Novavax’s Vaccine Works Well — Except on Variant First Found in South Africa

Posted on January 28, 2021April 16, 2021 by Lori Jia

The New York Times, January 28, 2021 (with Kate Thomas and Sharon LaFraniere)

Novavax, a little-known company supported by the U.S. federal government’s Operation Warp Speed, said for the first time on Thursday that its Covid-19 vaccine offered robust protection against the virus. But it also found that the vaccine is not as effective against the fast-spreading variant first discovered in South Africa, another setback in the global race to end a pandemic that has already killed more than 2.1 million people.

That could be a problem for the United States, which hours earlier reported its first known cases of the contagious variant in two unrelated people in South Carolina. And it came just days after Moderna and Pfizer said that their vaccines were also less effective against the same variant.

Continue reading “Novavax’s Vaccine Works Well — Except on Variant First Found in South Africa” →

Merck abandons two vaccines in clinical trials.

Posted on January 25, 2021March 31, 2021 by Lori Jia

The New York Times, January 25, 2021

Link

Merck announced on Monday that it was abandoning a pair of Covid-19 vaccines in clinical trials.

The news came as a disappointment at a time when the United States and other countries are struggling to accelerate their sluggish vaccination campaigns and new coronavirus variants threaten to bring surges over the next few months.

The two projects are the second and third vaccines to be abandoned in clinical trials. The University of Queensland in Australia abandoned its own effort in December. Sanofi and other vaccine makers have paused some projects after getting disappointing initial results but are now regrouping to move forward.

Continue reading “Merck abandons two vaccines in clinical trials.” →

New California Variant May Be Driving Virus Surge There, Study Suggests

Posted on January 19, 2021March 31, 2021 by Lori Jia

The New York Times, January 19, 2021

Link

In late December, scientists in California began searching coronavirus samples for a fast-spreading new variant that had just been identified in Britain.

They found it, though in relatively few samples. But in the process, the scientists made another unwelcome discovery: California had produced a variant of its own.

That mutant, which belongs to a lineage known as CAL.20C, seemed to have popped up in July but lay low till November. Then it began to quickly spread.

Continue reading “New California Variant May Be Driving Virus Surge There, Study Suggests” →

Inside the B.1.1.7 Coronavirus Variant

Posted on January 18, 2021April 16, 2021 by Lori Jia

The New York Times, January 18, 2021 (with Jonathan Corum)

Link

At the heart of each coronavirus is its genome, a twisted strand of nearly 30,000 “letters” of RNA. These genetic instructions force infected human cells to assemble up to 29 kinds of proteins that help the coronavirus multiply and spread.

As viruses replicate, small copying errors known as mutations naturally arise in their genomes. A lineage of coronaviruses will typically accumulate one or two random mutations each month.

Continue reading “Inside the B.1.1.7 Coronavirus Variant” →

As the U.S. surpasses 24 million cases, Los Angeles confronts a more contagious variant.

Posted on January 17, 2021April 16, 2021 by Lori Jia

The New York Times, January 17, 2021 (with Lucy Tompkins)

Link

As the total number of U.S. coronavirus cases surpassed 24 million on Monday, Los Angeles County, one of the hardest-hit areas, may face even more dire weeks ahead. Deaths in the county have continued to climb as the national death toll nears 400,000.

Hospitals have run out of room in intensive care units, though new cases and hospitalizations appear to be leveling off in recent days. The county records a coronavirus-related death roughly every seven minutes, and last week was its highest recorded ever for Covid-19 fatalities.

Continue reading “As the U.S. surpasses 24 million cases, Los Angeles confronts a more contagious variant.” →