OMICRON

The Food and Drug Administration's independent advisory committee on Thursday unanimously recommended replacing Pfizer and Moderna's original Covid vaccine used in the U.S. for everyone's first two immunizations with the new bivalent omicron shots. Instead, the drugmakers' bivalent omicron shots that target the omicron BA.5 subvariant as well as the original strain would be used for the entire vaccination series. Currently, Pfizer's and Moderna's omicron shots are only authorized as a booster, while the first two doses are still their old shots based on the original Covid strain. The FDA has proposed moving to a system that resembles how the agency updates and rolls out flu shots every year. The agency would select a Covid vaccine formulation in June to target the variant that is expected to dominate in the fall and winter.

The CDC study published Wednesday provides the first estimate of the omicron shots' real-world effectiveness against the XBB family of subvariants. For people ages 18 to 49, the omicron booster reduced the risk of mild illness by about 48% two to three months after receiving the shot. The shots provided 38% protection against mild illness for those ages 50 to 64 and 42% protection for people ages 65 and older, according to the study. They had very little protection against mild illness due to waning immunity observed with the old vaccines, Link-Gelles said. It's too early to draw conclusions about how the protection from the omicron boosters holds up over time, she said.

A preliminary study finds that seniors who received an Omicron-targeting booster shot were 81% less likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 than those who skipped it.

The recent attempt to limit the spread of disease from China makes no sense at all.

XBB.1.5's prevalence remains highest in the Northeast, according to the CDC's latest estimates.

Yet another new and highly transmissible subvariant of the coronavirus is taking over.

The new XBB.1.5 COVID-19 mutation is popping up in new cases across the country at a concerning speed. Health experts weigh in on the latest variant of the virus.

XBB.1.5's ascent is usurping other Omicron variant cousins BQ.1 and BQ.1.1, which had dominated a wave of infections over the fall.

From mental wellness to a multitude of illnesses, the past year in health and medicine has been a roller-coaster ride.

Although reports from China about this variant's characteristics are concerning, it doesn't appear to be growing too much elsewhere in the world.

U.S. health officials have focused in particular on making sure older adults stay up to date on their Covid vaccines.

The FDA on Thursday approved the use of updated COVID-19 vaccines for children younger than 5, three days after Pfizer-BioNTech applied for an emergency use authorization.

The boosters did not trigger a robust response against BQ.1.1. People with a prior history of infection who received the booster had a stronger response

Dozens of districts in major cities have now begun lifting lockdown measures despite high case numbers.

The coronavirus has continued to mutate, and two new Omicron subvariants have become dominant in the U.S., according to the CDC. The subvariants, called BQ.1 and BQ.1.1, now account for more than half of infections nationwide.

Pfizer said the booster triggered more antibodies against omicron BQ.1.1, BA.4.6, BA.2.75.2 and XBB.1 in adults older than 55 compared to the original vaccines.

Moderna’s vaccine catered to the Omicron variant produced more antibodies than the company’s original COVID shot. About 31 million U.S. citizens have received an Omicron-tailored shot.

The airport has been working with airlines and ground handlers to prepare for the busy period.

Two independent studies suggest the new Covid booster shots don't protect better against omicron BA.5 than the original vaccines.

SARS-CoV-2 is evolving "rapidly," spawning one new variant after another. But omicron continues to dominate, raising new questions about how evolution of the virus is headed.

XBB, a new version of Omicron, is evading immunity in Asia. Experts say strategic masking will help as COVID infections rise this winter.

Boston University says its research with "chimeric recombinant" viruses did not lead to a "gain of function."

Researchers at Boston University say they have developed a new COVID strain that has an 80% kill rate following a series of similar experiments first thought to have started the global pandemic that began in China.

Researchers at Boston University say they have developed a new COVID strain that has an 80% kill rate following a series of similar experiments first thought to have started the global pandemic that began in China.

Photo Illustration by Erin O'Flynn/The Daily Beast/GettyA new subvariant of the novel-coronavirus called XBB dramatically announced itself earlier this week, in Singapore. New COVID cases more than doubled in a day, from 4,700 on Monday to 11,700 on Tuesday—and XBB is almost certainly why. The same subvariant just appeared in Hong Kong, too.A highly-mutated descendant of the Omicron variant of the SAR-CoV-2 virus that drove a record wave of infections starting around a year ago, XBB in many ways

The boosters, rolled out for Americans 12 and older last month, are doses modified to target today's most common and contagious Omicron relatives.

Even if you already had Covid, you might get it again this fall or winter. Here's what to know about reinfections — including their severity, and how to prevent them.

Major population areas in Japan have reached about 90% in COVID-19 herd immunity after the recent Omicron wave. However, that level is expected to diminish soon.

Experts say the booster shots are to get ahead of a COVID surge before the end of the year, when more people are indoors.

The pending arrival of an Omicron booster shot marks an ambitious new phase in the nation's vaccination campaign before a possible new COVID surge.

Everyone will probably gain something from the updated vaccines. Here’s how to make the most of it.

Coronavirus vaccine maker alleges that rival drugmakers infringed its mRNA technology patents.

Dr. Anthony Fauci speaks about the Omicron coronavirus variant during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, December 1, 2021. The nation's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, plans to step down from his roles running the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and advising the White House as its chief medical advisor at the end of the year, he announced Monday. Fauci has become a household fixture during the Covid-19 pandemic, battling back misinformation, sometimes from the highest levels of government. The 81-year-old has advised seven U.S. presidents, starting with Ronald Reagan through the HIV/AIDS epidemic, West Nile virus, the 2001 anthrax attacks, pandemic influenza, various bird influenza threats, Ebola, Zika and, most recently, Covid and monkeypox. Fauci, who also runs the NIAID Laboratory of Immunoregulation, said has no intentions of retiring.

The new booster 'will become available by early to mid-September,' if the FDA and CDC authorize shots, a top White House official said this week.

Pfizer chairman and CEO Albert Bourla said he is taking Pfizer's Paxlovid pill and isolating while he recovers.

Quarantining from a sick housemate really is worth the hassle.

Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily BeastThe world has built up a lot of immunity in the nine months since the Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus became dominant, driving a record wave of infections.That immunity from vaccines and past infection is helping to keep down hospitalizations and deaths even as Omicron’s offspring—a succession of subvariants—have become dominant, one after one.Now the virus is trying to find a way around our antibodies. A new subvariant, BA.4.6, is begin

The conventional wisdom is that Omicron is less likely to cause serious illness, but that might have more to do with better immunity and treatments, not the virus itself.

Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast/GettyA wave of COVID infections caused by the BA.5 subvariant has crested. All over the world, daily new cases, hospitalizations and deaths are going down.But the SARS-CoV-2 virus is almost certainly here to stay. Another wave is all but inevitable as new variants and subvariants mutate, compete for dominance and find new transmission pathways.How fast that wave comes, and how bad it gets, probably comes down to a genetic competition between different mutati

The Houston Health Department announced Wednesday it is now recognized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a National Wastewater Surveillance System Center of Excellence.

U.S. regulators say they are no longer considering authorizing second COVID-19 booster shots for all adults under 50 this summer.

No one knows exactly what this will look like—only that it’s guaranteed to keep happening.

With new COVID-19 boosters expected later this year, health experts urge Californians not to put off a first or second booster shot until then.

The BA.5 subvariant of Omicron is reinfecting at record clip. We asked public-health experts to rate how concerned we should be about this COVID wave.

It was this time last year we first heard anything about the Delta variant of COVID-19.

Top U.S. health officials warned Tuesday that an expected surge in COVID-19 cases driven by the highly transmissible Omicron subvariant BA.5 has arrived, but that the country has the tools to deal with it.

Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday that the Omicron BA.5 subvariant "substantially evades" antibodies from both vaccination and prior COVID-19 infection.

Compared to its ancestors, the latest Omicron subvariant, BA.5, may have an enhanced ability to create a large number of copies of the coronavirus once it gets into human cells.

A subvariant of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, BA.5, is now the dominant strain in the U.S., and its infection rates are even more harsh.

Scientists say the new variant — named BA.2.75 — appears to spread rapidly and may be able to get around immunity from vaccines and prior infection.

Omicron subvariant BA.5 is responsible for more than half of all new cases in the country, according to the CDC.

Viruses evolve, and vaccines should too. That was the big-picture takeaway from a pivotal meeting this week of the FDA’s expert advisory panel. The question before them was simple: Ahead of an expected winter surge, should vaccine manufacturers tweak their forthcoming booster shots to target Omicron, or should they stick with the tried-and-true 2020 recipe?

The stock market is losing crucial support from the Federal Reserve.

We’ve reached the Omicron peak in the Houston area. The hope is we will move past it soon.

Just last week, we asked: If you’re a health care worker, what are you seeing lately on the job?

Sealy ISD is one of the first districts in the state to close its doors in 2022.

The city of Houston is sounding the alarm regarding staffing for its firefighters.

The Omicron peak is predicted to be later this month.

This week was one of those weeks where I kept getting the same questions.

Look, life as we know it right now is pretty insane. Omicron is raging across the country, it didn’t even feel like 2021 happened and America’s sweetheart, Betty White, is dead.

The Houston Health Department and Xpress COVID Testing will open two mega COVID-19 testing sites on Thursday, expanding access to meet high demand.

Darrell Pile with SETRAC is concerned that this current surge will surpass all of those prior.

Why are so many vaccinated people getting COVID-19 lately.

Americans across the country and here in Southeast Texas are facing long lines for COVID tests as cases continue to climb.

We might not be able to claim that 2021 was *the* wildest year in recent history (2020 will likely get that credit for quite some time), but it might be a close second.

The city of Houston knows a lot of you are infected with Omicron, and they don’t even need your test results to prove it. They’ve been sampling your wastewater since July 2020.

Greece’s health minister says music will be banned at all commercial venues for New Year’s celebrations as part of new restrictions announced in response to a surge in COVID-19 infections fueled by the omicron variant.

Texas exhausts supply of monoclonal antibody treatment as omicron cases surge

You can check your flight status at Houston airports.

The latest COVID-19 variant is upending holiday plans for tens of thousands of travelers — but it didn’t do much damage to holiday shopping.

Monday is going to be one of the busiest travel days of the year due to Christmas travelers heading home.

Just days before Christmas, it was announced that there will soon be two drugs on the market to help people fight COVID-19 at home.

President Joe Biden has announced plans to deliver 500 million free COVID-19 tests to Americans, increase support for hospitals and expand the availability of vaccines to confront a winter surge of coronavirus cases driven by the fast-spreading omicron variant.

Omicron has raced ahead of other variants and is now the dominant version of the coronavirus in the U.S. Federal health officials said Monday that omicron accounted for an estimated 73% of new infections last week.

Houston Methodist announced Wednesday that it has detected 54 cases of the omicron variant of COVID-19 since early December.

The European Union’s top official says omicron is expected to be the dominant coronavirus variant in the 27-nation bloc by mid-January.

British Health Secretary Sajid Javid says the omicron variant of COVID-19 is spreading so rapidly that it has the potential to overwhelm Britain’s hospitals.

The omicron variant is offering more hints about what it may have in store as it spreads around the globe: A highly transmissible virus that may cause less severe disease, and one that can be slowed — but not stopped — by today’s vaccines.

Houston Methodist has identified eight cases of the omicron variant through its comprehensive virus genome sequencing surveillance project, a spokesperson for the hospital said.

Omicron cases have been confirmed in at least nine African countries, with some officials reporting that initial cases appear to be mild.

The Omicron variant of COVID-19 has been detected in Houston’s wastewater, the Houston Health Department announced Monday night.

It seems like nothing will slow the surge of traveling lately, but health leaders are hoping that doesn’t equal a surge in COVID cases – specifically eyeing up the omicron variant.

To protect yourself against the omicron variant, experts say to do what you would against any other variant.

The Omicron variant has yet to be detected in Houston but Chief environmental science officer Dr. Loren Hopkins with the Houston Health Department says they’ve been testing the wastewater to detect new variants with help from public works.

While all eyes are on the new and little-understood omicron variant, the delta form of the coronavirus isn’t finished wreaking havoc in the U.S., sending record numbers of patients to the hospital in some states, especially in the Midwest and New England.

The omicron coronavirus variant has been confirmed in an unvaccinated Hawaii resident with no recent travel history.

KPRC Health Reporter Haley Hernandez sat down with Kelsey-Seybold’s managing physician of vaccine practices to get more information on the Omicron variant.

Scientists say it could be weeks before they better understand how dangerous the omicron variant is.

The White House COVID-19 Response Team and federal public health officials are providing updates on the COVID-19 response effort on the newly-discovered omicron variant.

Greece says residents over 60 will have to undergo mandatory vaccinations against COVID-19 or face monthly 100-euro ($114) fine beginning next year.

Britain says it will offer all adults a booster dose of vaccine within two months to bolster the nation’s immunity as the new omicron variant of the coronavirus spreads.