pandemics
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Why the Answers on Omicron Are Still Weeks Away
Over the Thanksgiving holiday, the coronavirus threw us yet another spiky curve ball. Scientists in South Africa identified a new, worrying variant of the virus, since dubbed Omicron. This variant’s wide range of mutations may help it evade existing immunity, though that’s not yet clear. There are many other unknowns, too, but it will likely…
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Anti-Vaccine Cartoonist Ben Garrison Says He’s Got Covid-19, Won’t Go to Hospital
Ben Garrison, a right-wing cartoonist known for his opposition to vaccines and his extremely flattering drawings of former President Donald Trump, told Gizmodo late Sunday that he contracted covid-19 and has been sick for about two weeks. But allegedly getting covid hasn’t changed Garrison’s mind about modern medical science.
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Another Major Pandemic Likely to Happen This Century, Scientists Warn
Researchers warn that the next major pandemic may not be too far away. In a new paper out Monday, they estimate that a pandemic as deadly as covid-19 is expected to arrive within the next six decades, while a pandemic on the scale of the 1918 Spanish flu could be expected to recur every 400…
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Ebola-Like Pig Illness Pops Up in Germany, Doesn’t Pose a Threat to Humans
Health officials in Germany have reaffirmed that the virus behind African swine fever isn’t likely to endanger humans, even if they eat meat from infected animals. However, the reassurance comes in the wake of the virus recently being found on several pig farms within the country, a troubling development, since ASF is highly contagious and…