COVID-19

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BioNTech Founder: Omicron Unlikely to Cause Severe Cases

Ugur Sahin says vaccinated people should have protection against new variant

(Newser) - The seesawing of sentiment on the omicron variant continues. The co-founder of BioNTech, the company that partnered with Pfizer on a COVID vaccine, has weighed in with comments that are relatively optimistic. Ugur Sahin tells the Wall Street Journal that the company's existing vaccine should prevent serious illness among...

CDC Strengthens Booster Advice
CDC Strengthens
Booster Advice
Nov 29, 2021 6:07 PM CST

CDC Strengthens Booster Advice

Agency now says everyone over 18 who is eligible should get another shot

(Newser) - While much is unknown about the new omicron COVID variant—including how effective existing vaccines are against it—the CDC is urging people not to take any chances. The agency strengthened its advice Monday to say that people over 18 should get a booster shot, New York Times reports. Earlier...

Couple Arrested After Leaving Quarantine Hotel

They tested positive after arriving in Amsterdam from South Africa Friday

(Newser) - Dutch military police arrested a husband and wife Sunday who had left a hotel where they were being quarantined after testing positive for COVID-19 and boarded a plane to fly home to Spain. A spokeswoman for the local security authority that covers Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport said Monday that an...

New Theme in Omicron Coverage: Missed Promises
New Theme
in Omicron
Coverage:
Missed Promises
the rundown
Nov 29, 2021 2:16 PM CST

New Theme in Omicron Coverage: Missed Promises

Wealthier nations aren't meeting pledges to supply vaccine to developing countries

(Newser) - Stories about the emergence of the Omicron variant frequently point to the same stat: Only about 6% of Africa, where it was first detected, is vaccinated against the coronavirus. As a result, critics are pointing fingers at wealthy nations for failing to fulfill promises to get vaccines to developing countries:...

Biden Shares His Thinking on Omicron
Biden Shares
His Thinking
on Omicron
Nov 29, 2021 11:45 AM CST

Biden Shares His Thinking on Omicron

It's a 'cause for concern, not panic,' president says of new variant

(Newser) - President Biden on Monday spoke about the emerging Omicron variant , calling it "a cause for concern, not a cause for panic." And he reiterated familiar advice from Dr. Anthony Fauci and the White House: Get vaccinated, including booster shots. "Dr. Fauci believes that the current vaccines provide...

More Hopeful Scenarios Emerge on Omicron Variant
Omicron Variant Detected
in North America
the rundown
Nov 29, 2021 6:52 AM CST

Omicron Variant Detected in North America

It's in Canada, though not (officially) in US yet; so far, vaccinated patients are getting mild cases

(Newser) - As health officials around the world watch the Omicron variant, the first wave of headlines about actual patients appears to have a common theme: It's spreading quickly, but not necessarily leading to more severe cases, especially among vaccinated people. Coverage:
  • Early cases: A top Israeli health official, Dr. Sharon
...

South Africa President: Omicron Travel Bans Are Discriminatory

Cyril Ramaphosa says they won't stop the spread, must be lifted now

(Newser) - Travel bans are increasingly being put into place against South Africa amid fears related to the COVID-19 variant newly identified there, and the president of the country is not happy. The bans, which have been implemented in places including the US, Canada, UK, Israel, EU, and Japan, are not backed...

This Is Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year

'Vaccine' wins out for 2021

(Newser) - With an expanded definition to reflect the times, Merriam-Webster has declared an omnipresent truth as its 2021 word of the year: vaccine. “This was a word that was extremely high in our data every single day in 2021,” Peter Sokolowski, Merriam-Webster's editor-at-large, told the AP ahead of...

Outbreak Shuts Team Down
Outbreak Shuts Team Down
Nov 27, 2021 2:55 PM CST

Outbreak Shuts Team Down

NHL postpones 2 Islanders games to fight spread

(Newser) - The NHL has postponed two more games for coronavirus-related reasons, making it five so far this season. Upcoming New York Islanders games Sunday at the Rangers and Tuesday at the Philadelphia Flyers were postponed after additional players went into the NHL's COVID-19 protocol on Saturday. The Islanders would have...

2 Planes Flew in From South Africa. 61 People Had COVID

Dutch authorities are now testing passengers to see if they have worrisome omicron variant

(Newser) - Two flights arrived in the Netherlands on Friday, bearing some 600 passengers from South Africa, and also a good number of COVID cases—and those people are now being tested to see if they've got the newly emerging omicron variant . Reuters reports that 61 of the flights' passengers who...

One Potential COVID Treatment Not as Potent as Hoped

Merck's pill, awaiting FDA review, is less effective than preliminary tests suggested

(Newser) - The COVID virus keeps mutating , and drugmakers are racing to adapt along with it. But on that front, Merck reported some relatively disappointing news about a pill under development—molnupiravir turns out to be 30% effective at reducing hospitalizations and deaths, which is down from preliminary estimates of 50%, reports...

First Case of New Variant Detected in Europe
WHO Names Variant;
US Issues Travel Restrictions
the rundown
Nov 26, 2021 1:32 PM CST

WHO Names Variant; US Issues Travel Restrictions

World Health Organization dubs it 'omicron' and calls it a 'variant of concern'

(Newser) - The world got an unwanted new arrival on Friday: omicron. Here's the latest on the worrisome new COVID variant:
  • New name: After an emergency review, the World Health Organization on Friday declared the emerging strain of COVID a "variant of concern," reports the Washington Post . The variant,
...

Aaron Rodgers' Toe Is Now the Subject of Discussion

He made a quip about 'COVID toe,' then clarified it definitely wasn't that

(Newser) - If you didn't expect to spend part of your week wondering about Aaron Rodgers' toe, welcome to the club. The Green Bay Packers quarterback's digit has been the subject of discussion since Tuesday, when Rodgers appeared on the Pat McAfee show and touched on the toe injury he...

New COVID Variant Is a &#39;Big Jump in Evolution&#39;
New COVID Variant Is
a 'Big Jump in Evolution'
THE RUNDOWN
Nov 26, 2021 6:53 AM CST

New COVID Variant Is a 'Big Jump in Evolution'

EU countries rush to restrict travel from southern Africa

(Newser) - Almost two years after the first cases were detected in Wuhan, China, the fight against the coronavirus continues—and authorities are worried that a new variant detected in South Africa could be a major setback. The variant, currently known as B.1.1.529, has mutations that could make it...

France Decides on Third Shots but Not More Restrictions

As cases surge, officials cut gap between second and third shots to 5 months

(Newser) - France launched a plan Thursday to give COVID-19 booster shots to all adults, as it opted against a further lockdown or curfew to help combat an uptick in infections in the country. Coronavirus infections have jumped in France over the past few days, with daily new cases rising above the...

Germany Passes 100K COVID Deaths
Germany Passes
100K COVID Deaths
Nov 25, 2021 5:21 AM CST

Germany Passes 100K COVID Deaths

Leader-in-waiting hasn't ruled out mandatory vaccinations

(Newser) - Official figures released Thursday show Germany has become the latest country to surpass 100,000 deaths from COVID-19 since the pandemic began. Germany’s disease control agency said it recorded 351 additional deaths in connection with the coronavirus over the past 24 hours, taking the total toll to 100,119....

Another EU Country Is Entering Lockdown

'We’re losing the battle against COVID,' Slovakia's president says

(Newser) - Slovakia's government on Wednesday approved a two-week national lockdown amid a record surge of coronavirus infections. Prime Minister Eduard Heger said the measures that take effect Thursday will target all—both unvaccinated and vaccinated, the AP reports. Under the lockdown, people can leave their homes only for some specific...

Putin Takes Nasal Spray After Booster

Russia deals with surging COVID-19 cases and vaccine hesitancy

(Newser) - President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday he has taken an experimental nasal vaccine against the coronavirus, three days after he received his booster shot. Russia is facing its worst surge of infections and deaths since the pandemic began and is struggling to overcome widespread vaccine hesitancy, the AP reports. Putin was...

After Anti-Vax Summit, 7 Docs Fall Sick

One claimed he'd been taking ivermectin and 'never felt healthier'

(Newser) - At an anti-vaccine summit in Florida, where alternative treatments for COVID-19 were discussed, a 71-year-old cardiologist stood up and criticized his 97-year-old father for getting vaccinated. "He had been brainwashed" and "didn't tell me," Dr. Bruce Boros told attendees on Nov. 6, per the Guardian . "...

After 30 Years on General Hospital, He's Out Due to Vaccine Mandate

Steve Burton refused to get COVID-19 vaccine

(Newser) - Steve Burton has been playing Jason Morgan on General Hospital since 1991. But no longer: The actor has been fired from the ABC soap opera for refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19, Variety reports. Burton made the announcement himself on Instagram in a video including anti-vaccine rhetoric, and the show...

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