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Articles on COVID-19 transmission

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Technique matters when it comes to getting a sufficient amount of virus for a rapid test. Images By Tang Ming Tung/Digital Vision via Getty Images

COVID-19 rapid tests can breed confusion – here’s how to make sense of the results and what to do, according to 3 testing experts

Rapid tests can be an incredibly useful tool for early detection of COVID-19. Unfortunately, they sometimes leave people with more questions than answers.
As of August 2022, COVID-19 vaccination rates in Black and Hispanic people exceeded those of white Americans nationally, but only for the initial shots. FatCamera/E+ via Getty Images

Low vaccine booster rates are now a key factor in COVID-19 deaths – and racial disparities in booster rates persist

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.
A virus’s genes hold a record of where it’s traveled, and when. imaginima/E+ via Getty Images

Charting changes in a pathogen’s genome yields clues about its past and hints about its future

After a nose swab tests positive for a virus or bacteria, scientists can use the sample’s genetic sequence to figure out where and when the pathogen emerged and how fast it’s changing.
A garment worker walks through a clothing factory in Montréal during the COVID-19 pandemic. Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. did not collect adequate information about workplace transmission. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes 

Lessons from COVID-19 for the next pandemic: We need better data on workplace transmission

Routine collection of work information from people testing positive for COVID-19 from the start of the pandemic would have enabled better understanding of the role of workplaces in transmission.
Female prsioners wave goodbye to their fellow inmates following their release from Chikurubi prison on the outskirts of Harare in Zimbabwe in April 2021. Zimbabwe released about 3,000 prisoners due to COVID-19. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

More than a million prisoners have been released during COVID-19, but it’s not enough

During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, governments around the world released many prisoners, but this has now slowed or stopped. Here’s why those releases should continue.
Hannah Peters/Getty Images

New Zealanders are super-connected. When restrictions lift in Auckland, it won’t take much to amplify Delta’s spread

A model of a “virtual” Aotearoa shows even a few new connections will lead to a complex web of transmission which could fuel the spread of the Delta outbreak.
High-touch surfaces in grocery stores were tested as a potential transmission point for SARS-CoV-2. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov 

Testing high-touch surfaces in grocery stores for COVID-19

The risk of COVID-19 exposure from high-touch surfaces within grocery stores is low if physical distancing guidelines and recommended cleaning protocols are followed.
Vaccinated people are well protected from getting sick, but could they inadvertently transmit the coronavirus? Noam Galai/Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

Can people vaccinated against COVID-19 still spread the coronavirus?

The COVID-19 vaccines are a smash success. But that doesn’t mean they keep every vaccinated person completely free of the coronavirus.
Sequencing the whole genome of patient virus samples lets scientists watch for new variants. Sergei Malgavko/TASS via Getty Images

Where coronavirus variants emerge, surges follow – new research suggests how genomic surveillance can be an early warning system

By merging genomics with classical epidemiology, researchers are able to predict new disease outbreaks based on which viral variants are on the rise.
A person wears a protective face mask to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 as they walk past the emergency department of the Vancouver General Hospital on Nov. 18, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

Want to save the economy? Start by vanquishing COVID-19

Saving the economy requires minimizing, if not eliminating, community COVID-19 transmission.

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