How effective are vaccines against Omicron? How much more transmissible is it? Are symptoms different? Here's what we know about the new variant so far:
In the weeks since its discovery in late November, Omicron has rattled markets, closed borders and sent scientists hunting for what threat it poses compared with other variants.
Initial findings suggest Omicron spreads faster, evades vaccine-induced antibodies and reinfects more easily than previous versions of the virus. But they also indicate booster vaccines restore some defenses against it and some treatments appear able to defeat it in laboratory tests at least.
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
California to bring back indoor mask mandateAmid rising Covid-19 case numbers and fears that the highly transmissible omicron variant of the coronavirus could spark a new wave of infections, the country's
Read more »
US records over 50 million COVID-19 casesMore than 50 million cases of COVID-19 have been recorded in the United States as new cases of the omicron variant of the coronavirus continue to be identified
Read more »
New research offers a clearer picture of the omicron variant's threat. Here's what we know.Early studies are beginning to paint a picture of omicron symptoms, vaccine effectiveness and the variant's spread around the world. Here’s what we know so far about the omicron variant.
Read more »
Britain Confirms World's First Known COVID-19 Omicron Variant DeathThe death comes amid speculation, absent sufficient evidence, that omicron might cause less severe disease than its predecessors.
Read more »
Major study finds omicron more vaccine resistant, causes milder illness in South AfricaThe omicron Covid-19 variant appeared to cause less severe illness in South Africa but was more resistant to the Pfizer vaccine, according to the first major real-world study
Read more »
Oil lower on omicron worries as traders await inventories dataOil futures lose ground for a third straight day as worries remain over the spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
Read more »