Tag Archives: Variants

Flu tests from R-Biopharm also detect new virus variants

Darmstadt, November 25, 2022 – The flu season has begun and different virus variants are also circulating in Germany. With the flu tests from biotechnology company R-Biopharm, patients quickly have certainty: Its RIDA®GENE Flu assays also reliably detect the two novel variants. The company made the announcement with regard to influenza A H1N1pdm09, which is… Read More »

Single-dose COVID-19 vaccine effective against variants, study says

In the three months since Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine received emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, more than 10 million Americans have received the vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The single-shot viral vector vaccine — developed in collaboration with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC)… Read More »

Indian and other ‘variants of concern’ behind a quarter of Covid cases in London

Indian Covid variant may already be dominant in Britain and has grown ‘exponentially’ since March, SAGE warns… but cases are only rising in THREE out of 23 hotspots and experts say mutant strains won’t be ‘disaster’ first feared Documents published by SAGE said B.1.617.2 strain likely made up ‘majority’ of the UK’s infections by mid-May… Read More »

Moderna’s COVID-19 booster vaccine shows promise against variants, company says

Two of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine booster shots under study induced an immune response against SARS-CoV-2 and variants first identified in South Africa and Brazil, the company announced Wednesday. A variant-specific booster shot resulted in higher levels of neutralizing antibodies against the concerning South African variant with fewer side effects than a third shot of the… Read More »

NIRVANA Test Rapidly Identifies and Sequences COVID-19 Viral Variants

Researchers at the Salk Institute in California, working with outside collaborators, have developed a COVID-19 test that can rapidly identify and sequence the causative virus, helping to track new variants. The test, called “nanopore sequencing of isothermal rapid viral amplification for near real-time analysis,” (NIRVANA), can also simultaneously test for other viruses, such as influenza,… Read More »

US seeing ‘fourth wave’ of coronavirus infections due to variants: Osterholm

Epidemiologist Dr. Michael Osterholm believes the U.S. is seeing a “fourth wave” of infections due to coronavirus variants that have arisen over the past few months. Osterholm, who served as a member of President Biden’s COVID-19 transition advisory board, said the variants pose a significant problem despite underscoring that existing vaccines appear to be effective against… Read More »