New Scientist Weekly features updates and analysis on the latest developments in the covid-19 pandemic. What to read, watch and listen to about coronavirus WhatвЂ™s the fairest way to share covid-19 vaccines around the world? Long covid: Do I have it, how long will it last and can we treat it? Where did coronavirus come from? And other covid-19 questions answeredД¬ovid-19 vaccines: Everything you need to know about the leading shots Vaccine hesitancy: It is more important than ever for the UK to reach out to communities where concerns over vaccination are more common, such as pregnant women and some ethnic groups, reports Jason Arunn Murugesu.

The year of coronavirus variants: How alpha, delta and omicron brought new waves of disease across the world in 2021.Д¬ubaвЂ™s homegrown vaccines: Four months ago, hospitals in Cuba collapsed because of skyrocketing covid-19, but locally made vaccines have succeeded in bringing the outbreak under control. Mask wearing will also be compulsory in outdoor public places under new rules.ДЄustralia will cut the interval between second doses and booster shots from 5 months to 4 from 4 January, and then to 3 months on 31 January.

Italy has banned public new yearвЂ™s eve celebrations as well as all concerts and open air events until 31 January, aiming to curb a rise in infections driven by the omicron variant. Healthcare workers in the US who have tested positive for covid-19 but do not have symptoms can stop isolating after seven days instead of 10, if they test negative for the virus, under new guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Office for National Statistics estimates that 1.4 million people in the UK had the virus in the week ending 16 December, the highest number since comparable figures began in autumn 2020. The UK recorded 119,789 new cases of covid-19 yesterday, setting another record. вЂњWhat we have got now is a really fine balance between something that looks like a lower risk of hospitalisation вЂ“ which is great news вЂ“ but equally a highly transmissible variant and one that we know evades some of our immune defences, so it is a very balanced position,вЂќ Jenny Harris, chief executive of UKHSA, told the Today programme on BBC Radio 4. However, modelling suggests that the severity of omicron would need to be around 90 per cent lower to avoid similar levels of hospital admissions to previous waves, according to minutes from a meeting of the UK governmentвЂ™s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies on Monday. The difference is somewhat larger than suggested by a study published by Imperial College London on Wednesday, which reported a 15 to 20 per cent lower risk. This is based on a preliminary analysis of 114,144 omicron cases and 461,772 delta cases occurring between 22 November and 19 December. The UKHSA report also estimates that someone infected with omicron is 50 to 70 per cent less likely to be admitted to hospital, compared with delta. For those who had two initial doses of Pfizer/BioNTech, protection falls from 70 per cent at 2 to 4 weeks to 45 per cent at 10 weeks after a Pfizer booster, but stays around 70 to 75 per cent up to 9 weeks after a Moderna booster. For people who had two initial doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, the UKHSA estimates that Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna boosters are around 60 per cent effective at preventing symptomatic infections from omicron 2 to 4 weeks after the third dose, but this falls to 35 to 45 per cent by 10 weeks.

Based on an analysis of 147,597 delta and 68,489 omicron cases, the agency found that the Oxford/AstraZeneca, Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are less effective against omicron than delta.

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