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Coronavirus Watch: What to know about omicron-specific vaccine trials

Grace Hauck   | Paste BN

Vaccine makers Pfizer and BioNTech announced plans early Tuesday to test an omicron-specific vaccine in people.

The companies will run three simultaneous trials in adults ages 18 to 55 to determine if an omicron-specific vaccine is more effective than current shots. More on the omicron-specific vaccine here.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization is recommending officials begin investigating a new version of the omicron variant that has been reported in several countries. The new version of the variant, which "differs from the original in some of the mutations, including in the spike protein, is increasing in many countries," the WHO said.

It's Tuesday, and this is Coronavirus Watch from the Paste BN Network. Here's more news to know:

  • Two monoclonal antibody treatments made by Regeneron and Eli Lilly are no longer authorized in the U.S. The FDA on Monday revoked the authorizations, saying the treatments are "highly unlikely to be active against the omicron variant."
  • The College Board, which administers the SAT, PSAT and other standardized tests, announced the tests would shift online for American students in 2024 as COVID-19 shutdowns spur more universities to pause or drop testing requirements.
  • Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin tested positive for COVID-19, putting on hold a trial set to start Monday over defamation claims against the New York Times.
  • Cases in nursing homes have spiked far above last winter’s surge as the highly contagious omicron variant poses a renewed threat to vulnerable older Americans.

Did you lose a loved one in a nursing home to COVID-19? Paste BN is honoring the lives of the more than 140,000 nursing home residents who have died from the disease. If your loved one is among them, we invite you to commemorate their lives on our website. In the coming weeks, this memory wall will become part of a larger project related to nursing homes during the pandemic.

See our COVID-19 resource guide here. See total reported cases and deaths here. On vaccinations: About 75% of people in the U.S. have received at least one vaccine shot, and about 63% are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.

– Grace Hauck, Paste BN breaking news reporter, @grace_hauck

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