Pfizer to study booster shot aimed at virus variant Pfizer and its partner BioNTech said Thursday they are beginning a stu Peter Sullivan TheHill

Pfizer and its partner BioNTech said Thursday they are beginning a study to test whether a third shot of their COVID-19 vaccine will help protect against variants of the virus.

The virus can sicken children in very different ways, a new study finds.

A large nationwide study has found important differences between the two major ways children have become seriously ill from the coronavirus. The findings may help doctors and parents better recognize the disease and understand more about the children who are at risk for either condition.

Why COVID vaccines are so difficult to compare Despite the widespread roll-out of several vaccines, it could be months before they can be ranked. Heidi Ledford nature

Yusuff Adebayo Adebisi knows that a vaccine that offers 70% protection against COVID-19 could be a valuable tool against the coronavirus pandemic in Nigeria — especially if that vaccine is cheap and doesn’t have to be stored at extremely cold temperatures. But what if another vaccine — one that is more expensive to buy and to store — was 95% effective?

Germany approves COVID home tests to ease way out of lockdown Germany approved three COVID-19 tests for home use as part Health Minister Jens Spahn's strategy to help Europe's biggest economy emerge from a lockdown that has been in place since mid-December. Reuters Staff U.S.

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany approved three COVID-19 tests for home use as part Health Minister Jens Spahn’s strategy to help Europe’s biggest economy emerge from a lockdown that has been in place since mid-December.

What we know about California COVID variant B.1.427/ B.1.429 Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, say it should be listed as a "variant of concern." Newsweek

A new coronavirus variant that was first identified in California is now taking hold in some parts of the state—but what do we currently know about it?

The variant actually comes in two forms, known as B.1.427 and B.1.429, both of which carry a similar, albeit slightly differing, set of genetic mutations—including three that affect the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

FDA says J&J 1-dose shot prevents COVID; final decision soon

WASHINGTON (AP) — Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine protects against COVID-19, according to an analysis by U.S. regulators Wednesday that sets the stage for a final decision on a new and easier-to-use shot to help tame the pandemic.

Researchers still investigating loss of smell problems among some of Covid victims

 ... A year into the coronavirus pandemic, doctors and researchers are still striving to better understand and treat the accompanying epidemic of COVID-19-related anosmia — loss of smell — draining much of the joy of life from an increasing number of sensorially frustrated longer-term sufferers like Forgione.

Even specialist doctors say there is much about the condition they still don’t know and they are learning as they go along in their diagnoses and treatments. Impairment and alteration of smell have become so common with COVID-19 that some researchers suggest that simple odor tests could be used to track coronavirus infections in countries with few laboratories.

Dozens of institutional investors push for 'equitable' Covid-19 response “The economic and financial damage triggered by Covid-19 knows no border,” said Marco Morelli, executive chairman of AXA Investment Managers. Ed Silverman STAT

Nearly 150 institutional investors that oversee combined assets worth more than $14 trillion have issued a joint call for a “fair and equitable” global response to the Covid-19 pandemic, and they intend to huddle with health care companies to make progress on that goal.