Omicron: 5 steps to avoid, 10 to take immediately

The virus will disseminate irrespective of travel bans, as has been the case in the past

COVID-19: Global risk related to Omicron ‘very high’, warns WHO

WHO urges ramping up surveillance, sequencing and community testing to check SARS-CoV-2’s mutations and omicron’s prevalence

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 …

COVID-19: 2 years into pandemic, original virus nowhere as variants take over

Data from GISAID has revealed the current dominance of the GK clade, to which the Delta variant belongs, in nearly every continent

COVID-19: Is Omicron travelling faster than Delta? An analysis

Omicron was detected in 16 countries across 4 continents in 5 days  

Omicron: Senior Nigerian scientist considers fallout, and why travel bans are a waste of time

‘The announcement by South Africa was that of detection and not in any way proof of origin. There’s still a great deal that’s …

Omicron threat: India’s COVID-19 genome sequencing a measly 0.2%

Maharashtra and Kerala — with the highest active caseload in the country — account for the highest number of genome samples …

Omicron ‘re-infection’ raises questions about waning immunity against COVID-19. Here’s what we know

The metric being currently used to test waning immunity is an antibody test. Immunologists, however, have cautioned against an overreaction to …

Haphazard COVID-19 vaccine donations useless for Africa, WHO flags

Countries should be informed 4 weeks in advance, shots should have at least 10-month shelf-life

Wealthy nations starved the developing world of vaccines. Omicron shows the cost of this greed

10 high-income countries will be sitting on more than 870 million excess doses by end of 2021

Wuhan strain to Omicron: Where are we headed now?

Why has the original strain disappeared and what has replaced it?

Will Omicron be more contagious than delta?

The conditions that led to the emergence of the variant are not yet clear, but what is clear is that the sheer number and configuration of …

‘COVID-19 wave not distinct entity, will come periodically’

Epidemiologist Dr Chandrakant Lahariya on the new variant, vaccine immunity and India’s preparedness 

World Health Assembly agrees for global treaty to ‘strengthen pandemic prevention’

An intergovernmental negotiating body will be responsible for drafting and negotiating a treaty under Article 19 of the World Health Organisation&…

COVID-19: 2 cases of Omicron detected in Karnataka, testing of contacts underway

Two males, 66 and 46 years of age, test positive for omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2; all primary and secondary contacts of both cases have been …

Weekly COVID-19 deaths on the rise in several European, African countries

The spike in weekly deaths is significantly large in smaller European countries, according to Worldometer 

Omicron threat: How fast is India vaccinating against COVID-19

Rate too slow to meet target of vaccinating every eligible by end of year. The question is: Can Omicron further derail India’s fight …

Omicron: What we know so far

The recent variant of concern threatens to derail the process of normalisation across the world. Here’s a quick primer

COVID-19: India now has 21 cases of Omicron

Nineteen persons tested positive for the Omicron variant of COVID-19 December 4 and 5

Omicron: South Africa health minister declares 4th wave of COVID-19

Joe Phaahla said there was a much steeper upward curve than had been seen in the last three waves

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  

Simply Put: Omicron ahead of holiday plans

Less protection from past infection, likely reduced vaccine efficacy: IHME on Omicron

For now, best to assume Omicron causes as severe a disease as Delta, IHME says

Omicron in southern Africa: ‘Afrophobia’, say Malawians in wake of West’s travel ban

Malawian government says it has the capacity to do genomic sequencing and had not detected the Omicron variant till now

Omicron update: UK caseload shows travel curbs failed

Variant of Concern already identified in 52 countries