Abbott Laboratories’ BinaxNOW is one of at least 14 at-home antigen COVID-19 tests authorized for over-the-counter sale by the Food and Drug Administration
A COVID-19 test is performed at Toronto's Pearson International Airport. Ontario is moving away from the mass testing regime it has been running for most of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This illustration reveals ultrastructural morphology exhibited by coronaviruses. A novel coronavirus, named Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 was identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness first detected in Wuhan, China, in 2019. The illness caused by this virus has been named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
The CDC has identified four "variants of concern," which are variants whose mutations significantly alter the virus’s ability to infect cells, enhance viral transmissibility, or cause more severe illness. These include alpha, beta, gamma, and delta.
UTSW researchers' findings suggest that COVID-19 boosters and updated vaccines are more important for older adults, who are more susceptible to severe illness with the virus.
The alpha variant was first identified in the United Kingdom. The variant's attributes include 50% increased transmission, potential increased severity, (based on hospitalizations and case fatality rates). No impact on susceptibility to emergency use authorization (EUA) monoclonal antibody treatments. Minimal impact on neutralization by convalescent and post-vaccination sera.