COVID-19 Variant
Important to consider age when assessing children for COVID-19 severity, study finds
A study of more than 30,000 hospitalized children with SARS-CoV-2 infection found that ICU admissions for COVID-19 decreased over the course of the pandemic but ventilatory and oxygen support for the youngest children did not.
Novavax says updated COVID-19 vaccine induces antibody response to new variants
Novavax on Tuesday said its updated COVID-19 vaccine candidate induced neutralizing antibodies against emerging SARS-CoV-2 subvariants in small animal and non-human primate studies.
Moderna, Pfizer say updated COVID-19 vaccines protect against EG.5
Moderna this week said preliminary clinical trial data confirmed that its updated COVID-19 vaccine provides a “significant boost” in neutralizing antibodies against emerging SARS-CoV-2 viruses and is expected to effectively target them.
EG.5 emerges as dominant variant amid summer wave of COVID-19
The EG.5 omicron subvariant has emerged as the predominant SARS-CoV-2 virus during a summer wave of COVID-19 in the Unted States, accounting for 17.3% of cases, according to CDC tracking.
People with HIV did not see large decline in COVID-19 mortality during omicron wave
Compared with their peers, people with HIV experienced a smaller decline in mortality risk from COVID-19 during the omicron wave of the pandemic, researchers reported.
FDA advisors say new COVID-19 vaccines should be monovalent, targeting XBB
An FDA advisory committee voted Thursday to recommend changing the composition of the country’s COVID-19 vaccines to be monovalent XBB-lineage vaccines, removing the wild strain of SARS-CoV-2 from the shots.
Symptom-based scoring system may help diagnose long COVID
Researchers created a symptom-based scoring system that may help diagnose long COVID more easily. The scoring system is based on 12 common symptoms identified in a study that included almost 10,000 participants.
Lack of full COVID-19 vaccination raises risk for nonrespiratory features in all variants
WASHINGTON — Those with incomplete COVID-19 vaccination faced elevated risk for nonrespiratory features, such as fever and tachycardia, according to research presented at the American Thoracic Society International Conference.
Infant SARS-CoV-2 infection five times more likely during omicron
Infants born to people infected with SARS-CoV-2 during pregnancy were five times as likely to test positive for the virus from age 0 to 6 months during the omicron period than previous waves, according to research published in Pediatrics.
FDA committee supports approval of COVID-19 treatment Paxlovid for high-risk adults
The FDA’s Antimicrobial Drugs Advisory Committee voted Thursday to support the approval of Paxlovid for the treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in adults at high risk for severe disease, hospitalization or death.