Omicron News and Research

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Pregnant women should not delay COVID-19 vaccination until late pregnancy, study suggests

COVID-19 vaccination of expectant mothers elicits levels of antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 outer "spike" protein at the time of delivery that don't vary dramatically with the timing of vaccination during pregnancy and thus don't justify delaying vaccination, according to a study from researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian.

28 Dec 2021

Estimating the epidemic potential of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in South Korea

Researchers in South Korea and France have conducted an analysis on individuals infected with Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to estimate the epidemic potential and long-term prospects of this virus in circulation. They have found that the basic reproduction number (R0) for this variant is 1.90, while the mean serial interval is 2.22 days.

28 Dec 2021

Study demonstrates increased effectiveness of third BNT162b2 dose against SARS-CoV-2 infection and hospitalization

Researchers assess vaccine effectiveness of two and three doses of BNT162b2 against SARS-CoV-2 infections and COVID-19-related hospital admission.

28 Dec 2021

An evaluation of the association between COVID vaccination and myocarditis in 42 million people aged 13 or older

A new study posted to the medRxiv* pre-print server included individuals over 13 years of age receiving the third vaccine dose to further evaluate the association between myocarditis and COVID-19 vaccination or infection. The study took place from December 1, 2020, to November 15, 2021.

28 Dec 2021

SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant neutralized by third BNT162b2 booster shot

A new preprint* research paper under consideration at Nature Portfolio Journal assesses the susceptibility of the Omicron variant to neutralizing antibody response after booster immunization.

28 Dec 2021

Third BNT162b2 dose effectively neutralizes SARS-CoV-2 Omicron pseudovirus

The findings reveal that the Omicron neutralizing titers induced by the third vaccine dose are comparable to that achieved against the original Wuhan strain (wild-type SARS-CoV-2) by the two-dose regimen. The study is currently available on the medRxiv* preprint server while awaiting peer review.

28 Dec 2021

Study suggests spike mutation makes SARS-CoV-2 Omicron milder

The Omicron spike is relatively poorly cleaved and impaired in mediating cell-cell fusion and syncytia formation, contrary to predictions.

28 Dec 2021

Researchers discover antibodies that neutralize omicron and other SARS-CoV-2 variants

An international team of scientists have identified antibodies that neutralize omicron and other SARS-CoV-2 variants. These antibodies target areas of the virus spike protein that remain essentially unchanged as the viruses mutate.

28 Dec 2021

COVID isolation and quarantine period for general population shortened by CDC

Given what we currently know about COVID-19 and the Omicron variant, CDC is shortening the recommended time for isolation from 10 days for people with COVID-19 to 5 days, if asymptomatic, followed by 5 days of wearing a mask when around others.

27 Dec 2021

Uptake of COVID-19 vaccine doses increases before Christmas in England

Thousands more first and second doses were administered last week compared with the week before, as the public are today reminded that the offer of a vaccine is still available and encouraged to come forward to protect themselves against Omicron.

26 Dec 2021

UK Government to send out Get Boosted Now text messages from Boxing Day

From Boxing Day (26 December) people in the UK will receive a text message reminding them to get a booster vaccine to protect us all from the spread of the Omicron.

26 Dec 2021

Cancer patients who had breakthrough COVID-19 remain at high risk for hospitalization, death

The first study to evaluate the clinical characteristics and outcomes of fully vaccinated patients with cancer who had breakthrough COVID-19 infections indicates they remained at high risk for hospitalization and death.

26 Dec 2021

SARS-CoV-2 Alpha variant mutated to evade the immune system

The SARS-CoV-2 Alpha (B.1.1.7) variant mutated to evade our 'innate immune system', helping establish it as the world's first 'Variant of Concern', finds a new study led by researchers at UCL and the Quantitative Biosciences Institute, University of California San Francisco.

24 Dec 2021

Study helps explain why mRNA vaccines have been successful at preventing severe COVID-19

Washington University in St. Louis student Julian McCall receives a dose of Pfizer's mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine.

24 Dec 2021

Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 manifests striking antibody evasion

A new study from Columbia researchers, in collaboration with scientists at the University of Hong Kong, adds more evidence that the omicron variant can evade the immune protection conferred by vaccines and natural infection and suggests the need for new vaccines and treatments that anticipate how the virus may soon evolve.

24 Dec 2021

Alpha variant of SARS-CoV-2 evolved mutations to evade the immune system

The Alpha variant of SARS-CoV-2-;the first "variant of concern"-;evolved mutations that allowed it to more efficiently suppress the immune system's early response to infection, according to a new study led by scientists at the University of California, San Francisco's Quantitative Biosciences Institute and University College London.

24 Dec 2021

Pfizer-BioNTech booster shot may offer better immunity than a two-dose regimen

A new study suggests that the immune response against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is greater with a three-dose regimen than a two-dose regimen.

24 Dec 2021

New study provides a mutational analysis of SARS-CoV-2

A new study investigates mutational waves in structural and non-structural protein evolutions of SARS-CoV-2 to better understand the virus’s evolution and epidemiology.

24 Dec 2021

SARS-CoV-2 spreads through cell-to-cell transmission, study finds

The virus that causes COVID-19 has adopted some stealth moves to stay alive and kicking, and one secret to its success is hiding from the immune system by spreading through cell-to-cell transmission, a new study has found.

23 Dec 2021

Ad5-nCoV vaccine safe and effective against symptomatic, severe COVID-19, trials shows

One dose of Ad5-nCoV (Convidecia), a COVID-19 vaccine developed in China, is 57.5% effective against symptomatic COVID-19 and 91.7% effective against severe COVID-19 disease beginning 28 days postvaccination, according to a phase 3 randomized controlled trial published in The Lancet.

23 Dec 2021