By Dr. Dave A. Chokshi As a father of a young child and the City’s doctor, it has been especially meaningful for me to see so many brave children roll up their sleeves to get vaccinated against COVID-19. I have had the privilege of being present when some have gotten their first dose. I remember […]
By David Leonhardt, NY Times Get ready for the Omicron surge, and take it seriously. But remember that the vaccines appear to provide strong protection against what matters most: severe Covid illnesses. That’s my reading of experts’ reactions to the latest developments on the Omicron variant. Today, I will walk through them. Highly contagious The […]
By Dave Goldiner and Chris Sommerfeldt, NY Daily News All private sector workers in the city must be vaccinated against COVID-19 under a first-in-the-nation mandate rolled out by Mayor de Blasio on Monday — but the sweeping new rule drew swift pushback from business leaders and could pose a logistical headache for incoming Mayor Eric […]
By Shabir A. Madhi, The Conversation South Africa reacted with outrage to travel bans, first triggered by the UK, imposed on it in the wake of the news that its genomics surveillance team had detected a new variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The Network for Genomics Surveillance in South Africa has been monitoring changes in […]
By Suresh V. Kuchipudi, The Conversation A new variant named omicron (B.1.1.529) was reported by researchers in South Africa on Nov. 24, 2021, and designated a “variant of concern” by the World Health Organization two days later. Omicron is very unusual in that it is by far the most heavily mutated variant yet of SARS-CoV-2, […]
By Nancy S. Jecker & Caesar Atuire, The Conversation Omicron, the latest COVID-19 variant dubbed a “variant of concern” by the World Health Organization, has prompted new travel restrictions in many nations. Although little is known about omicron, scientists have expressed concern that it may be more transmissible or vaccine-resistant than previous variants. On Nov. […]
By ABC News The Biden administration is preparing to implement new travel guidelines that would require proof of a negative COVID-19 test within one day of flying into the U.S., including for vaccinated people, a spokesperson from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed. The expected change comes as the country beefs up surveillance […]
By David Leonhardt, NY Times The public reaction to new Covid-19 variants has followed a familiar cycle. People tend to assume the worst about two different questions — whether the variant leads to faster transmission of the Covid virus and whether it causes more severe illness among infected people. The first of those worries came […]
Air travelers with face mask queuing at UK border control in Heathrow Airport, London. – London, UK- August 6, 2021 (Shutterstock) By Axios Countries across Europe and Asia are rushing through new travel restrictions in response to a new COVID variant identified by scientists in South Africa. The big picture: Israel, Japan, the U.K., France, […]
By Alexander Wong, The Conversation I am an infectious disease physician. When it is our turn to vaccinate our five-year-old son against COVID-19, I will do so with confidence and without hesitation. I am encouraging every parent with eligible children between ages five and 11 to do the same. Here is why. The U.S. Food […]