Arcturus: what to know about the new COVID variant, omicron XBB.1.16: CROCOTHERY/Shutterstock A new COVID variant XBB.1.16, or “Arcturus”, has now been identified in at least 34 countries including the UK. Arcturus is a subvariant of omicron and was first detected in India in January 2023. As of April 17, the latest date up to …
Bivalent COVID vaccines have now been in use for a few months – here’s how they’re stacking up against omicron: Bivalent vaccines target omicron alongside the original strain of COVID. Lithiumphoto/Shutterstock Vaccines have played a major role in mitigating the harms of the COVID pandemic since their rollout began just over two years ago. They’re …
Where is the next COVID variant, pi? A virologist explains why omicron is continuing to dominate: FOTOGRIN/Shutterstock The omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has now been around for more than a year. Before omicron became dominant, there had been a quick succession of named variants of concern – from alpha, to …
COVID: what we know about new omicron variant BF.7: Kateryna Kon/Shutterstock Since the COVID variant omicron emerged in late 2021, it has rapidly evolved into multiple subvariants. One subvariant, BF.7, has recently been identified as the main variant spreading in Beijing, and is contributing to a wider surge of COVID infections in China. But what …
XBB and BQ.1: what we know about these two omicron ‘cousins’: Mahir KART/Shutterstock In late October, the UK Health Security Agency assigned variant designations to two new omicron “grandchildren”: BQ.1 and XBB. This means they will be monitored by health authorities, but are not at this stage regarded as variants of concern. If we think …
Omicron BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 – an expert answers three key questions about these new COVID variants: Kateryna Kon/Shutterstock Two new omicron subvariants, BQ.1 and BQ.1.1, are quickly gaining traction in the US, collectively accounting for 27% of infections as of October 29. Both are descendants of BA.5, the omicron variant that has dominated around the …
Another new COVID variant is spreading – here’s what we know about omicron BA.4.6: Andrii Vodolazhskyi/Shutterstock BA.4.6, a subvariant of the omicron COVID variant which has been quickly gaining traction in the US, is now confirmed to be spreading in the UK. The latest briefing document on COVID variants from the UK Health Security Agency …
COVID vaccine: how the new ‘bivalent’ booster will target Omicron: Prostock-studio/Shutterstock The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has approved a bivalent COVID booster vaccine, making it the first country in the world to do so. Developed by Moderna, this vaccine has been approved for use in adults, and is set to form …
COVID: masks and free tests may not curb omicron spread – here’s what we should focus on instead: Maria Sbytova/Shutterstock As we face continued waves of COVID-19, there have been various calls for the reintroduction of measures like mask mandates and free tests in the UK. But how much of a difference would these sorts …
Omicron XE is spreading in the UK – a virologist explains what we know about this hybrid variant: Andrii Vodolazhskyi/Shutterstock As the COVID pandemic has progressed, we’ve repeatedly seen the arrival of new viral variants. Variants of concern, such as delta and omicron, are versions of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) which have acquired …
Omicron doesn’t need its own custom COVID vaccine: here’s why: Shutterstock The Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus was discovered in South Africa and emerged in November 2021. Scientists have already learned a lot about Omicron. One of the key questions that remains is how well our immune systems deal with infection by this variant. …
South African scientists on discovering omicron, plus how culture informs people’s emotional reaction to music – The Conversation Weekly podcast transcript: This is a transcript of The Conversation Weekly podcast episode: South African scientists on the inside story of discovering omicron – and what their experience can offer the world about future variants, published on …
These are the latest trending searches on Google right now: New Omicron variant South Africa: : Daily Search Trends Fahrenheit restaurant: : Daily Search Trends Prince Harry Duke of Sussex: : Daily Search Trends Have you tried: Sailing in Africa ?
These are the latest trending searches on Google right now: New omicron variant: : Daily Search Trends Have you tried: Sailing in Africa ?
South African scientists on the inside story of discovering omicron – and what their experience offers the world about future variants. Podcast: After South African scientists sounded the alarm about the new omicron variant, countries around the world closed their borders. Kim Ludbrook/EPA What is it like to discover a new coronavirus variant? In this …
Vaccine mandates for healthcare workers should be scrapped – omicron has changed the game: Time is running out for National Health Service staff in England who have not had a COVID vaccine. Doctors and nurses have until Thursday, February 3, to have their first jab. If they don’t, they will not be fully immunised by …
Omicron: viral load can be at its highest at day five so cutting isolation period doesn’t make sense: Before omicron, people in the UK with COVID symptoms or a positive test had to self-isolate for ten days. But when the new variant of concern arrived, the government changed the self-isolation period to seven days. On …
Omicron may reach millions before vaccines do – but that doesn’t mean race to vaccinate the world is over: The pandemic is accelerating. It’s estimated that there could be 3 billion new infections globally over the next three months thanks to the highly infectious omicron variant. Large outbreaks are ongoing across Europe and North America …