COVID-19: variants, vaccines, news and updates – The Verge

How to order free rapid covid tests from the US government — again

2024-09-30T08:29:49-04:00

Autumn is here, and once again, warnings are going up about the spread of the covid-19 virus - along with the flu and RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus. To try to minimize the upsurge, the US government is once again offering free home rapid antigen tests to each US household. According to the government website, orders will start shipping this week.

As before, it's extremely simple to put in your order. You will not need to submit a credit card or any other financial information.

Go to covidtests.gov.
Tap on the button reading Order Free At-home Tests.
If you don't see the button for any reason, you can go directly to the USPS site (which …

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FDA approves Pfizer and Moderna covid vaccines with new formula

2023-09-11T15:59:58-04:00

The Food and Drug Administration has approved newly formulated covid vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna. Unlike booster shots released in the past, this vaccine isn't made with components of the original covid variants that spread in 2020. It's a monovalent vaccine that targets an omicron subvariant instead, reports The New York Times, as advised by the FDA in June.

The new vaccines specifically address the omicron variant XBB.1.5, which became the dominant covid strain in certain parts of the US last winter and is more closely related to EG.5, which currently accounts for 21.5 percent of cases, according to data from the Centers for Disease …

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COVID-19 tests will no longer get emergency treatment at the FDA

2022-09-28T13:27:54-04:00

Since the start of the pandemic, the Food and Drug Administration has signed off on 430 COVID-19 tests through its emergency use authorization powers - rules that let the agency push tests and drugs out the door more quickly during an emergency. Now, over two years later, the agency is backing off that system and will treat most COVID-19 tests just like other medical tests. In a statement Tuesday, the FDA said that most new COVID-19 tests will have to go through the normal, non-emergency test review process.

"For most new tests, shifting to traditional premarket review would best meet the public health needs at the current stage of the COVI …

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Moderna is suing Pfizer over its coronavirus vaccine

2022-08-26T08:37:13-04:00

Moderna is suing Pfizer and BioNTech over alleged infringement of its mRNA vaccine technology patents, the company announced today.

"We are filing these lawsuits to protect the innovative mRNA technology platform that we pioneered, invested billions of dollars in creating, and patented during the decade preceding the COVID-19 pandemic," said Moderna chief executive officer Stéphane Bancel in a statement.

Moderna said in 2020 that it would not enforce its patents during the pandemic to allow for an unhindered public health response. It's still not planning to enforce patents in low- and middle-income countries, the company said in a stateme …

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Twitch changes course, will now require masks at TwitchCon

2022-08-12T16:37:49-04:00

Twitch was all set to hold a giant maskless convention in San Diego this October in the midst of monkeypox and the continued threat of COVID-19 - but after an outcry that included both attendees and some of its own streamer partners, the platform has decided to require masks and proof of vaccination once again.

"We've been listening to all of your feedback and know that many of you-especially those who are immunocompromised and the people who support them-want stricter health measures in place to help you feel safe attending TwitchCon San Diego in person," reads the beginning of a major update to the company's blog post announcing that tick …

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The White House wants to make next-gen COVID-19 vaccines

2022-07-25T10:13:43-04:00

The White House wants to accelerate the development of next-generation COVID-19 vaccines, Stat News reported Monday. Ideally, future vaccines would offer longer-lasting protection against infection with and transmission of the virus, not just serious illness and death.

Federal officials, researchers, and representatives from pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Moderna will meet Tuesday at a White House "summit" to discuss next steps. It's unclear if President Biden - who currently has COVID-19 - will participate.

The currently available COVID-19 vaccines still work well to keep most people from getting seriously ill or dying from COVID-19. …

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FDA authorizes Novavax COVID-19 vaccine

2022-07-13T16:30:23-04:00

The Food and Drug Administration authorized the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine for people 18 and older, the fourth shot cleared in the United States. It's been a long road for this vaccine, and the company faced multiple setbacks over the past few years.

It's a different type of vaccine than the ones already on the market in the US - it's a protein-based vaccine that delivers pieces of the virus spike protein directly to the body. Clinical trials found that the shot was 90 percent effective at preventing COVID-19. The trials, though, were conducted in early 2021 - before the delta and then omicron variants of the virus took over, so those numbers …

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COVID-19 variant boosters won’t need new clinical trials for clearance, FDA says

2022-07-01T10:50:16-04:00

COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers won't need to conduct new clinical trials as they develop booster shots targeting the most recent variants of the virus, a Food and Drug Administration official told Reuters. The agency will use clinical trials of variant-specific boosters developed earlier in the pandemic, manufacturing data, and animal studies to evaluate the shots.

The omicron variant of the virus has developed into multiple lineages. Right now, the BA.4 and BA.5 variants are the most widespread in the United States. The FDA said Thursday that the next set of booster shots should be against those versions of the virus. But pharmaceutical co …

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COVID-19 booster shots should target omicron variants, FDA says

2022-06-30T11:25:16-04:00

COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers should include the newer forms of the omicron coronavirus variant in booster shots this fall, the Food and Drug Administration recommended today.

The agency said it wants vaccine manufacturers to create booster shots that include two forms of the virus - the original strain, which is what's in current vaccines, and the BA.4 and BA.5 lineages of the omicron variant. Those lineages have taken over as the most common form of the virus circulating in the United States. They're highly contagious and are even better at evading the immune system than some previous versions of the virus.

Vaccine manufacturers Pfizer, …

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Where’s the next generation of COVID-19 shots?

2022-06-23T14:00:00-04:00

Over a year after the US authorized its first vaccines, COVID cases continue to pile up, leaving many vaccinated people wondering: "Do I need a vaccine upgrade?" People who are fully vaccinated and boosted have been testing positive in huge numbers, particularly since the omicron-triggered wave started its relentless burn across the United States in December. Vaccines that once caused experts to declare COVID-19 a "pandemic of the unvaccinated" don't protect as well against illness, even as they continued to protect against the most severe disease. Breakthrough infections are so common that the near-miraculous protection the vaccine promised …

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