What We Know About the New Covid Variant, Omicron

Intense research into the new coronavirus variant first identified in southern Africa has just begun. World leaders have urged people not to panic — and to get vaccinated, if they can.

Nov-30-2021

Counterfeit Covid Masks Are Still Sold Everywhere

Rising Covid cases have spurred a return to mask-wearing in the U.S. and overseas, at a time when flawed KN95s from China continue to dominate e-commerce sites.

Nov-30-2021

South African Company Nears License to Sell J. & J. Covid Shot Across Africa

The new agreement makes Aspen Pharmacare the first African company to market a Covid vaccine on the continent. But it stops short of allowing Aspen to make the ingredients in the vaccine.

Nov-30-2021

F.D.A. Advisers Endorses Merck’s Covid Pill for High-Risk Adults

The drug, molnupiravir, could be authorized within days for patients at high risk of severe illness.

Nov-30-2021

Antiviral Covid-19 Pills Are Coming. Will There Be Enough Tests?

The pills must be given early in the course of infection, which means access to timely, accurate test results will be crucial.

Nov-29-2021

Will the Covid Vaccines Stop Omicron? Scientists Are Racing to Find Out.

A “Frankenstein mix” of mutations raises concerns, but the variant may remain vulnerable to current vaccines. If not, revisions will be necessary.

Nov-30-2021

Stamping Bar Codes on Cells to Solve Medical Mysteries

By tracking every cell in an organism, scientists are working out why certain cancer treatments fail, which could lead to improved medicine.

Nov-29-2021

A Cure for Type 1 Diabetes? For One Man, It Seems to Have Worked.

A new treatment using stem cells that produce insulin has surprised experts and given them hope for the 1.5 million Americans living with the disease.

Nov-27-2021

Regeneron Antibody Treatment May Not Be as Effective Against New Omicron Covid Variant

The company said that analyses and modeling of mutations in the variant suggest that they may weaken the effect of the treatment, but that studies using Omicron’s full sequences are incomplete.

Nov-30-2021

With Scant Information on Omicron, Biden Turned to Travel Ban to Buy Time

“Here’s what it does: It gives us time,” President Biden said of the flight restrictions. He called the new variant a cause for concern, not panic.

Nov-30-2021