In the News

William Moss and Amesh Adalja are quoted. 
The detection of the Omicron variant has brought renewed attention, and a new urgency, to the worldwide Covid-19 vaccination campaign, which experts say remains among the most powerful tools at our disposal when it comes to preventing dangerous new variants.
 

Who’s “fully vaccinated” against Covid-19 — and who’s not — is starting to get a lot more complicated.
 

Human blood samples and the substance that makes fireflies glow are among the tools that scientists are using for early clues about whether Covid-19 vaccines retain their effectiveness against the new Omicron virus variant.
 

With its vast wealth and scientific capability, the United States held on to its top ranking among 195 countries, even as it scored lowest on public confidence in government — a factor associated with high numbers of cases and deaths
 

Services provided by the Maryland Department of Health, such as its public accounting of some key COVID-19 metrics, remain halted in the days following a cyberattack that forced the state agency to temporarily take its website offline.
 

Vaccinations are rising in response to the new variant. While much is unknown, health officials hope the public — and politicians — will be inspired to get back to the basics of protection.
 

Researchers in South Africa, where the variant is spreading quickly, say it may cause less serious Covid cases than other forms of the virus, but it is unclear whether that will hold true.
 

New York City will now require employees at private companies to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced in an interview with MSNBC early Monday.
 

As the world waits for studies that give a clear picture of the Omicron variant, early clinical data emerging from South Africa hint at a virus that may cause less severe cases of Covid-19.
 

The arrival of the omicron variant of the coronavirus in the U.S. has health officials in some communities reviving contact tracing operations in an attempt to slow and better understand its spread as scientists study how contagious it is and whether it can thwart vaccines.
 

Some nations make Covid tests available at little to no cost for consumers. The U.S. plan for home testing includes submitting receipts to private insurers.
 

With the first case of omicron confirmed in California and more cases expected across the U.S., public health officials who know the difference between good and bad crisis communication say they can't afford to be quiet and wait until scientists know how risky the new variant is before they speak out.