The highly-infectious Delta coronavirus variant has spread to at least 174 countries worldwide, from the US to Australia, causing a surge in COVID-19 cases. The variant has mutations that help it partially escape the immune response produced by vaccines. The data for how well COVID-19 vaccines work against the Delta variant isn't clear cut. The vaccines may offer [...]

Fragile mRNA molecules used in COVID-19 vaccines can’t get into cells on their own. They owe their success to lipid nanoparticles that took decades to refine. Messenger RNA (mRNA) is having a moment. This year, hundreds of millions of people will receive shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines for COVID-19. The crucial ingredient in each [...]

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed critical knowledge gaps and assumptions concerning how respiratory viruses spread between hosts. Traditionally thought to be spread mainly through large respiratory droplets produced by the coughs and sneezes of sick individuals, a growing body of evidence indicates that many respiratory pathogens – including SARS-CoV-2– spread through virus-laden microscopic respiratory aerosols. In this [...]

SARS-CoV-2 is just one of nonillions of viruses on our planet, and scientists are rapidly identifying legions of new species. Mya Breitbart has hunted novel viruses in African termite mounds, Antarctic seals and water from the Red Sea. But to hit pay dirt, she has only to step into her back garden in Florida. [...]

There are three COVID-19 vaccines approved for use in the U.S. The Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are all highly effective in protecting you from the virus that causes COVID-19. The Pfizer vaccine received full FDA approval on Aug. 23 and is no longer under emergency use authorization (EUA). It will now [...]

Many people with long COVID feel that science is failing them. Neglecting them could make the pandemic even worse. While watching the scientific community grapple with long COVID, I have thought a lot about a scene in The Lord of the Rings. Faced with impending doom, the hobbits Merry and Pippin ask the powerful treelike ents [...]

As a team of South African researchers we have identified a new lineage of SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19. A lineage represents a genetically distinct virus population with a common ancestor. This virus may be designated as a variant in future, based on significantly altered properties, but first we need to understand it better. Our findings so far are [...]

Citing the possibility of another serious pandemic, the Biden administration on Friday laid out a plan to transform the nation’s ability to respond to major biological threats. As staggering as the COVID-19 pandemic has been, the next one will likely be very different – and could be far worse, officials warn. “We need better capabilities,” [...]

How doctors can predict which patients are more likely to die of COVID Several studies have come out about the COVID prognosis. As a result, we now have a powerful way to predict which patients with COVID pneumonia are more likely to die and require longer stays in the hospital. We already know [...]

Though Delta continues to be the dominant COVID-19 strain, the World Health Organization (WHO) now says there's a new variant to keep your eye on. The B.1.621 variant, also called Mu, has just been listed by the WHO as a new "variant of interest" as of August 30. © Provided by Health.com New COVID Variant [...]