COVID variants

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CDC Updates COVID Advice for Schools

Vaccinated students and teachers don't need to wear masks this fall in class

(Newser) - Vaccinated students can head to in-person classes without a mask this fall, while unvaccinated students should mask up, according to new CDC guidance for grades K through 12. The same applies to teachers. States are not obligated to follow the advice and can implement their own policies, notes CNBC . The...

One Vaccine Dose May Not Protect Against Delta—'at All'

But fully vaccinated people should be OK, say researchers

(Newser) - A single dose of the two-dose Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccines is "poorly or not at all efficient" against the fast-spreading Delta variant, say French researchers in a peer-reviewed study published Thursday. The study identified mutations with the Delta and Beta variants of COVID that allow them to evade antibodies...

Marjorie Taylor Greene Has a New Controversy

Rep's newest Nazi-themed comment: She doesn't want 'medical brown shirts' pushing vaccines

(Newser) - It looks like Marjorie Taylor Greene isn't done comparing public health initiatives on COVID to Nazi-era Germany. Just last month, the Republican congresswoman from Georgia said she was "truly sorry" after posting tweets comparing mask and vaccine mandates to the Holocaust, even making a much-publicized visit to the...

Israel Has Bad News for Pfizer Vaccine

Its efficacy drops against Delta variant, but it was still 93% effective at preventing severe disease

(Newser) - Israel's Ministry of Health says the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine isn't offering the same level of protection against COVID-19 now that the Delta variant is dominant. In May, when the Alpha variant dominated Israel, the vaccine was found to be 95.3% effective against infection, per CNN . But in a...

Cases in Africa Doubling Every 3 Weeks

Delta variant is driving the COVID surge, particularly in South Africa

(Newser) - Driven by the delta variant, a new wave of coronavirus is sweeping across the African continent, where new cases, hospital admissions, and deaths are increasing. Case numbers are doubling every three weeks in Africa, according to the World Health Organization. South Africa is leading the surge, with more than 20,...

Are Masks Coming Back Thanks to Delta Variant?

Experts seem to think they should, but say it will be hard to get some to comply

(Newser) - Last month, the CDC issued controversial new guidelines on mask-wearing, saying fully vaccinated people no longer need to don them in most situations, including indoors. Now, with the Delta variant of COVID-19 spreading rapidly, some experts are wondering whether it's time to insist everyone mask back up, the New ...

India's COVID Death Toll Is 'Totally Wrong'

Experts, family believe nation has undercounted cases, deaths by hundreds of thousands

(Newser) - On Monday, India reported its latest COVID numbers, with new cases over the past 24 hours totaling 46,148, and deaths rising during that same period by 979, reports Reuters . That puts the country's death toll at almost 397,000 —but family members and experts say that's...

WHO Says Delta COVID Variant Is Spreading Rapidly

It's now in 80 countries

(Newser) - The World Health Organization is out with new numbers on the delta COVID variant, and they're moving in the wrong direction. The variant, which was first identified in India, is now in more than 80 countries around the globe, reports CNBC by way of the WHO, and it's...

Delta Variant of Virus Is Spreading Quickly

It's gone beyond India, and Dr. Fauci is worried about numbers growing in the US

(Newser) - A COVID-19 variant first identified in India is spreading well beyond and risking the relative comfort that has come with vaccine rollouts in the US. The Delta variant, B.1.617.2, is now the dominant strain in the UK, making up more than 60% of cases in some areas,...

WHO Has New Naming System for COVID Variants

It's trying to get away from people referring to 'Indian variant,' 'UK variant,' etc.

(Newser) - Stop calling it the "Indian variant" or the "UK variant," and instead go with the "Delta" variant for the former and "Alpha" for the latter. If you want to refer to the COVID-19 variant first identified in South Africa, that would be "Beta."...

New Hybrid May Spread More Easily: Vietnam

Coronavirus strain is a hybrid of UK, India variants

(Newser) - Vietnam has discovered a new coronavirus variant that's a hybrid of strains first found in India and the UK, the Vietnamese health minister said Saturday. Nguyen Thanh Long said scientists examined the genetic makeup of the virus that had infected some recent patients, and found the new version of...

CDC Guidance 'Not Based On Science,' Nurses Say

The largest nurses union in the US says mask guidelines were relaxed too soon

(Newser) - Eager to ditch your mask? Not so fast, the nation’s largest nurses union says. National Nurses United has vocally disagreed with the CDC’s new guidance on masks. The CDC said Thursday that fully vaccinated people can go about their business without masks or social distancing, with a few...

COVID Variants Are On the Rise in Florida

They started surging after spring break

(Newser) - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis lifted all local COVID-19 restrictions by executive order Monday—the same day that state health officials released worrying figures on the spread of coronavirus variants. The county-by-county statistics, released as part of a legal settlement with the Orlando Sentinel , show that more than 11,000 cases...

For One Neighbor of India, Worries of a 'New Wave'

Bangladesh just detected variant originally IDed in India

(Newser) - India's surge in coronavirus cases is having a dangerous effect on neighboring Bangladesh. Health experts warn of imminent vaccine shortages just as the country should be stepping up its vaccination drive, and as more contagious virus variants are beginning to be detected. On Saturday, health authorities said that for...

Sydney Man's Surprise Case Prompts New Restrictions

Man tests positive for a variant linked to India, but how that happened is unclear

(Newser) - After a month without local transmission, Australia's largest city is warning of undetected coronavirus cases after a man in his 50s tested positive Wednesday. Authorities don’t know how the Sydney resident became infected with a variant first detected in India, per Reuters . The sample matches that of a...

Why India&#39;s Surge Is Concerning for Us All
Why India's Surge Could
Be a Problem for the Planet
the rundown
Apr 28, 2021 10:20 AM CDT

Why India's Surge Could Be a Problem for the Planet

Because of variants and vaccines, essentially

(Newser) - Though it's been widely reported that India's COVID-19 death toll is likely an undercount, the count it is putting forth passed the 200,000 mark on Wednesday. CNBC reports the 3,293 deaths logged brings the country's number of coronavirus fatalities to 201,187. New infections numbered...

Ron Johnson 'Highly Suspicious' of 'Big Push' on Vaccination

Wisconsin senator says we shouldn't 'shame' people who choose not to get COVID vaccine

(Newser) - One of the ways health officials say we can start to bring the pandemic to an end is to ensure a high percentage of the population gets vaccinated, achieving herd immunity . That's why comments from Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson are bringing heat, with some accusing him of promoting vaccine...

Study Finds Good News on UK Variant
Study Finds Good News
on UK Variant 
NEW STUDY
Apr 13, 2021 10:58 AM CDT

Study Finds Good News on UK Variant

B117 is not linked to more severe symptoms in hospitalized patients

(Newser) - The B117 coronavirus variant first detected in the UK—now the most common strain in the US —has been tentatively associated with high transmissibility, more severe illness, and a greater risk of death. But a new study appears to contradict some of those findings. Published Monday in Lancet Infectious ...

Michigan Governor, White House Are at a Vaccine Impasse
CDC to Michigan: 
Shut Down Again
Apr 13, 2021 12:03 AM CDT

CDC to Michigan: Shut Down Again

Gretchen Whitmer wants more vaccines; federal government has different ideas

(Newser) - Michigan's current coronavirus outbreak is the worst one in the US, and now the state's governor and the White House are in what CNN refers to as a "standoff" (or, if you prefer the New York Times ' take, "at loggerheads") over vaccines. Gov. Gretchen...

Israeli Study Has Bad News on 'Breakthrough' Infections

South African variant of COVID can break through Pfizer vaccine, it finds

(Newser) - An Israeli study has disheartening news, though researchers are cautioning that more study is needed: The South African coronavirus variant can "break through" and infect those who have received the Pfizer vaccine, the study of around 800 people found. Half of the subjects had tested positive for COVID-19 two...

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