A preliminary study by South African scientists published Thursday suggests the Omicron variant is three times more likely to cause reinfections compared to the Delta or Beta strains.The findings, based on data collected by the country's health system, provides the first epidemiological evidence about Omicron's ability to evade immunity from prior infection.The paper was uploaded on a medical preprint server and has not yet been peer-reviewed.There were 35,670 suspected reinfections

Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:Germany To Lock Down Unjabbed Germany will impose sweeping curbs on people not vaccinated against COVID-19, to combat the latest surge in cases, Chancellor Angela Merkel says, including bans from culture and leisure and non-essential shops.Tougher US Travel Rules President Joe Biden is to announce tougher rules for virus testing for travellers to the United States (US) after the first cases of the Omicron variant are

Scientists believe they have found "the trigger" that leads to extremely rare blood clots after the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID vaccine.The team - in Cardiff, United Kingdom and the United States - have shown in exquisite detail how a protein in the blood is attracted to a key component of the vaccine.They think this kicks off a chain reaction, involving the immune system, that can culminate in dangerous clots.The vaccine is thought to have saved about a million lives from COVID.Howeve

The World Health Organization (WHO) issued stern warnings Wednesday on the dangers of vaccination apathy and the European Union put mandatory jabs on the table, as the United States registered its first case of the fast-spreading Omicron strain of the coronavirus.The new variant, first reported to the WHO by South Africa a week ago, has quickly popped up across continents, darkening economic forecasts and deepening fears of another difficult winter in the northern hemisphere."Globally, w

Google will stop carrying election ads in the Philippines ahead of the May 2022 presidential vote, the internet giant said Wednesday, similar to action it has taken in the United States (US).Alarm has been raised in recent years by governments and election watchdogs over the use of targeted political advertising, especially disinformation campaigns to sway voters.The updated policy goes into effect on 8 February, covering ads on Google, YouTube and its other platforms including shopping.&quot

The world could see the COVID pandemic begin fading next year into an endemic disease like others humanity lives with, unless glaring inequality in vaccine access drags it out and worse variants emerge.Even as countries scramble to address a new worrying virus variant and Europe battles a winter resurgence, health experts say that taming the pandemic over the next year is possible.All the know-how and tools needed to bring the virus under control exist, with ballooning stocks of safe and effe

The science may still be uncertain but the Omicron variant has definitively intruded upon recent stock market euphoria.The designation as a variant of concern last week, and then further comments from vaccine makers that existing vaccines will not be as effective, has caused widespread and significant falls in share prices.So what will the economic effect be?

A Myanmar junta court on Tuesday postponed giving a verdict in the trial of deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who faces a catalogue of charges that could see her jailed for decades.The Nobel laureate has been detained since the generals ousted her government in the early hours of 1 February, ending the Southeast Asian country's brief democratic interlude.More than 1,200 people have been killed and over 10,000 arrested in a crackdown on dissent, according to a local monitoring gro

The Omicron coronavirus variant was present in Europe before the first cases were reported in South Africa, new data from the Netherlands showed Tuesday, as Latin America reported its first two cases in Brazil.In the week since the new virus strain was reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by South Africa, dozens of countries around the world have responded with travel restrictions – most targeting southern African nations.But the WHO warned Tuesday – as Canada expanded its restrict

Scientists in South Africa have begun crucial work to assess how well COVID vaccines hold up against the Omicron variant that has been detected in more than a dozen countries since it was formally reported last week.The variant carries dozens of mutations that are expected to change how the virus behaves, including its ability to cause infection and how well it can hide from immune defences primed by vaccines or previous infection with an older variant.Antibodies protect against viruses by gu