Omicron has many more mutations than previous variants of concern, a fact that raises questions about how effective existing vaccines will be against the new form of the coronavirus.
Moderna says the FDA is looking into reports of a rare side effect — myocarditis, or the inflammation of the heart muscle — in those who've gotten the shot.
The U.S. has pledged to deliver 1.1 billion doses of COVID vaccines to countries in need. Billions more are needed. NPR interviewed the State Department's global vaccine coordinator to learn more.
The Food and Drug Administration also gave an OK to boosters that differ from the vaccine originally used to immunize people against COVID-19. A mix-and-match approach could ease the booster rollout.
"I knew I had wanted to do something with light because I felt like it's just been such a dark year and a half that I wanted to bring light to whatever it was I was doing," Laura Weiss told NPR.
A source familiar with the discussions says administration health experts could make the recommendation for fully vaccinated adults as soon as this week.
The delta variant is the fast-moving strain of the coronavirus now found in 96 countries. It's expected to be the dominant variant in the U.S. within weeks.
Oxford-AstraZeneca promised its COVID-19 vaccine would be effective, cheap and available worldwide. Five months after its launch, the path forward has been anything but smooth.
One of the hottest areas of research right now: studies to determine how well current vaccines work against emerging coronavirus "variants of concern."
