Category: Coronavirus Watch

Recent media reports, including this from CNN, scientists are struggling to understand a new highly mutated Covid BA.2.86 variant. Dr. Jesse Bloom, who reportedly studies viral evolution at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, told CNN that the new BA.2.86 variant “has more than 30 amino acid changes to its spike protein compared with […]

A new EG.5 variant of Coronavirus is said to be spreading around the US and World, according to report from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Quoting from the World Health Organization (WHO), BBC News reports that the new strain “poses a low risk to public health, with no evidence that it causes more […]

Referring to newly released genetic data, The Guardian says live food samples collected from the Wuhan food market were Covid-19 positive in racoon dog DNA “adding weight to the theory that infected animals sold at the site started the coronavirus pandemic”. World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told “These data do not provide a […]

In addition my yesterday’s note, here is more supplemental information on XBB.1.5 Covid subvariant. Recently, the new subvariant is seems to be getting health experts’ attention and media coverage as well. This BBC News article seems to be useful to understand it better and its possible effect. The BBC article provides additional information on the […]

Referring a newly released data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “XBB.1.5 has more than doubled its share of the Covid-19 pie each week for the last four, rising from about 4% to 41% of new infections over the month of December. In the Northeast, the CDC estimates, XBB.1.5 is causing […]

Katherine Wu, staff writer of The Atlantic, writes in a recent article with a headline: Is COVID a Common Cold Yet?. This is because, after two years of pandemic spread and increased level of immunity among peoples with vaccines and natural infection, most of the initial Covid-19 symptoms have become much milder. Summer Chavez, an […]

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 3,500 Americans died due to long Covid-realted illness from January 2020 through the end of June 2022. Key findings of the CDC report included: The cause of long-Covid is still unknown.

According to a recent The Commonwealth Fund report, Covid-19 vaccines prevented more than 3 millions deaths, over 18 millions hospitalizations, and around 120 millions infections over two years period. “Curbing hospitalization rates by reducing both COVID-19 incidence and symptom severity is particularly important amidst the strain on the health care system caused by unusually high […]

According to the Associated Press, the new Covid-19 cases are rising among US seniors along with higher rates of hospitalization and deaths. Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told the AP “One troubling indicator for seniors: Hospitalizations for people with COVID-19 rose by more than 30% in two […]