Research shows that rapid antigen tests are performing as well at detecting the most recent dominant variants as they did with the earliest strains in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many questions remain about next steps for US vaccine policy. But the FDA advisory panel’s hearty endorsement of a single-composition COVID-19 vaccine represents a pivotal step.
The new bivalent boosters against COVID-19 have failed to halt omicron infections. However, new technologies are being developed that pave a way forward.
New Zealand has done better than most countries by taking decisive action at the start of the COVID pandemic. Now is the time to build on this with a science-based strategy to manage the next stages.
Early on, public health messaging focused on the need for vaccines to combat COVID-19. But far less attention has been given to the role of boosters in preventing deaths and reducing inequities.
The FDA’s authorization of COVID-19 shots for children ages 6 months to 4 years will bring relief for millions of parents. Pending CDC endorsement, shots for this group will be available within days.
An inhaled COVID-19 vaccine would go directly to where the body would use it: the mucosal surface of the airways. This could mean less waste and more benefit, lower costs and reduced side-effects.
Instead of minimizing current or future waves of COVID-19, we need strategies to deal with new variants efficiently. Only then can we live with the virus in a healthy way.
Our best chance of limiting the emergence of new recombinant COVID variants is to limit the spread of infections, using public health measures to slow and suppress the virus.
The latest addition to the omicron lineage has been making waves in Europe. Whether it will do the same in the U.S. depends on rates of vaccination and prior infection.
Scientists have been testing captive and wild animals for the coronavirus since the pandemic began. Only a few wild species are known to carry the virus, but many more have been shown to be susceptible.