COVID-19: Most Read Stories From 2024

FDA Approves Updated Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine

As one of the more important vaccine approvals since the very first COVID-19 vaccine was introduced to older adults, in September of 2024, the FDA approved Novavax’s updated COVID-19 vaccine. Designed with a monovalent component corresponding to the Omicron variant JN.1 strain, this formula was approved for protecting individuals 12 and older against COVID-19.

Top read COVID-19 stories from the year 2024 | image credit: Nattakorn / stock.adobe.com

Moderna: Combination COVID-19–Flu Vaccine Trial Meets Primary Endpoints

Sticking with COVID-19 vaccines, but a bit of a different take on protecting against the disease, researchers met primary endpoints for a combination COVID-19–flu vaccine back in June. Researchers’ main finding was that a single mRNA-1083 dose was just as effective as the vaccine’s coadmininstered comparators. Representatives of the vaccine’s manufacturer believe that combination vaccines can reduce the burden of respiratory illnesses on pharmacies and health systems.

COVID-19 Not Associated With Increased Risk of Asthma Development in Children

Early on in health experts’ understanding of COVID-19, they were able to determine that it had possible long-term effects on the respiratory system. With one of the most common respiratory illnesses in the world being asthma, experts believed a positive COVID-19 test could translate to further asthma diagnoses down the line. However, a Pediatrics study from earlier this year showed that the SAR-COV-2 virus did not increase children’s risk of developing asthma.

Hospitals Reinstate Mask Guidelines Against Triple Threat of Respiratory Illnesses

While warnings regarding COVID-19 risk have been issued sporadically since the onset of the pandemic in 2020, an announcement from early in 2024 led hospitals across the country to reinstate mask mandates. During the 2023 winter season, spilling into January 2024, public health experts were warning about a “tripledemic” spurred on by an uptick in cases of COVID-19, flu, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The guidelines have since been updated, but experts are not ruling out a similar situation happening in the future.

Long COVID Risk Reduced by 70% Following Vaccination

Shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic began, patients and providers alike started to encounter novel situations where individuals’ COVID-19 symptoms persisted much later than the virus’ normal lifespan in most other patients. Referring to it as long COVID—or post-acute sequelae of severe acute respiratory syndrome SARS-CoV-2 infection—researchers found over the summer that vaccination against the virus reduced long COVID by 70%.

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