COVID-19 Delta variant

Illustrative image: A technician collects a nasal swab sample for COVID-19 at the coronavirus lab, at the Ben-Gurion International Airport on March 02, 2022. (Yossi Aloni/Flash90)

March 15, 2022, 10:34 am

New combo COVID strain Deltacron detected in Israel, report says

First ‘recombination’ variant of the coronavirus, uniting aspects of Delta and Omicron, said found in Israeli samples

Alon Helfgott speaking from quarantine with Channel 12 news, January 30, 2022. (screenshot)

January 30, 2022, 11:50 pm

Israeli boy, 11, has caught 3 different coronavirus strains

Alon Helfgott has officially been infected with Alpha, Delta, and now Omicron; says he’s been in quarantine 3-4 times since start of school year

By TOI staff

An Israeli woman receives her dose of COVID-19 vaccine, at a Ministry of Health vaccine center at the Malcha mall in Jerusalem, on December 23, 2021. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

January 30, 2022, 11:12 pm

Vaccinated, boosted parents slash their kids’ COVID risk — pre-Omicron Israeli study

As most of world’s young kids not yet eligible, research shows kids living with 2 inoculated parents during Alpha outbreak had 72% fewer infections than unvaxxed parents’ offspring

By Nathan Jeffay

A healthcare worker receives a Pfizer COVID-19 booster shot at Jackson Memorial Hospital, Oct. 5, 2021, in Miami (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)

January 22, 2022, 8:53 am

3rd booster shots effective against severe illness from Omicron, CDC studies show

Research finds third dose at least 90% effective at preventing hospitalizations for COVID-19, during both the Delta and Omicron waves

By Mike Stobbe

A medical assistant prepares a syringe with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children at a vaccination center set up at a car dealership in Iserlohn, western Germany, on January 5, 2022. (Ina Fassbender/AFP)

January 21, 2022, 9:43 am

Natural immunity was more potent than vaccines during US Delta wave — study

But authors of paper warn against depending on infection, given the higher risks of hospitalization, long-term impacts and death

By AFP and TOI staff

Medic works in the coronavirus ward of the Herzog Medical Center in Jerusalem, January 13, 2022 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

January 17, 2022, 12:11 pm

1,500 said to refuse COVID antibody treatment, leading to preventable deaths

One healthcare provider says it believes 10 died after refusing Regeneron’s treatment; medication offered at no cost to patients since September, with priority to the unvaccinated

By TOI staff

An unidentified COVID-19 patient is attached to life-support systems in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, in Lebanon, NH, on January 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)

January 12, 2022, 1:58 pm

COVID infections more than double globally, but death toll stable – WHO

UN health agency says majority of cases driven by Omicron, numbers rising even further after a ‘tsunami’ of disease last week

By AP

A rapid coronavirus test is taken in a temporary facility outside a pharmacy in Lakatamia a suburb of Nicosia, Cyprus, on December 13, 2021. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

January 10, 2022, 8:11 pm

Detection of ‘Deltacron’ variant likely due to lab error, experts say

Though coronaviruses can combine, scientists believe alleged hybrid mutation identified in Cyprus was likely caused by contamination

By AFP

A health worker carries out a COVID-19 test of a resident of Larnaca, a resort town in southern coast of Cyprus, on Sept. 28, 2020 (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

January 9, 2022, 2:04 pm

Cyprus identifies combined ‘Deltacron’ COVID strain, but says unlikely to spread far

Professor says variant combines characteristics of the two strains, but will probably be displaced by dominant Omicron mutation

By TOI staff

People shop at the market in the central town of Ramle, on December 31, 2021.(Yossi Aloni/Flash90)

January 1, 2022, 10:57 pm

Top health expert: Omicron unlikely to cause more serious cases than Delta

Eran Segal argues newly added restrictions no longer relevant; says weaker strain rapidly taking over country, may cause 2 million cases within several weeks before dipping

By TOI staff

People are seen at the St Thomas' hospital in central London on December 23, 2021. (JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)

December 31, 2021, 10:20 pm

Risk of hospitalization from Omicron a third of that from Delta, new UK data shows

British health agency says ‘protection against hospitalization is much greater than that against symptomatic disease,’ particularly after a booster; daily UK cases hit new record

By TOI staff and AP

Sandile Cele, a researcher at the Africa Health Research Institute in Durban, South Africa, works on the omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus, Dec. 15, 2021 (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

December 28, 2021, 10:31 am

Small study suggests Omicron antibodies could provide immunity against Delta too

South African data, not yet peer-reviewed, comes from 13 cases; researchers can’t definitively say neutralization of Omicron not due to vaccination or previous infection

By TOI staff

A healthcare worker at a drive testing complex in Modi'in, (Yossi Aloni/Flash90)

December 24, 2021, 12:58 pm

Rising cases, empty wards: Israel’s COVID situation explained in six graphs

In mid-November, when Israel felt Delta was defeated, cases began to go up once again. How has the rise in infections progressed and where does Israel stand now?

By Nathan Jeffay

A man receives a dose of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine in a vaccination clinic set up at St Columba's Church in Sheffield on December 15, 2021 as the UK steps up the country's booster drive to fight a "tidal wave" of Omicron. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP)

December 22, 2021, 11:33 pm

Two British studies indicate lower hospitalization rate for Omicron

Findings show those who fall ill are less likely to become severely sick; but experts warn high infectiousness could still lead to more overall severe cases

By AFP and TOI staff

People wait in line at a COVID-19 testing site in Times Square, New York, Dec. 13, 2021 (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

December 16, 2021, 8:12 am

Omicron threatens US hospitals already battling Delta; highest daily case rate in UK

Experts say highly-infectious strain already outpacing others; 13% of cases in NY/NJ area are Omicron; EU chief: ‘Once again, this Christmas will be overshadowed by the pandemic’

By laura ungar and Carla K. Johnson