Category: Coronavirus
Coronavirus News
Omicron may be contagious for longer than other variants
Confirmed carriers of the Omicron COVID-19 variant will be required to quarantine for 14 days in Israel, instead of the 10 days mandated for confirmed carriers of other coronavirus strains, the Israeli Health Ministry has decreed. More...
Omicron: 73% attack rate at Oslo restaurant superspreader event
As of 8th December, around 70 % of just over 100 participants at a Christmas party held on 26 November at a restaurant in Oslo have been subsequently diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2. More...
UK SAGE: “it is highly likely there are currently thousands of new omicron infections per day in the UK”
“it is highly likely there are currently thousands of new omicron infections per day in the UK. More...
Vaccines: Pfizer CEO says fourth dose of vaccine may be needed sooner than expected
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said Wednesday that people might need a fourth Covid-19 shot sooner than expected after preliminary research shows the new Omicron variant can undermine protective antibodies generated by the vaccine the company developed with BioNTech. More...
Denmark: new restrictions to slow runaway growth in Omicron
Denmark has announced a raft of new restrictions to try and slow the runaway growth in Omicron infections across the country. More...
UKHSA updated risk assessment for Omicron variant, 8th December 2021
The UK government has updated its risk assessment for the Omicron variant today. More...
UK: Boris Johnson announces new restrictions to combat bad press Omicron
Boris Johnson has announced new Covid restrictions for the UK today to combat the spread of the Omicron variant in the country. More...
UK SAGE: 1,000 Omicron hospitalizations a day by new year
BBC Health Reporter: “The number of people needing hospital treatment from the Omicron variant may reach at least 1,000 a day in England by the end of the year without extra restrictions being put in place – Sage scientists have told ministers.” More...
Preprint: Omicron incompletely escapes immunity induced by the Pfizer vaccine
Laboratory research from South Africa strongly suggests that the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant escapes antibody immunity induced by the Pfizer-BioNTech (Comirnaty) vaccine, but that considerable immunity is retained in people who were both vaccinated and previously infected. More...
Norway: “situation is more worrying now than in previous pandemic waves”
“The threat from Omicron is enormous”. NIPH director Camilla Stoltenberg says the Omicron variant of the coronavirus can cause a lot of infection and disease, “perhaps more than before in the pandemic”. More...