A new study documents that infected hamsters, imported from the Netherlands, passed the virus on to humans. Previously only minks had been identified as a source of animal-to-human transmission.
There's serious concern about the effectiveness of vaccines against the omicron strain. But there's also reason to be hopeful — especially for those who've had a booster.
Scientists have begun to find abnormalities in the immune systems of some long-COVID patients that might help explain the syndrome, at least in some people. But there is still much more to learn.
It could turn out to be the eighth coronavirus known to spread to humans. Some scientists think doctors and researchers should start actively looking for this virus in patients.
Pandemic predictions have been made — and then things would change. But based on models and studies (including a 1980s test that squirted virus up human noses), researchers have a new endgame thesis.
The lab has access to a high-security facility that Pfizer needed to prove its COVID-19 vaccine was working. Now the scientists there are testing the vaccine's effectiveness against viral variants.
One of the scientists who signed a recent letter calling for more investigation of the lab-leak origin theory says new data has come to light. And that information has changed his thinking.
President Biden told U.S. intelligence agencies to investigate whether the coronavirus spread after a lab leak in China. Scientists welcome the request, but many still think it came from the wild.
For decades, the U.S. has spent many millions hunting down viruses in hope of stopping a pandemic. Yet the efforts failed. A group of researchers thinks there's a better strategy for the future.
Exposing people to a potentially fatal disease could hasten understanding of COVID-19 and development of new vaccines and treatments. But the risks of such studies raise serious ethical questions.
It's the first confirmed case of coronavirus reinfection in the U.S. The case underscores that everyone should be social distancing and wearing masks, including COVID-19 survivors.
