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What to Expect From the Next Phase of the Pandemic

The Omicron variant of the coronavirus is incredibly contagious — it is able to infect people with even greater frequency than the Delta variant, and it is skilled at evading the immune system’s defenses. Much is still unknown about the new variant, and scientists are racing to understand its threat. But amid the uncertainty, there’s good news about a prospective new virus treatment: A pill by Pfizer is effective in reducing people’s risk of hospitalization or death from Covid-19. We explore these two developments and what they could mean for the next phase of the pandemic. Guest: Carl Zimmer, a science writer and author of the “Matter” column for The New York Times.
Duration
30m
Broadcast on
17 Dec 2021
Audio Format
other

The Omicron variant of the coronavirus is incredibly contagious — it is able to infect people with even greater frequency than the Delta variant, and it is skilled at evading the immune system’s defenses. Much is still unknown about the new variant, and scientists are racing to understand its threat. But amid the uncertainty, there’s good news about a prospective new virus treatment: A pill by Pfizer is effective in reducing people’s risk of hospitalization or death from Covid-19.

We explore these two developments and what they could mean for the next phase of the pandemic.

Guest: Carl Zimmer, a science writer and author of the “Matter” column for The New York Times.

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Background reading: 

  • An Omicron surge is likely. Here’s what to expect.
  • Pfizer announced that its Covid pill was found to stave off severe disease in a key clinical trial and that it is likely to work against the highly mutated Omicron variant of the virus.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.


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This podcast is supported by TikTok. Sometimes the most interesting discoveries are the ones you weren't looking for. That happens every day on TikTok. A science experiment can spark a whole new interest. A recipe you stumble upon can become a meal you make for the people you love. And a restaurant you've never heard of might become your new favorite spot. That's the thing about TikTok. Follow your curiosity and see where it leads. Your next discovery is waiting on TikTok. From the New York Times, I'm Michael Bovaro. This is a Daily. Today, as infections once again surge, what we're learning about the Omicron variant and a new treatment for COVID and what both could mean for the next phase of the pandemic. I spoke with my colleague, science reporter, Carl Zimmer. (dramatic music) It's Friday, December 17th. So, Carl, the last time we devoted an episode to the pandemic, the Omicron variant had just emerged. And our colleague, Aporva Montevili, told us that when it came to the big questions about this variant, how contagious is it? How good is it at evading vaccines? How sick might it make us? We had to wait, we had to wait a couple of weeks. And we did that, we patiently waited, but now we demand answers. So what do you know? Well, if you're vaccinated and you're boosted, you're probably gonna be in good shape when it comes to fending off the variant. If you're not, then the picture's more complicated. What do you mean? Well, we know that Omicron is really contagious. It's about two to three times as likely to infect people as the delta variant. Wow. We're seeing that in case after case. So for example, in Norway, there was a Christmas party on December 8th, and there were 111 people at the party. They'd all tested negative before going to the party, all vaccinated. 80 people came away from the party infected. Wow. With Omicron.

Transcription truncated.

The Omicron variant of the coronavirus is incredibly contagious — it is able to infect people with even greater frequency than the Delta variant, and it is skilled at evading the immune system’s defenses. Much is still unknown about the new variant, and scientists are racing to understand its threat. But amid the uncertainty, there’s good news about a prospective new virus treatment: A pill by Pfizer is effective in reducing people’s risk of hospitalization or death from Covid-19. We explore these two developments and what they could mean for the next phase of the pandemic. Guest: Carl Zimmer, a science writer and author of the “Matter” column for The New York Times.