COVID 19 Tech

Omicron subvariant BA.2 continues global rise as experts assess mixed data

Enlarge (credit: Getty | Xinhua News Agency) A sub-lineage of the omicron coronavirus variant, dubbed BA.2, continues to increase steadily around the globe as scientists and health officials are still working to understand the risk it poses to public health. So far, the overall data has been a mix. Some recent laboratory and animal data […]

COVID 19 Tech

Omicron smashes US case records as experts are still trying to understand it

Enlarge / A healthcare worker conducts a test at a drive-thru COVID-19 testing site at the Dan Paul Plaza on December 29, 2021 in Miami, Florida. In response to the increasing demand for COVID-19 tests, Miami-Dade County opened two new testing sites and expanding hours at the Zoo Miami testing location. (credit: Getty | Joe […]

COVID 19 Tech

CDC draws criticism for shorter COVID quarantine, isolation as omicron bears down

Enlarge / Travelers wait in line to check-in at LaGuardia Airport in New York, on December 24, 2021. -On Christmas Eve, airlines, struggling with the Omicron variant of Covid-19, have canceled over 2, 000 flights globally, 454 of which are domestic, into or out of the US. (credit: Getty | YUKI IWAMURA ) As the […]

COVID 19 Tech

Omicron now 13% of cases in NY and NJ; health officials brace for sharp rise

Enlarge / Medical workers carry a patient to a hospital in New York, the United States, Dec. 13, 2021. (credit: Getty | Xinhua News Agency ) Health officials sounded the alarm Tuesday over the fast spread of the omicron coronavirus, which has now been detected in 77 countries worldwide and 33 states in the US—and […]

COVID 19 Tech

Officials trying to contact all 53K anime convention attendees in omicron probe

Enlarge / Costumed attendees take a break during Anime NYC at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City on November 20, 2021. Anime NYC is an annual three-day anime convention held in New York City. (credit: Getty | Ken Betancur) An anime convention held in New York City last month may inadvertently […]

COVID 19 Tech

US preps vaccine contingencies amid panic over poorly understood omicron

Enlarge / WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 29: Anthony Fauci (R), Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and Chief Medical Advisor to the President, speaks alongside US President Joe Biden as he delivers remarks on the Omicron COVID-19 variant following a meeting of the COVID-19 response team at the White House. (credit: […]

COVID 19 Tech

Delta variant’s wild spread raises fears, fresh scrutiny of CDC mask guidance

Enlarge / Masked and unmasked people make their way through Grand Central Market in Los Angeles, California, on June 29, 2021, as the World Health Organization (WHO) urges fully vaccinated people to continue wearing masks with the rapid spread of the delta variant. (credit: Getty | FREDERIC J. BROWN) The highly transmissible delta variant of […]

COVID 19 Tech

Need for annual COVID shots hinges on how many people get vaccinated now

Enlarge / Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, receives the Moderna Inc. COVID-19 vaccine during an event at the NIH Clinical Center Masur Auditorium in Bethesda, Maryland, on Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2020. (credit: Getty | Bloomberg) As COVID-19 vaccination efforts continue across the United States, many are wondering how […]

COVID 19 Tech

B.1.1.7 variant is NOT better at surviving in air than other coronaviruses

Enlarge / People practice social distancing in white circles in Domino Park in Williamsburg during the coronavirus pandemic on May 17, 2020, in New York City. (credit: Getty | Noam Galai) The B.1.1.7 coronavirus variant is estimated to spread about 50 percent more than previous versions—but it doesn’t seem to manage that higher transmissibility by […]

COVID 19 Tech

Study finds 3-ft distancing in schools is enough—but debate is far from over

Enlarge / Spring Township, PA – August 21: A first grade classroom where the desks are spaced out for social distancing. (credit: Getty | Ben Hasty) The most sensitive and heated topic of the entire pandemic is—without a doubt—the welfare of our children. How can we best protect them from this devastating virus? What role […]