


The virus that causes COVID-19 is mutating. Here is what you should know if you want to understand how variants are (and aren’t) complicating the pandemic.
Learn more at: https://gatesnot.es/3sP668R.SHOW LESS
An aggressive Covid-19 variant called P.1 has spread from the Amazon to other parts of Brazil and has now been identified in U.S. cases. WSJ’s Paulo Trevisani reports from Porto Alegre’s overwhelmed hospitals, where doctors say young people are getting ill. Photo: Tommaso Protti for The Wall Street Journal
As highly transmissible coronavirus variants sweep across the world, scientists are racing to understand why these new versions of the virus are spreading faster, and what this could mean for vaccine efforts. New research says the key may be the spike protein, which gives the coronavirus its unmistakable shape. Illustration: Nick Collingwood/WSJ
Just two months ago, the incredible performance of new vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer had people cheering for an imminent end to the pandemic. But an onslaught of fast-spreading and potentially dangerous mutations of the virus changed that.
So now, even as pharma companies ramp up production in the early stages of a massive rollout, they are racing to retool their vaccine strategies. Robert Langreth reports that booster shots could give drugmakers a lucrative new revenue stream.
The second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump begins this week as Republicans and his legal team argue the impeachment is unconstitutional.
And, South Africa has paused a planned deployment of a coronavirus vaccine from AstraZeneca after a study there showed it may be less effective against a new strain of the virus detected there. Also, how worried are U.S. health officials about variant strains of the virus in the U.S.?
Researchers are scrambling to understand the biology of new coronavirus variants and the impact they might have on vaccine efficacy.
Around the world, concern is growing about the impact that new, faster-spreading variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus will have on the pandemic.
In this episode of Coronapod, we discuss what these variants are, and the best way to respond to them, in the face of increasing evidence that some can evade the immunity produced by vaccination or previous infection.
News: ‘A bloody mess’: Confusion reigns over naming of new COVID variants
News: Fast-spreading COVID variant can elude immune responses
News: Could new COVID variants undermine vaccines? Labs scramble to find out
News: How to redesign COVID vaccines so they protect against variants
News: J&J’s one-shot COVID vaccine offers hope for faster protection
A new variant of the coronavirus has scientists worried about the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines. In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom has lifted regional stay-at home orders.
But 54 counties in the state are still classified as having “widespread” coronavirus risk. So why did the state loosen the restrictions? And the CDC is reporting the highest number of overdoses in a 12-month period.