Category: Featured
Why COVID’s XBB.1.5 ‘Kraken’ Variant Is So Contagious
(Scientific American) A new variant of the virus that causes COVID has mutations that make it more transmissible, but vaccines are still likely to protect against severe disease. A new, rapidly spreading variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID, means a rise in new infections could be around the corner. And while it likely […]
Jan 10, 2023
Maybe Don’t Unleash the Kraken
(The Atlantic) These days, it’s a real headache to keep tabs on the coronavirus’s ever-shifting subvariants. BA.2, BA.4, and BA.5, three Omicron permutations that rose to prominence last year, were confusing enough. Now, in addition to those, we have to deal with BQ.1.1, BF.7, B.5.2.6, and XBB.1.5, the version of Omicron currently featuring in concerned headlines. […]
Jan 10, 2023
People who haven’t had COVID will likely catch XBB.1.5 – and many will get reinfected, experts say
(USA Today) Variant XBB.1.5 is very contagious, meaning everyone is at risk even if you’ve already been infected. As the U.S. enters year 3 of the pandemic, here’s an update on the state of COVID. The newest COVID-19 variant is so contagious that even people who’ve avoided it so far are getting infected and the roughly 80% of […]
Jan 9, 2023
China is flying blind as pandemic rages
(Science) Most scientists believe China’s decision to end its zero-COVID policy was long overdue. But now they have a new worry: that the country is collecting and sharing far too little data about the rough transition to a new coexistence with the virus. China abruptly dropped virtually all controls a month ago, after protests, a […]
Jan 3, 2023
China stops counting cases as models predict a million or more deaths
(BMJ) China has effectively stopped counting covid cases and deaths, abandoning mass testing and adopting new criteria for counting deaths that will exclude most fatalities from being reported. The Chinese National Health Commission’s official daily briefing, which had offered detailed if uninformative statistics every day since February 2020, has not been published since 24 December. […]
Jan 3, 2023
China infection surge on agenda at WHO coronavirus meeting
(UN) In Geneva, a spokesperson for the WHO confirmed during a scheduled press briefing that Chinese scientists had been invited to participate in a meeting of the Technical Advisory Group on COVID-19. The 30-strong expert group was formed in June 2020 to advise the UN health agency and Member States on coronavirus mutations and variants. The […]
Jan 3, 2023
Omicron offshoot XBB.1.5 could drive new Covid-19 surge in US
(CNN) For weeks, scientists have been watching a slew of Omicron descendants duke it out for dominance of Covid-19 transmission in the United States, with the BQs – BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 – seeming to edge out all the others to claim a slight lead. The result has been a gradual rise in cases and hospitalizations […]
Jan 3, 2023
How deadly will China’s covid surge get?
(Washington Post) How fast is the virus spreading? How long will the surge last? Will it spawn a new variant? Experts weigh in on what the science can reveal. When China ended the drastic lockdowns and restrictions that were in place for the past three years, it triggered a surge of cases and deaths in […]
Jan 3, 2023
EU Moves Toward Requiring Covid Tests for Passengers From China
(Bloomberg) The European Union is moving toward an approach to the rampant Covid outbreak in China that may include masks and pre-flight testing requirements on flights from the country. EU health advisers agreed Tuesday on a draft opinion that includes masking recommendations and increased wastewater monitoring, while also suggesting a discussion on Covid testing, according […]
Jan 3, 2023
China media plays down COVID severity as WHO seeks detail on variants
(Reuters) State media in China played down the severity of a surge of COVID-19 infections ahead of a briefing on Tuesday by its scientists to the World Health Organization, which was hoping for a “detailed discussion” on the evolution of the virus. China’s abrupt U-turn on COVID controls on Dec. 7, as well as the […]
Jan 3, 2023
