COVID 19 Tech

Moderna’s omicron booster was only as good as current vaccine in monkey study

Enlarge / A vial of the current Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. (credit: Getty | Ivan Romano) In a small group of monkeys, an omicron-specific version of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine did not protect against the omicron variant better than Moderna’s current, highly effective booster. This finding casts doubt on whether a switch to variant-specific doses is necessary. […]

COVID 19 Tech

CDC turns to poop surveillance for future COVID monitoring

Enlarge / Aeration System, Hill Canyon Wastewater Treatment Plant, Camarillo, Ventura County, California. (credit: Getty | Universal Images Group) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday announced it is now publicly logging levels of SARS-CoV-2 found in sewage from around the country. The announcement elevates a growing system for wastewater surveillance that the […]

COVID 19 Tech

For T-cells, omicron is nothing unusual

Enlarge / False-color image of a T-cell (orange) latching on to a cell in preparation for killing it. (credit: Getty Images) From the start, the omicron variant had people worried because its version of the spike protein carried mutations in many of the sites that are recognized by antibodies. This meant that antibodies generated to […]

COVID 19 Tech

Joe “just conversations” Rogan defends misinformation like a classic grifter

Enlarge / Joe Rogan on July 9, 2021, in Las Vegas, NV. (credit: Getty | Icon Sportswire ) Long before the pandemic took the lives of more than 5. 6 million people and created a lucrative market for COVID grifts, misinformation, and snake oil, there was Goop. The aspirational lifestyle brand and its lustrous “contextual […]

COVID 19 Tech

Omicron may have FDA rethinking vaccine strategy for kids under 5

Enlarge / A child getting a vaccination on February 19, 2021, in Bonn, Germany. (credit: Getty | Ute Grabowsky) The Food and Drug Administration may be reconsidering its criteria for authorizing COVID-19 vaccine doses for children under age five, according to Scott Gottlieb, a former FDA commissioner and a current board member of vaccine-maker Pfizer. […]