Scientists may not know for a couple weeks yet how risky the new coronavirus variant will be to public health. But getting out front now about what is known helps dispel misinformation, they say.
More should be known about the transmissibility and severity of the new variant in "days, not necessarily weeks," a senior World Health Organization scientist says.
Protein subunit vaccines work by injecting people with a tiny portion of a virus. In the case of the COVID-19 vaccine, that tiny portion is the spike protein that the coronavirus uses to enter cells.
The coronavirus outbreak exposed flaws in the global health system but also showed a willingness among countries to work together, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO's director-general, says.
Pfizer's CEO says the vaccine maker has asked federal regulators to authorize boosters for 16- and 17-year-olds. Currently, only people 18 and over are eligible for a booster in the U.S.
The newly identified strain of the coronavirus, which could be more transmissible than the previously dominant delta variant, has global health officials worried about a possible new surge in cases.
Public health experts warn that the rush to impose travel bans on southern African countries after the omicron variant was identified can work against scientific transparency.
President Biden received a briefing from his medical task force, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, who said that "inevitably" the omicron variant will turn up in the U.S.
At a special session this week, the World Health Organization hopes to start sketching out a new world order. "We don't have rules of the game," says WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
The World Health Organization deemed it a variant of concern, and the U.S. is banning travel from parts of Africa where it's spreading. Here's what scientists know and what they're trying to learn.
Stock markets around the world tumbled on concerns about the new variant. While it's too soon to tell exactly how the variant functions, virologists are rushing to learn more.
Disney has paused its vaccine mandate for Walt Disney World employees after a new Florida law barring workplace vaccine mandates. Meanwhile, new discussion on the definition of "fully vaccinated."
The Chardos family has been under strict quarantine since March 2020 to protect Ellie, who has Down syndrome and is immunocompromised, from the coronavirus.