covid variant

A new variant of interest identified by the World Health Organization is showing signs of being able to evade immunity from both vaccines and previous COVID-19 infections.

Chicago’s top doctor on Thursday broke down the different types of coronavirus variants, explaining delta and delta plus, as well as detailing when the city and other jurisdictions would potentially need to make “major changes” in restrictions and other efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued a stark warning to young adults in the state Wednesday, saying that the delta variant of the coronavirus is impacting individuals 30 and younger with much greater regularity than previous strains of the virus.

About 83 percent of new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. have been fueled by the delta variant, and as the surge continues, the number of associated cases is expected to rise even higher in the coming weeks, according to health officials. Approximately one month ago, on June 19, the delta variant accounted for just over 30 percent of new cases. On...

Indiana’s top health officials warned Friday that spread of an especially contagious coronavirus variant is “significantly increasing” across the state, with more than half of the population still unvaccinated.

Pfizer and BioNTech say a third dose of its COVID-19 vaccine could extend protection against the virus.

Vaccines have shown to be largely effective even against more contagious strains of COVID-19, according to studies.

More than 1,000 cases of four COVID variants currently circulating in the U.S. have been identified in Illinois, state health officials say, as data from a state lab has found the variants are becoming “much more prominent” amid a continued rise in cases.

Four COVID variants currently circulating in the U.S. are becoming “much more prominent” in Illinois as the state battles what health officials say is a rise in cases, data from a state lab has found.

Pfizer and Biontech announced Thursday that their vaccine has proven effective against the coronavirus for at least six months after the second dose, including the South African variant.

Lake County health officials say the first case of the COVID-19 variant from Brazil has been identified in the county.

The Chicago Department of Public Health reported the city’s first case of the Brazilian COVID-19 variant Friday, which also marked the first such case in Illinois, according to health officials. The case of the coronavirus variant P.1, which was identified by a research team at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, was confirmed in an individual who hasn’t...

With new, more contagious variants of the coronavirus circulating, health experts are adjusting their recommendations for face masks. NBC News medical correspondent Dr. John Torres joined LX News to explain why you should make sure your face mask is well-fitted and double up.

The first person in the U.S. known to be infected with a new and apparently more contagious variant of the coronavirus was identified Wednesday as a Colorado National Guardsman who had been sent to help out at a nursing home struggling with an outbreak. And health officials said a second Guard member may have it, too. The cases have...

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis provided more details Wednesday about the first person in the U.S. to test positive for the highly contagious coronavirus variant first identified in the U.K. Polis warned that while this is the first case confirmed by a lab test, there were likely earlier cases in the U.S. that had not been identified.

The new and seemingly more contagious variant of the coronavirus that has set off alarm in Britain has been reported for the first time in the U.S., in a Colorado man who hadn’t been traveling, triggering a host of questions about how it got here and adding urgency to the nation’s vaccination drive. The patient, who is in his...

Colorado Governor Jared Polis said Tuesday the COVID-19 variant first detected in the United Kingdom had been detected in Colorado. U.K. scientists believe the variant is more contagious than previous strains of the virus.