Pfizer says tweaked COVID-19 shots boost Omicron protection
Moderna and Pfizer have tested updated shots against the super-contagious omicron variant, and advisers to the Food and Drug Administration will debate Tuesday if it’s time to make a switch.
The BA.5 Omicron subvariant is expected to drive an increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalisations over the coming weeks | @lucybladen
COVID: FDA advisers to consider whether Omicron-specific coronavirus vaccines are needed
COVID: FDA advisers to consider whether Omicron-specific coronavirus vaccines are needed
New Omicron subvariant expected to become dominant COVID-19 strain in Ontario
$NVAX $MRNA $BNTX - FDA advisors to weigh changing COVID boosters to include Omicron component
Here’s what you need to know about Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5
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NEW: unfortunately it’s time for another international Covid update, as the BA.5 Omicron lineage (and BA.4 to a lesser extent) sends not only cases but also hospitalisations climbing around the world, from South Africa, to Portugal, the UK, Israel and now the US 📈
NEW: I’m not sure people appreciate quite how bad the Covid situation is in Hong Kong, nor what might be around the corner. First, an astonishing chart. After keeping Covid at bay for two years, Omicron has hit HK and New Zealand, but the outcomes could not be more different.
NEW: for the first time in the pandemic, a Covid infection now carries less mortality risk than a flu infection in England, the result of widespread immunity and the emergence of a less virulent variant in Omicron. Our story:
The Technical Advisory Group on SARS-CoV-2 Virus Evolution met today to review what is known about the #COVID19 variant B.1.1.529. They advised WHO that it should be designated a Variant of Concern. WHO has named it Omicron, in line with naming protocols
1. Cloth masks are ineffective against omicron (Leanna Wen, CNN); 2. The vaccinated can spread and get covid; 3. The death rate is comparable to the flu (Chris Hayes); 4. Many people are entering hospitals with covid, not from covid (Fauci);
NEW: first thread of 2022 is an Omicron situation update, starting with a detailed look at UK hospitals, before going international. Let’s start with severity, and the most important chart: Despite steep rises in cases and patients, the number on ventilators has barely risen.
If there really is but 65 hospitalisations from Omicron, and one death, then the current paroxysm from state and media constitutes a crime again the economy and thus against the people.
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