omicron Archives

Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University

What has changed in the way we talk about COVID-19? Revisiting pandemic terminology amid omicron.

What does it mean to be “exposed” to the coronavirus? How widespread are infections? How should data be interpreted? Northeastern experts flesh out the important distinctions.

by Tanner Stening January 20, 2022

A survey of U.S. booster shot recipients finds that 30% of vaccinated people have received an extra shot. That is expected to ramp up quickly as the highly transmissible omicron variant spreads during the winter. Photo Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

Who is getting COVID-19 booster shots (and who’s resistant)?

More men than women, and more Democrats than Republicans, said they received a booster injection. This and more from a new study by researchers at Northeastern and several partner institutions.

by Peter Ramjug December 22, 2021

Understanding how viruses evolve can help us understand what future variants of the coronavirus we might see—and whether or not we should fear them. Getty Images

Do viruses such as the coronavirus become less deadly?

Understanding how viruses evolve can help us understand what future variants of the coronavirus we might see—and why they might not necessarily be a specter of doom. “What’s the virus trying to do?” says Jared Auclair, associate teaching professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Northeastern. “If it kills the host, it dies with the host.”

by Eva Botkin-Kowacki December 13, 2021

South African students decry omicron travel bans as a ‘knee-jerk reaction’

Itumeleng ‘Tumi’ Mosiah and Gina Izerel are students on the Boston campus who are plowing ahead with plans to visit their native South Africa despite the travel ban against their country. They don’t know if or even when they will be allowed back into the United States, so they’re making contingency plans with their professors.

by Peter Ramjug December 6, 2021

Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

Should I still get a booster shot even though we don’t know much about omicron?

It’s unlikely that the omicron variant will evade COVID-19 vaccine protections entirely, says Mansoor Amiji, university distinguished professor of pharmaceutical sciences and chemical engineering at Northeastern. But you will likely need that booster shot. Here’s why.

by Eva Botkin-Kowacki December 3, 2021

Northeastern’s COVID-19 testing center is ready to identify the omicron variant

As the world faces the new omicron variant of the coronavirus, early detection will be crucial to identifying and responding to any risk the variant might pose. “We take a more targeted approach, which gives us a head start,” says Jared Auclair, who runs Northeastern’s Life Sciences Testing Center in Burlington, Mass.

by Eva Botkin-Kowacki November 29, 2021

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