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The omicron BA.2 subvariant is inherently more contagious and better at evading vaccines than any other Covid strain, but vaccinated people don’t transmit it as easily as the unvaccinated, according to a Danish study published Sunday. The new subvariant, which has rapidly become dominant in Denmark, spread more easily across all groups regardless of sex, age, household size and vaccination status, the study found. (Kimball, 1/31)

Frederik Plesner Lyngse, PhD, the study's first author who is with the University of Copenhagen and Denmark's Statens Serum Institute, said on Twitter that it's important to sort out the difference between the two Omicron variants, because BA.2 is very different than BA.1, differing by about 40 mutations. (Schnirring, 1/31)

New studies are emerging that suggest the latest version of the highly-infectious omicron variant is transmitting even faster than the original, and mild cases of the first may not offer much protection against future infections. The findings cast doubt on hopes that the wave of omicron that’s sweeping the world may help hasten the end of the pandemic. Calls for governments to treat Covid-19 as endemic like influenza are rising globally as people grow tired of pandemic restrictions, vaccines become more accessible and deaths remain relatively low. (Matsuyama, 2/1)

On Monday, Reuters reported that Ivermectin had been shown to have an "antiviral effect" against the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in phase III trials—which are conducted in humans—citing a press release by Japanese pharmaceutical company Kowa. However, Reuters later published a correction to this claim explaining that this statement was not true, and that what Kowa had actually found was that ivermectin had an antiviral effect against COVID-19 in non-clinical research. (Browne, 2/1)

Social media users have recently circulated an image allegedly showing a home COVID-19 care kit delivered by the Mexican government that contains ivermectin. “This is the Ivermectin Kit the Mexican Government is giving its Citizens for Free,” reads a tweet from Jan. 17 that has garnered more than 20,700 retweets. Starting Jan. 4, 2022, the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS) stopped including ivermectin in their home COVID-19 care kits for ambulatory patients, the IMSS Directorate of Medical Benefits told Reuters. (1/26)