at a briefing on 15 December Tolga Akmen – WPA Pool/Getty Images Latest coronavirus news as of 11am on 16 December England’s chief medical officer suggests people should reduce social contacts … Read more

Omicron coronavirus variant may cause a global wave of covid-19 cases

It remains unclear whether the omicron coronavirus variant causes less severe disease, but even if this is true, hospitals could still be overwhelmed by the sheer number of cases Health 6 December 2021 By Michael Le Page A health worker at a covid-19 testing site in Cape Town, South Africa Dwayne Senior/Bloomberg via Getty Images … Read more