The Omicron variant was estimated to be 95.4% of the coronavirus strains circulating in the United States as of Jan. 1, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on January 4.
The Omicron variant of the coronavirus is spreading faster than the Delta variant and is causing infections in people already vaccinated or who have recovered from the Covid-19 disease, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on December 20.
The risk of reinfection with the Omicron coronavirus variant is more than five times higher and it has shown no sign of being milder than Delta, a study showed, as cases soar across Europe and threaten year-end festivities.
Canadian drug developer Medicago’s plant-based Covid-19 vaccine candidate – enhanced by GlaxoSmithKline’s booster – was 75.3 percent effective against the Delta variant of the virus in a late stage study, the two companies said on December 7.
Survivors of previous infection with the virus that causes SARS-CoV-2 may be at higher risk for reinfection with the Omicron variant than with earlier versions of the virus, preliminary findings show. Additionally, a booster shot of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine appears to provide strong protection – at least in the short term – according to data from Israel.
The likelihood that people will need to have an annual Covid-19 vaccine – similar to the influenza shot – is increasing, BioNTech chief executive and co-founder Ugur Sahin told the Reuters Next conference on December 3.
Austria imposed a lockdown on people unvaccinated against the coronavirus on November 15 as winter approaches and infections rise across Europe, with Germany considering tighter curbs and Britain expanding its booster program to younger adults.
The inexpensive antidepressant fluvoxamine might help keep patients with Covid-19 from developing severe disease, according to a study published in The Lancet Global Health. Researchers found in another study that the coronavirus can infect cells of the inner ear, which may help explain the balance problems, hearing loss and tinnitus (ringing in the ears) experienced by some Covid-19 patients.
Seattle-based Mozart Therapeutics closed on a $55 million Series A financing round, led by seed financier ARCH Venture Partners along with Sofinnova Partners. Additional investors were Eli Lilly and Company, MRL Ventures Fund, an early-stage fund run by Merck & Co., Leaps by Bayer, Altitude Life Science Ventures, and Alexandria Venture Investments.
Two Indian drugmakers requested permission to end their late-stage trials on Merck & Co.’s experimental antiviral drug molnupiravir in moderate Covid-19 patients.