New ‘highly infectious’ Omicron strains scare China

BF.7 variant was first detected in the northwestern region of China and has spread fast to the southern side

COVID-19: Cases, positivity rate soar in Kolkata after Christmas revelry

The positivity rate in the city rose from 3.2 per cent in early December to 5.5 per cent on December 28 

In the backdrop of Omicron, why are India‘s junior doctors protesting?

Nearly 45,000-50,000 MBBS doctors are awaiting NEET-PG counselling

WATCH: Should you get a booster dose if you are fully vaccinated?

Why have certain countries administered millions of booster doses while India has not?

South African scientists on the inside story of discovering omicron – and what their experience offers the world about future variants

The global community needs to make a stance that when countries start reporting data, they’re not going to be penalised for it, say South …

Omicron reinfection: How likely is it? Experts weigh in

The sensitivity of RT-PCR tests may play a role in this phenomenon, Indian researchers think

No mixing of vaccines in India for booster dose. What do experts say?

Studies point to better protection with mixed doses; experts call data ‘fragmentary’

What is Omisure, India’s first RT-PCR kit that identifies omicron in under 4 hours

This kit can identify omicron by targeting two regions of the spike gene, which bears heavy mutations  

Simply Put: O for Omicron

‘Third COVID-19 wave imminent’: How prepared is India?

Medical oxygen capacity ramped up, oxygen beds increased, says Union government 

Reason for hope? Analysis of first Omicron patients in Gauteng paints encouraging picture

Fewer people administered specialist care, in-hospital death-rate significantly lower with decline in average length of hospital stay, analysis shows

COVID-19: Next virus could be worse, AstraZeneca vaccine creator Sarah Gilbert says

Research that has not been peer reviewed says that Omicron may be more infectious, but not severe  

Are new COVID variants like Omicron linked to low vaccine coverage? Here’s what the science says

The extensive mutations in Omicron are consistent with the virus changing over an extended time, as it replicated in a person with a compromised …

Simply Put: Pandemic planet

Can China’s dynamic zero-COVID policy survive in the face of citizen protests, infectious variants?

China is recording more than 70,000 COVID-19 cases daily, a pandemic high for the country  

COVID-19 surge in Delhi: 8-10 deaths every day, doctors recommend masks, booster dose

The recent spike in COVID-19 cases in Delhi can be attributed to the dominance of omicron sub-variant BA 2.75

COVID-19 update: Why are we at a ‘tip of iceberg’ again

The head of Israel’s COVID-19 response has however said there was no cause to worry as of now

COVID-19 is now in 706 of 733 districts of India

The virus has so far not been detected in 14 districts in Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, and 10 districts of Telangana

2021 saw over twice as many COVID-19 cases as 2020, December worst month on record

2021 saw 1.8 times more COVID-19 deaths than 2020 

Simply Put: Old virus, new strain

How virulent is omicron? Study from Gauteng looks at clinical severity of 4th wave

Hospitalisations triggered by omicron infections fewer than those triggered by beta and delta variants; average time spent in hospital also less

Inconvenient truth: Why omicron emerged, and why it could have been avoided

Best bet to tide over current crisis remains what we have known since the beginning of pandemic: Treat vaccine hesitancy and vaccine nationalism, …

Making nursery admissions easier to giving gold coins: Indian cities’ push for COVID-19 vaccination

Only 39% of total population has received both doses of COVID-19 vaccine in India 

COVID-19: How useful are travel restrictions in curbing spread?

Travel bans make sense only in the beginning of a pandemic, say experts

Omicron in southern Africa: Zimbabwe tries to pull all stops

The country recorded 4,367 new cases December 14, 2021