Erin Prater

Stay informed with Erin Prater’s coverage and analysis for Fortune.

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Omicron variants are becoming increasingly similar this fall due to recombination and convergent evolution. It could make them easier to fight—or harder to control, experts say.<br />
Illustration by Josue Evilla, Fortune

Autumn COVID variants look shockingly similar and powerful for these 2 reasons

Flu cases began ticking up in the U.S. last month—and White House officials met with health care leaders about the “twindemic” threat last week. Cases of COVID and the flu could spike together this fall.

U.S. risks a ‘twindemic’ of COVID and flu this fall if what happened in Australia is any guide

Protester holding a sign, "Millions are still sick."

Long COVID could be linked to a totally different (and common) virus, new study finds

A new COVID treatment – if approved by the FDA – shows promise.

A new drug seeks ‘true revenge’ on COVID by turning the virus against itself

Molecular biologist Emanuel Wyler examines wastewater samples for pathogens in the safety laboratory at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in Mitte. From the amount of bacteria and viruses found, conclusions can be drawn, for example, about the frequency of corona infections.

Wastewater monitoring is the ‘public health dream’ that helped fight COVID. But it also raises big ethical questions about privacy and consent

Thirty mg tablets of Adderall XR are arranged in a Cambridge, Mass., pharmacy on Aug. 15, 2006.

Yes, there’s an Adderall shortage. Experts say high demand and the pandemic are fueling it

Chart shows weekly COVID-19 deaths compared with deaths from the flu

Why COVID isn’t like the flu (yet) in one brutal graph

Victorville, CA – December 17: Nurse Salina Padilla, left, prepares Dr. Prabakar Tummala for Bamlanivimab, monoclonal antibody infusion at Desert Valley Hospital on Thursday, Dec. 17, 2020 in Victorville, CA. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

‘The tools are getting picked off’: An ever-mutating mix of COVID variants means fewer and less effective treatments this fall

A healthcare worker attaches an IV infusion to a patient’s hand during a monoclonal antibody treatment in the parking lot at Wayne Health Detroit Mack Health Center in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., on Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021. Amid Michigan’s worst-yet coronavirus surge, there’s not enough supply of monoclonal antibodies nor are there enough health care workers to administer them, reports the Detroit Free Press. Photographer: Emily Elconin/Bloomberg via Getty Images

New COVID variants may evade current treatments—or render them entirely ineffective, experts say

NEW YORK, USA – DECEMBER 06: Anti-lockdown demonstrators burn face masks as they are gathered at the Grand Army Plaza to protest coronavirus restrictions in Brooklyn, New York, United States on December 6, 2020. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Don’t celebrate yet: The end of the pandemic is ‘still a long way off,’ WHO chief says

Los Angeles, CA – July 14: Sustained jumps in cases and hospitalizations fueled by the hyper-infectious BA.5 subvariant pushed Los Angeles County into the high COVID-19 community level Thursday, a shift that could trigger a new public indoor mask mandate by the end of this month unless conditions improve. Shoppers in mask and without masks in a very congested market Santee Alley on Thursday, July 14, 2022 in Los Angeles, CA. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Scientists were worried about a particular COVID variant this fall. They didn’t expect its offspring

Washington DC, USA- September 19: Protestors march outside the White House to call attention to those suffering from Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and âlong Covidâ on September 19th, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Nathan Posner/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Long COVID might be a lot more common than we think, as symptoms linger 2 years later for 20% of survivors, new study finds

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 25: Women wearing masks walk through fallen leaves outside NYC AIDS Memorial Park on October 25, 2020 in New York City. The pandemic has caused long-term repercussions throughout the tourism and entertainment industries, including short-term and permanent closures of historic and iconic venues, and costing the city and businesses billions in revenue. (Photo by Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

Just in time for fall, there’s a brand-new COVID variant making headway in the U.S.

President Joe Biden in 2021

Biden’s word salad on the pandemic being over sums up how life will never go back to the before times

An employee wears a protective mask at a JLL office in Dallas, Texas, U.S., on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020. Constraints such as social distancing and masks mean the precise nature of the future office working environment remains an open question even as some signs of normality return with some workers returning to their desks. Photographer: Dylan Hollingsworth/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Your boss is ordering you back to the office even though they have no idea if COVID is really over