SARS-Cov-2

The FDA on Monday approved Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine, making it the second fully approved COVID-19 vaccine in the United States.

People previously infected with SARS-CoV-2 are substantially protected against COVID-19 for several months, even in the absence of vaccination, a study found.

Researchers identified four factors that may anticipate if a patient will develop long COVID.

Moderna on Wednesday announced the start of a phase 2 study of an omicron-specific COVID-19 booster shot.

The New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday published data from the ongoing NIH-sponsored trial that led the FDA last fall to authorize the mix-and-match strategy for COVID-19 vaccine boosters.

Omicron has taxed the country’s health care system, causing more COVID-19 cases, ED visits and hospitalizations than any other variant during the pandemic, according to newly published data.

Pfizer and BioNTech said Tuesday that they have initiated a clinical study to assesses the safety and efficacy of a COVID-19 vaccine for adults aged 18 to 55 years that specifically targets the omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2.

The FDA halted the use of two monoclonal antibody treatments for COVID-19 because they are not effective against the omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, which now accounts for almost all U.S. cases.

In late November, at the behest of independent advisors, WHO classified omicron as a SARS-CoV-2 “variant of concern” amid signs that it was highly transmissible and carried an increased risk for reinfection.

Last week, the CDC updated its consumer COVID-19 mask guidance to say for the first time that people can wear N95 or KN95 respirators.