Amid confusion over this year's updated COVID-19 vaccines, we explain what's different this year and who experts say should get vaccinated.

Most Americans with health insurance should not have to pay out of pocket for Covid-19 vaccines, even after the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention added an extra hurdle to getting the shot.

The following is a roundup of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus.

Before this year, U.S. health officials recommended annual boosters for all Americans ages 6 months and older.

Many low-income families who normally get no-cost Covid-19 vaccines for their kids through the Vaccines for Children program have been told those shots aren’t available because states have been unable to order the vaccines while waiting for the CDC to act.

Texas AG Ken Paxton criticized the Texas Medical Association for rejecting new federal guidelines expanding parental choice on COVID-19 vaccines.

Researchers say people using a common allergy nasal spray, azelastine, were 69% less likely to contract COVID-19. Participants in the trial were additionally 71% less likely to catch the common cold than placebo users.

Then, Nicolas Hulscher, MPH, who identifies himself as an “epidemiologist”, went further, falsely claiming that the vaccine increases the risk of “seven types of cancer”, linking the study to others without justification to assert that these cancers “all increased significantly after vaccination”.

A study by a Japanese institution has indicated that underweight people are more at risk of developing severe COVID-19 symptoms than those of normal weight.

XFG, a recombination of variants LF.7 and LP.8.1.2, experienced a meteoric rise to become the predominant strain, having been responsible for 0% of U.S. cases through March, 14% by late June, 42% by early July and 70% by late August.