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By Michael Le Page and Graham Lawton People queue for vaccinations at St Thomas’ Hospital in London Dan Kitwood/Getty Images The world is facing a surge in hospitalisations and deaths from the omicron variant of the coronavirus that could be as bad as in previous waves, even if omicron is only a third as severe … Read more
Josh Fischman: Hi, and welcome to COVID, Quickly, a Scientific American podcast series. This is your fast-track update on the COVID pandemic. We bring you up to speed on the science behind the most urgent questions about the virus and the disease. We demystify the research and help you understand what it really means. I’m … Read more
By Clare Wilson Positive and negative rapid lateral flow tests Anna Mente/Shutterstock With the omicron variant of the coronavirus on the rise, regular testing has become even more important, particularly as people decide whether to socialise during the Christmas period. Here’s everything you need to know about testing. What is the difference between a lateral … Read more
Omicron has become a global threat to public health thanks to a particularly dangerous set of mutations, but where did it come from? Health 17 December 2021 By Michael Le Page A technician at the Nelson Mandela School of Medicine in Durban, South Africa New York Times / Redux / eyevine We do not know … Read more
The Omicron variant is spreading rapidly worldwide. New travel restrictions and mounting anxiety have followed this heavily mutated version of the coronavirus, which has been reported now in more than 60 countries. In South Africa, where Omicron’s 50 or so mutations were first identified, the variant has shown that it can reinfect people who already … Read more
Barely a year after vaccine developers reported spectacular successes against SARS-CoV-2, the latest variant of the virus has presented them with a new challenge. Omicron is spreading at unprecedented speed, and studies of blood samples and emerging real-world evidence show one reason is its ability to dodge immunity, whether from previous infections or vaccination. The … Read more
When South African scientists first alerted the world to the rapid spread of a new SARS-CoV-2 variant, some speculated it might not take off in other countries. After all, an earlier variant named Beta, which dominated in South Africa between November 2020 and May, did not spread much beyond its borders and has since petered … Read more
Two doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine shot offered about 70 percent protection against hospitalization during a recent surge in Omicron cases in South Africa, preliminary real-world data found. This was a drop from about 92 percent in a previous Delta wave, the researchers from Discovery Health, South Africa’s largest insurer and South Africa’s Medical Research Council, said … Read more
By Michael Le Page, Clare Wilson, Jessica Hamzelou, Sam Wong, Graham Lawton, Adam Vaughan, Conrad Quilty-Harper, Jason Arunn Murugesu and Layal Liverpool Syringes filled with the Pfizer covid-19 vaccine THOMAS KIENZLE/AFP via Getty Images Latest coronavirus news as of 1pm on 14 December Two doses of the Pfizer jab are only 33 per cent effective … Read more
By Michael Le Page, Clare Wilson, Jessica Hamzelou, Sam Wong, Graham Lawton, Adam Vaughan, Conrad Quilty-Harper, Jason Arunn Murugesu and Layal Liverpool Visitors queue for covid-19 vaccinations at a walk-in vaccine center in Romford, UK Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images Latest coronavirus news as of 1pm on 13 December All adults in England will be … Read more