Articles

How bad will it be?

About three weeks ago, COVID case rates in the United Kingdom made an abrupt about-face, spurred on by a more transmissible Omicron subvariant called BA.2. (So far, there is no reason to believe the new subvariant causes more severe disease.) Case rates are rising, too, in Switzerland and Greece and Monaco and Italy and France. Given that BA.2 is already present in the United States, The Washington Post reports that epidemiologists and public-health leaders suspect that North America will be next. After all, the paper said, “in the past two years, a widespread outbreak like the one in Europe has been followed by a similar surge in the United States some weeks later.”

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Not many people can say the pandemic has made their jobs easier. But in some ways, Tracy Enger can.

"You know, it is such a hallelujah moment, absolutely," says Enger, who works at the Environmental Protection Agency's Indoor Environments Division. For more than 25 years, she's been fighting to improve the air quality inside of America's schools.

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BA.2 has been found to have a higher growth rate than BA.1

The BA.2 omicron COVID-19 sub-variant is spreading in New York City.

According to New York State health department data, BA.2 is doubling in proportion statewide every two weeks and represents about one in 10 sequenced cases.

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• The world’s battle against Covid-19 has been largely sidelined as economies reopen and governments look to move beyond their “pandemic footing.”
• Friday is the second anniversary of Covid being declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization.
• Covid was, and still is, a seismic event that has affected the lives of millions of people.

With war raging between Russia and Ukraine, the world’s battle against the coronavirus has been largely sidelined and the second anniversary of Covid-19 being declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization could easily pass us by.

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• Epidemiologists caution that falling case numbers could signal a plateau before another troublesome variant emerges
• World on track to miss WHO target of 70 per cent vaccination in all countries by mid-2022 with more help needed for low-income countries

With Covid-19 cases and deaths slowing in momentum over recent weeks, some countries are rolling back restrictions amid optimism that the spread of Omicron has brought the world closer to the end of the pandemic.

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The fear of new COVID variants is adding a sense of trepidation to America's latest great reopening.

Driving the news: While cases and hospitalizations are plummeting worldwide after massive Omicron-fueled surges, the spread of an even more transmissible Omicron subvariant is making some experts nervous as states lift mask mandates and other restrictions.

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The BA.2 virus -- a subvariant of the Omicron coronavirus variant -- isn't just spreading faster than its distant cousin, it may also cause more severe disease and appears capable of thwarting some of the key weapons we have against Covid-19, new research suggests.

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Here's what the science shows so far about whether the BA.2 virus is more transmissible and how it holds up against available vaccines.

Cases of the Omicron variant are on the decline in U.S. and worldwide—but a different version of Omicron is now gaining traction. This so-called stealth variant, officially known as BA.2, is armed with even higher transmission potential, and possibly a greater ability to evade the immune response, than the original Omicron, leading experts to fear it could further prolong the COVID-19 pandemic.

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After our Innovation Award during CES, the hosts of Movie Reviews & More asked us how Air-Clenz™ would revolutionize movie-going…and a whole lot more. A rollicking 51 minute conversation that’s sure to entertain.

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CHICAGO, Jan 30 (Reuters) - The highly transmissible Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus - the most common form of which is known as BA.1 - now accounts for nearly all of the coronavirus infections globally, although dramatic surges in COVID cases have already peaked in some countries.

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