The presence and spread of new, more-infectious and immune-evading variants show that the coronavirus is not done mutating.

The first part of 2022 is giving us a glimpse of humanity’s future relationship with COVID-19.

This strain of SARS-CoV-2 is causing new outbreaks in Europe and Asia and may spread slightly faster than the better-known BA.1 Omicron subvariant, although it’s too early to say for sure.

Anecdotal reports and results from small studies on the diagnostics’ accuracy have prompted questions about the devices’ usage with the new variant, but researchers say more data are needed and emphasize the continued importance of SARS-CoV-2 testing.

Early reports that Omicron causes less-severe disease than Delta seem to be borne out, but it’s not yet clear to what extent that’s due to the variant itself versus the populations it’s infecting.

Given within three days of symptom onset, the pill combination was nearly 90 percent effective at preventing high-risk patients from developing severe illness in a clinical study.

Unlike studies of antibody-rich transfusions in hospitalized patients, which overall have not found clear benefits, a new randomized trial finds that early convalescent plasma treatment cuts hospitalizations in half.

A preprint reports that the new SARS-CoV-2 variant multiplies faster in human bronchial tissue but slower in lung tissue than the Delta variant, potentially explaining how it’s spreading from person to person so quickly.