variant

Workers check oxygen tanks at a hospital in Manaus, Brazil. Severe oxygen shortages as a second coronavirus wave is surging have prompted local authorities to airlift patients to other parts of Brazil.

World News
Health & Safety

Reinfections More Likely With New Coronavirus Variants, Evidence Suggests

12:46pm January 21, 2021

by Michaeleen Doucleff

The variant in Brazil is causing a surge in Manaus, a city where the virus previously infected huge numbers in the spring of 2020. Researchers are trying to determine why.

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Ambulances are parked outside the NHS Nightingale hospital at the ExCeL center in east London on Friday. Hospitals in the U.K. are preparing for an influx of patients as the coronavirus continues to spread.

World News
National
Science

New COVID-19 Variant Spreads To Dozens Of Countries

2:06pm January 02, 2021

by Matthew S. Schwartz

The new strain, which likely originated in the U.K. in September, has spread to more than 30 countries across several continents. Meanwhile, the U.S. saw record COVID-19 deaths in December.

The image depicts the coronavirus binding to a human cell. The variant identified in the United Kingdom has a mutation known to increase how tightly the virus binds to human cells.

World News
Health & Safety

How Worried Should We Be About The New U.K. Coronavirus Variant?

6:59pm December 24, 2020

by Michaeleen Doucleff

Mathematical modeling suggests that the mutations in this variant make the virus more transmissible. What does that mean for preventive measures — and the new vaccines?