Two doses of the Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE COVID-19 vaccine was protective against severe disease in children aged 5 to 11 during the recent Omicron variant surge, but quickly lost most of its ability to prevent infection in the age group, according to a study by New York State researchers.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration revised the emergency use authorization (EUA) for AstraZeneca’s Evusheld to a higher dose to be effective in the prevention of COVID-19. 

The BA.2 subvariant of Omicron, which appears to be even more transmissible than Omicron, is accounting for more than a third of global COVID-19 cases. In other news, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration placed limits on the use of GlaxoSmithKline and Vir Biotechnology’s COVID-19 antibody therapeutic, sotrovimab.

The Omicron BA.2 sub-variant of COVID-19 appears to be more infectious than the original BA.1 sub-variant, but does not cause more severe disease, the head of Africa’s top public health body said on February 24 citing data from South Africa.

Psychological stress from the pandemic may be widespread, but those who have had COVID-19 are at much higher risk for new mental health problems than individuals who have managed to avoid the virus, according to a new study. Additionally, researchers have found the BA.2 version of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus – while potentially more transmissible than its BA.1 predecessor – has not led to more hospitalizations or more severe disease in South Africa.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on February 23 GlaxoSmithKline and Vir Biotech’s COVID-19 antibody treatment should not be used in places with circulation of variants that are not susceptible to the drug.

Getting infected twice with two different Omicron coronavirus subvariants is possible, but rarely happens, a Danish study has found.

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a lot of talk about the “new normal,” with most people wanting to get back to the “old normal.” Two-plus years into the pandemic, it’s obvious that COVID-19 is not going away, prompting discussion about what this “new normal” will actually look like.

At least one model from the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation estimates that at this time, 73 percent of Americans are immune to Omicron, and it could rise to 80 percent by mid-March.

U.S. health officials said on February 16 they are preparing for the next phase of the COVID-19 pandemic as Omicron-related cases decline, including updating CDC guidance on mask-wearing and shoring up U.S. testing capacity.