Variant

Readers are curious about the new variant, currently known a BA.2.86. Also: Lots of questions about boosters. Can you get it at the same time as a flu shot? And how long does protection last?

The burning questions: What makes this newly identified variant so transmissible? And what does it mean for preventing spread?

The individual returned from South Africa on Nov. 22 and had mild symptoms. Cases have been found in more than 20 countries, less than a week after the worrying new variant was first identified.

Doctors and health officials in Texas say the omicron variant of COVID-19 could be found in the state within the next couple of weeks — if it’s not already here.

President Biden received a briefing from his medical task force, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, who said that "inevitably" the omicron variant will turn up in the U.S.

Scientists are trying to determine if the coronavirus variant in India could be the most transmissible variant known.