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Omicron subvariant JN.1 is causing nearly all new coronavirus cases in the U.S., according to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The strain, which was responsible for just over 3% of infections in mid-November, has virtually taken over the COVID-19 variant scene in the U.S. in recent months. It was responsible for more than 96% of new infections over the past two weeks, according to the estimates . JN.1, which is closely related to BA.2.86, or “pirola,” is also the top variant globally. But the levels, which reflect both symptomatic and asymptomatic infections, are trending downward.

Organizations: subvariant, Centers for Disease Control, World Health Organization, WHO, CDC Locations: U.S

The latest COVID-19 wave in the U.S. appears to have peaked and started retreating, but concerns over a new variant are always lurking. Data indicates the latest increase in COVID-19 activity was significantly lower – and significantly less dangerous – than the COVID-19 surges the U.S. saw early in the pandemic. There are also concerns beyond just surviving a coronavirus infection, such as long COVID and the risks posed by reinfection . Meanwhile, as is always the case with COVID-19, there’s the possibility a new variant could change everything. Yet despite those changes, existing immunity from vaccines and previous infections still provides good protection,” the CDC said.

Persons: That’s, ” Maria Van Kerkhove, we're, ”, reinfection, ” Van Kerkhove, ” JN Organizations: Centers for Disease Control, World Health Organization, CDC, Washington Post Locations: U.S, –, COVID, South Africa

When the COVID-19 strain BA.2.86 entered the scene over the summer, it quickly captured the attention of officials who were concerned about the variant’s large number of mutations. The organization said that there has been a “slow but steady increase in the proportion of BA.2.86 reported” globally. The CDC said in a statement this week that BA.2.86 has also been slowly increasing in the U.S. since August. “These numbers are based on a relatively small number of BA.2.86 sequences, so should be interpreted with caution, as should BA.2.86 growth rates and other extrapolations based on these numbers,” the CDC said. COVID-19 tests and treatment are also expected to work on BA.2.86.

Persons: “ pirola, ”, Maria Van Kerkhove, ” Van Kerkhove, “, It’s Organizations: World Health Organization, WHO, Centers for Disease Control, CDC Locations: hospitalizations, U.S

The summer increase of COVID-19 appears to have passed its peak. The mindset change is likely how health officials will examine COVID-19 during the fall and winter months for years to come. Last winter saw a peak of new weekly COVID-19 hospital admissions at nearly 44,500. That would mean that the U.S. enters peak respiratory disease season with an elevated level of COVID-19 circulating already, so a further increase could be possible on top of that. But to get the most protection against this form of the COVID virus that's circulating right now, get the updated COVID vaccine."

Persons: Ashish Jha, ”, – COVID, don’t, Andrew Pekosz, It’s, Mandy Cohen, ” Pekosz, “ pirola, it's, Biden, ” Cohen, Cohen, – Organizations: White, for Disease Control, CDC, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Locations: U.S, hospitalizations, Boston

COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations have been on the rise in the U.S. as fall approaches. Nearly 845 coronavirus deaths were reported for the week ending Aug. 19, according to provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s up from about 520 deaths a month prior. Meanwhile, COVID-19 hospitalizations have been increasing in the U.S. for nine weeks, reaching more than 20,500 new hospital admissions during the week ending Sept. 9 – an increase of nearly 8% from the prior week. While the totals are smaller than in previous waves of the virus in the U.S., they mark noteworthy trends heading into the fall and winter seasons.

Persons: ” Peter Marks, ” Organizations: Centers for Disease Control, CDC, ”, Food, Drug Administration’s, Biologics, Research, EG Locations: U.S, COVID

The COVID-19 omicron subvariant EG.5 – unofficially nicknamed “eris” – was responsible for about 1 in 4 new coronavirus infections in recent weeks, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s the highest prevalence for any coronavirus strain, though omicron subvariant FL.1.5.1 is quickly rising behind it, according to CDC data. While the variant scene continues to shift in the U.S., the CDC on Thursday released its respiratory disease season outlook for COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV. There is also a possibility that hospitalizations will surpass last year’s level and cause strain on health care facilities should a new coronavirus variant arise. COVID-19 by itself is unlikely to cause large waves of severe disease and hospitalizations because of widespread immunity to the coronavirus from prior infections, vaccinations or both, according to the CDC.

Persons: ” –, ” Organizations: subvariant EG, Centers for Disease Control, CDC Locations: U.S

The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention signed off on a recommendation for updated COVID-19 vaccines for everyone over the age of 6 months, setting up the shots to become available later this week. “We have more tools than ever to prevent the worst outcomes from COVID-19,” CDC Director Mandy Cohen said in a statement. The Food and Drug Administration this week authorized the shots from Moderna and Pfizer that target the omicron subvariant XBB.1.5. An FDA official said during the meeting that “there is an urgent need for alternatives to mRNA based vaccines including gene based vaccines,” like the Novavax shot. The updated shots come as the U.S. sees its eighth straight week of rising coronavirus hospitalizations.

Persons: Mandy Cohen, ”, “ We're, ” Cohen Organizations: Centers for Disease Control, Prevention, CDC, Drug Administration, Moderna, Pfizer, FDA, EG, ” Health Locations: COVID, U.S

The Food and Drug Administration on Monday authorized updated COVID-19 shots that could roll out as soon as this week. “Vaccination remains critical to public health and continued protection against serious consequences of COVID-19, including hospitalization and death,” said Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. “The public can be assured that these updated vaccines have met the agency’s rigorous scientific standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality. The fall booster shot campaign comes as the U.S. sees its seventh straight week of rising COVID-19 hospitalizations. COVID-19 deaths appear to be rising slightly, but the provisional data from the CDC is prone to amendments and delays.

Persons: ”, Peter Marks Organizations: Drug Administration, FDA’s, Biologics, Centers for Disease Control, EG Locations: U.S

☆ Covid vaccine rollout begins early in the UK with new variant under watch
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

National Health Service (NHS) England said the program was brought forward based on the latest expert advice. Flu vaccines are available to all, while Covid vaccines will be offered to eligible groups including care home residents, over-65s, front-line health and social care workers and those at clinical risk. Winter vaccination campaigns also begin this month in Scotland and Northern Ireland, with Wales starting last week. The U.K. began to investigate a Covid variant with multiple genetic differences to its predecessors, BA.2.86, in August after it was linked to a "high attack rate" in an outbreak at a care home. The U.K. Health Security Agency also said there was insufficient evidence to link it to early indicators of increased Covid-19 transmission in the U.K., or to judge its severity.

Organizations: Monday, National Health Service, NHS, Royal Pharmaceutical Society, Wales, Health Security Agency Locations: England, Scotland, Northern Ireland

Data is trickling in on a new COVID-19 strain nicknamed “pirola,” giving researchers a wider picture of what the variant could mean for the U.S. and the world. Van Kerkhove said that the global COVID-19 variant picture is complex, and that while BA.2.86 is spreading, it is not currently outcompeting other strains. “It is quite a complex picture globally in terms of how these variants behave because different variants circulate in different countries at different times.”Will Vaccines Work on Pirola? Moderna and Pfizer have announced that early data indicates that their updated vaccines do produce an immune response against BA.2.86. "These results demonstrate that our updated COVID-19 vaccine generates a strong human immune response against the highly mutated BA.2.86 variant.

Persons: “ pirola, ” Mandy Cohen, Maria Van Kerkhove, ” Benjamin Murrell, Ashish Jha, pirola, Van Kerkhove, it’s, ”, “, Stephen Hoge Organizations: U.S, CDC, Centers for Disease Control, World Health Organization, WHO, White, Moderna, Pfizer, EG Locations: United States, Denmark, Sweden, Portugal, Israel, Canada, South Africa

Nicknamed "Pirola" on social media, the BA.2.86 Omicron subvariant is being tracked by both the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). As of Aug. 30, CDC said the BA.2.86 variant was detected in at least four U.S. states in people or wastewater. Delaware on Tuesday said it had detected a BA.2.86 infection at a hospital. Moderna on Wednesday said clinical data showed that its retooled COVID vaccine generated a nearly 9-fold increase in human antibodies that can neutralize BA.2.86. Pfizer said on Wednesday that its updated COVID shot showed neutralizing activity against BA.2.86 and EG.5 in studies conducted on mice.

Persons: Emily Elconin, David Dowdy, Dowdy, Dan Barouch, David Ho, Deena Beasley, Julie Steenhuysen, Bill Berkrot Organizations: REUTERS, Moderna, Pfizer, World Health Organization, WHO, U.S . Centers for Disease Control, Prevention, CDC, EG, Omicron, East, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Center, Virology, Vaccine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical, Columbia University, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, Thomson Locations: Waterford , Michigan, U.S, Europe, Asia, Delaware, East Coast, Boston, Sweden, China

"These results demonstrate that our updated COVID-19 vaccine generates a strong human immune response against the highly mutated BA.2.86 variant. "Moderna will continue to rapidly assess global public health threats and is committed to leveraging our mRNA platform against COVID-19." The company’s announcement comes as the Biden administration prepares to authorize the updated shots from Moderna, Pfizer and Novavax as soon as next week. While the shots target XBB.1.5, which was responsible for about 3% of new infections in recent weeks, researchers are optimistic that it will hold up against other circulating variants. “With governments accelerating the timing of COVID-19 vaccination campaigns due to the potential risk of BA.2.86, Moderna has shared this data with regulators and is ready to supply its updated COVID-19 vaccine pending regulatory approval,” the company wrote in a press release.

Persons: “ pirola, Stephen Hoge, Ashish Jha, ” Pirola, Biden Organizations: Moderna, Wednesday, EG, COVID, White, Centers for Disease Control, Pfizer, Novavax Locations: U.S, Moderna

☆ Moderna says updated Covid vaccine was effective against highly mutated BA.2.86 variant in trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Moderna 's new Covid vaccine produced a strong immune response against BA.2.86, a highly mutated omicron variant that health officials are watching closely, according to clinical trial data the biotech company released Wednesday. The updated shot produced an 8.7-fold increase in protective antibodies against BA.2.86, which has been detected in small numbers nationwide. Moderna is the first out of the companies producing updated Covid jabs to release data on how its shot fares against BA.2.86. Last month, Moderna also released clinical trial data suggesting that its new shot provides protection against the now-dominant EG.5, or "Eris," variant and another rapidly spreading strain called FL.1.5.1. New vaccines are set to arrive as Eris and other Covid variants fuel a rise in cases and hospitalizations across the country.

Persons: Stephen Hoge, Covid hospitalizations Organizations: Disease Control, Moderna, Pfizer, Novavax, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, EG, CDC Locations: U.S

☆ This Fall’s Covid Variant Might Really Be Different
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Sumathi Reddy | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

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Persons: Dow Jones

☆ Scientists race to understand highly mutated coronavirus variant spotted in four countries, including the US
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Brenda Goodman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —A highly mutated new variant of the virus that causes Covid-19 has countries on alert as scientists scramble to understand how far it has spread and how well our immunity will defend against it. The World Health Organization designated BA.2.86 a “variant under monitoring” on Thursday, a designation that encourages countries to track and report the sequences they find. SSI scientists stressed that it’s still too early to say anything about the severity or contagiousness of the new variant. Get CNN Health's weekly newsletter Sign up here to get The Results Are In with Dr. Sanjay Gupta every Tuesday from the CNN Health team. The XBB descendant EG.5 is currently the dominant variant in the US, causing an estimated 20% of all new Covid-19 cases in this country.

Persons: Jesse Bloom, ” Bloom, ”, Morten Rasmussen, Mandy Cohen, we’ve, “, ” Cohen, Dr, Sanjay Gupta Organizations: CNN, Omicron, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, World Health Organization, EG, WHO, Statens Serum Institut, US Centers for Disease Control, UK’s Health Security Agency, CNN Health, University of Michigan, White House Locations: Seattle, Israel, Denmark, United States, United Kingdom

E talentată și a demonstrat asta. Marina Hajder a depus multă muncă pentru a i se îndeplini un vis mare. Era iarnă, 2020, și într-o zi, profesoara mea dragă de Limba și Literatura română - Nelea Barnaciuc, m-a îndrumat să particip la un concurs internațional de poezie din Italia. Am demonstrat că pot, că sunt talentată și am câștigat Premiul Special, în memoria Domnului Alfredo Pirola”, a relatat tânăra. „Sunt mândră că am câștigat și al meu cuvânt blând și duios a fost publicat într-o antologie internațională din Italia.

Persons: Marina Hajder, Alfredo Pirola Locations: Italia

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