Kumanan Wilson, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa
Vaccine passports became one of the most divisive issues of the COVID-19 pandemic. These policies were affected not only by public opinion but by new variants and changing goals for herd immunity.
BA.2, one of three main omicron sublineages, is sweeping the world.
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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.
Under a quarter of 12- to 15-year-olds are double vaccinated, while vaccines for younger children are still yet to be rolled out.
The CDC’s new recommendations have caused consternation among the public, the media and even among doctors.
Justin Paget/DigitalVision via Getty Images
The CDC’s controversial recommendation changes are based on new studies showing that most omicron transmission takes place within five days of the onset of illness.
Three months after Omicron abruptly arrived, we now know more about the variant. So what does the science say about how contagious it is, how long it takes to get sick and how effective vaccines are?
These new antivirals are another way of managing COVID-19. But they’re not a panacea, and could even makes things worse.
New variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, arise through mutations when the virus replicates in an infected host’s cells.
(NIAID, cropped from original)
COVID-19 variants are the products of the evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. They arise via mutations, but other forces also have roles to play in the generation and transmission of variants.
Floors can be tested to predict the level of COVID-19 in an environment.
(Oliver Hale/Unsplash)
Aaron Hinz, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa et Rees Kassen, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa
As we move through the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, new predictive methods of testing can help monitor the spread of the disease. Environmental testing, like swabbing floors, is a useful tool.
Vaccination rates in South Africa are sub-optimal.
Emmanuel Croset/AFP via Getty Images
South Africa is still likely to experience periods of increased cases, smaller-scale outbreaks and even the development of new variants.
A shipment of Covid vaccines sent to Sudan by the COVAX vaccine-sharing initiative, are unloaded in the capital Khartoum, October 6, 2021.
Ebrahim Hamid / AFP
Vaccines are less effective at reducing the risk of viral mutation than they used to be – but they still make a difference.
Normalizing the use of masks by vulnerable people during flu season could save many lives, even after the threat of COVID-19 has receded.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
After two years of COVID-19, it’s understandable that many people are weary of infection prevention measures. But simply being tired of the pandemic is no reason to let our guard down.
South Africans wait for a COVID-19 vaccine in December 2021.
Kim Ludbrook/EPA
The arrival of the highly infectious Omicron variant has changed the COVID landscape in Australia. We asked 5 experts whether it’s time to rethink vaccine mandates for dining, fitness and events.
Dean Faculty of Health Sciences and Professor of Vaccinology at University of the Witwatersrand; and Director of the SAMRC Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics Research Unit, University of the Witwatersrand