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COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AFP) – A sub-variant of the highly contagious Omicron coronavirus strain is even more infectious than the original version, according to a Danish study published on Monday. Sub-variant BA.2 — also called “stealth Omicron” — was detected earlier this year and has displaced the first Omicron variant, known as BA.1, as the dominant strain in Denmark. A person infected with BA.2 has a 39 percent chance of transmitting the virus to someone else […]
by Heather SCOTT WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The world’s largest economy staged a solid recovery last year as it grew at the fastest pace since 1984, but damage from the Omicron variant of Covid-19 is imminent. Surging prices continue to pose a challenge, as inflation picked up speed in the final three months of the pandemic’s second year, according to official data released Thursday. That threatens to dampen the consumer demand that has underpinned […]
Omicron cases detected nationwide; DOH probing how Omicron sublineage BA.2 became predominant in PHL (Eagle News) – More Omicron variant cases have been detected in the Philippines at 618, which includes both the original Omicron lineage B.1.1.529, and its sub-lineages, BA.1 and BA.2 or the so-called “stealth Omicron.” The Department of Health (DOH) announced this on Thursday in the latest genome sequencing of the University of the Philippines – Philippine Genome Center (UP-PGC), and the […]
More infectious Omicron sublineage BA.2 already detected in the 12 regions of the country, and most predominant in NCR, Calabarzon (Eagle News) – The Department of Health confirmed that the Omicron sublineage, BA.2, also known as the “stealth Omicron” is now the dominant Covid-19 variant in the country. “We have detected this in all the 12 regions of the country, said UP-Philippine Genome Center executive director Dr. Cynthia Saloma on Thursday, January 27 […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US biotech company Moderna announced on Wednesday that it has begun clinical trials of a booster dose of vaccine designed specifically to combat the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. The trials will involve a total of 600 adults — half of whom have already received two doses of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine at least six months ago, and half of whom have received two doses plus the previously authorized booster dose. […]
(Eagle News) – The Department of Health reported three more Omicron deaths, bringing the total deaths due to this highly infectious variant to five. Health Undersecretary and Spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire said that the three new Covid fatalities related to the Omicron variant were senior citizens with comorbidities. In a message to reporters, the DOH official said that of the five fatalities, one was unvaccinated, another one was partially vaccinated, while the vaccination status […]
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The risk level related to the Omicron variant remains very high, the WHO said late Tuesday, with the numbers of new Covid-19 cases hitting another record high last week. “Over 21 million new cases were reported, representing the highest number of weekly cases recorded since the beginning of the pandemic,” the World Health Organization said in its weekly epidemiological coronavirus update. The UN health agency said the number of new infections […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Pfizer and BioNTech have begun enrollment for a clinical trial to test the safety and immune response of their Omicron-specific Covid-19 vaccine in adults aged up to 55, the companies said in a statement Tuesday. Pfizer’s CEO Albert Bourla previously said at a conference that the pharmaceutical giant could be ready to file for regulatory approval of the shot by March. The company’s head of vaccine research Kathrin Jansen said […]
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AFP) — The Omicron variant has moved the Covid-19 pandemic into a new phase and could bring it to an end in Europe, the WHO Europe director said Sunday. “It’s plausible that the region is moving towards a kind of pandemic endgame,” Hans Kluge told AFP in an interview, adding that Omicron could infect 60 percent of Europeans by March. Once the current surge of Omicron currently sweeping across Europe subsides, “there […]
Kiribati and Samoa entered lockdowns Saturday after overseas arrivals brought Covid to the Pacific island nations that had avoided the worst of the pandemic for two years. Until this month, Kiribati hadn’t reported a single virus case, while Samoa had only recorded two since the pandemic began, according to the World Health Organization. But authorities in both countries have been forced to put in place stay-at-home orders after the virus was detected in international arrivals. […]
Latest Omicron subvariant dubbed BA.2 detected in Britain, 40 other countries including India, Denmark and Sweden by Isabelle TOURNÉ Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Scientists are keeping a close watch on a recently-discovered sub-variant of the Omicron version of the Covid-19 virus to determine how its emergence could effect future pandemic spread. The initial Omicron variant has become the dominant virus strain in recent months but British health authorities have notably identified […]
Covid-19 vaccines and boosters continued to have very high efficacy against severe outcomes during the Omicron wave of the virus, a large real-world study from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed Friday. The paper evaluated data from more than 300,000 visits to emergency departments, urgent care clinics, and hospitalizations across 10 states from August 26, 2021 to January 5, 2022. During the period when the Delta variant was dominant, vaccine efficacy […]
