Category: USA
Vaccines: Pfizer CEO says fourth dose of vaccine may be needed sooner than expected
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said Wednesday that people might need a fourth Covid-19 shot sooner than expected after preliminary research shows the new Omicron variant can undermine protective antibodies generated by the vaccine the company developed with BioNTech. More...
Preprint: Increased risk of SARS-CoV-2 reinfection associated with emergence of the Omicron variant in South Africa
332 individuals were identified who had three suspected infections. More...
Preprint: vaccinated persons are no less infectious than unvaccinated persons
A total of 978 specimens were provided by 95 participants, of whom 78 were fully vaccinated and 17 were not fully vaccinated. More...
CDC: Addition of SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 chimeric viruses to select agents and toxins list
Today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s Division of Select Agents and Toxins published an Interim Final Rule adding SARS-CoV/SARS-CoV-2 chimeric viruses resulting from any deliberate manipulation of SARS-CoV-2 to incorporate nucleic acids coding for SARS-CoV virulence factors to the list of HHS select agents and toxins. More...
USA: Nearly 7,000 vaccine breakthrough cases in Alaska in September 2021
Through the end of September 2021, a total of 13,265 vaccine breakthrough COVID-19 cases were documented among Alaska residents. More...
USA: Covid blizzard in Minnesota – 72,628 vaccine breakthrough cases, 519 deaths
“We are in the middle of a COVID blizzard right now in Minnesota,” state infectious disease director Kris Ehresmann said. More...
USA: CDC quietly backs away from herd immunity
The prospects for meeting a clear herd-immunity target are “very complicated,” said Dr. More...
The 2021 winter wave will be the largest Covid wave so far
It looks like the 2021 Covid global winter wave will be a much larger repeat of the 2020 winter wave, with Europe and North America being the biggest contributors of new Covid cases again. More...
USA: Three snow leopards die of COVID-19 at the Lincoln Children’s Zoo in Nebraska
Three snow leopards have died of COVID-19 at the Lincoln Children’s Zoo in Nebraska, officials say.
USA: nearly 59,000 vaccine breakthrough cases, 468 deaths in Massachusetts
Nearly 59,000 fully vaccinated Massachusetts residents have now tested positive for COVID-19 and 468 of them have died. More...