Concept image of COVID-19 cells (variants Gamma, Delta, and Omicron). For a long time, scientists couldn't figure out where Omicron had come from. Now, studies appear to point to one specific group. Matt Anderson Photography/Getty Images hide caption
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that up to 86% of new COVID-19 cases stem from the latest mutation, JN.1. The most recent COVID vaccines are expected to help lower chances of serious illness or hospitalization from JN.1. Rogelio V. Solis/AP hide caption
Experts say the new COVID boosters are a much closer match to currently circulating variants than prior vaccines and boosters. Frederick J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Print a poster version of this comic to hang up on your fridge or give away to friends. Download the poster here. Malaka Gharib/ NPR hide caption
Travelers at Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station in Shanghai, China on Dec. 12. China's public health officials say up to 800 million people could be infected with the coronavirus over the next few months. Qilai Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption
New COVID variants that are highly immune evasive have overtaken BA.5 to dominate in the U.S. Experts warn this means more reinfections and a possible winter surge. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption
An electron microscope image shows a SARS-CoV-2 particle isolated in the early days of the pandemic. It's been nearly a year since omicron was first detected, and scientists say this branch of the coronavirus family tree is still thriving. NIAID/NIH via AP hide caption
Sikhulile Moyo, the laboratory director at the Botswana-Harvard AIDS Institute and a research associate with the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, headed the team that identified the omicron variant. Leabaneng Natasha Moyo hide caption
The new booster shot would be an update to Pfizer's current version of the shot, which was designed for the original strain of the coronavirus. Nam Y. Huh/AP hide caption
The FDA is trying to make "bivalent" COVID vaccines, which target two different antigens, available as soon as September. Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
A syringe is prepared with the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination clinic at the Keystone First Wellness Center in Chester, Pa., Dec. 15, 2021. Matt Rourke/AP hide caption
A Covid-19 testing site stands on a Brooklyn street corner in April. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption
Print a poster version of this comic to hang up on your fridge or give away to friends. Download the poster here. Malaka Gharib/ NPR hide caption
A nurse fills a syringe with a COVID-19 vaccine in the Staten Island borough of New York on April 8, 2021. The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday recommended that COVID booster shots be modified to better match more recent variants of the coronavirus. Mary Altaffer/AP hide caption
A health worker administers a dose of a COVID-19 vaccine during a vaccination clinic in Chester, Pa., on Dec. 15, 2021. Matt Rourke/AP hide caption
A syringe is prepared with the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination clinic in Chester, Pa., on Dec. 15, 2021. Pfizer says tweaking its COVID-19 vaccine to better target the omicron variant is safe and boosts protection. Matt Rourke/AP hide caption
The omicron variant, though much more contagious than the delta strain, is still prevalent in the U.S. but is less likely than delta to cause long COVID, according to a new study. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption
A positive result on a home COVID test. If you catch it once, can you catch it again? Turns out the answer is: Yes. Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images hide caption
Journalists and politicians mingled at an afterparty following the White House Correspondents Dinner on April 30. Based on COVID cases among attendees at the main event, SARS-CoV-2 was mingling as well. Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/for The Washington Post via Getty Images hide caption
A woman wears a face shield to protect against COVID-19 at a taxi stand in Soweto, South Africa, where an omicron variant is causing a COVID-19 surge. Denis Farrell/AP hide caption
A medical worker administers tests at a Covid-19 testing site in New York City. New York City and other places in the Northeast are seeing an uptick in infection numbers. Spencer Platt / Getty Images hide caption
A case of COVID-19 brought 12-year-old Harry Nelson to the emergency room in Syracuse, N.Y., where cases are surging, His mother, photographer Paula Nelson, says he first had mild symptoms — just a headache — but later ran a high fever and began vomiting, which meant he couldn't keep down fever-relief meds. At the ER, he needed saline to rehydrate, Tylenol for his fever and meds to stop vomiting. Paula Nelson for NPR hide caption
A pop-up clinic inside Los Angeles International Airport offered free vaccinations and boosters for holiday travelers last December. A new round of vaccinations may be needed before next winter. FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images hide caption