Technologies

After 2 years of the COVID pandemic… we still have big questions

We’ve learned a lot about masks, quarantines and spike proteins in the past two years. We still don’t know enough about long COVID, vaccine protection and the origins of COVID-19.

For the most up-to-date news and information about the coronavirus pandemic, visit the WHO and CDC websites.

In December 2019, a group of people in Wuhan, China, began to experience what was described as an unknown pneumonia, later identified as COVID-19, which quickly blanketed the globe. To date, there have been 280 million infections to date, resulting in 5.4 million deaths.

Since then, advances against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, have come rapidly: Multiple effective vaccines emerged in a single year, far faster than the typical four to 10 years of development. And Pfizer has just received FDA authorization for its COVID antiviral drug Paxlovid, which the pharmaceuticals giant says could cut the risk of hospitalization or death from COVID-19 by up to 89%.

Infectious disease experts have discovered much about the science of COVID-19 and can now quickly identify mutations, like those found in the delta and omicron variants.

However, two years on, as the US passes 800,000 deaths from COVID — and tens of millions more infections and hospitalizations — scientists are still struggling to answer some of our biggest questions. For additional information on COVID-19, here’s what we know about the new omicron variant and how to get free at-home testing kits. And be sure to learn how to put your vaccine card on your phone.

Why does COVID make some people more sick, including long COVID?

We know the virus causes symptoms ranging from headaches, fever and disorientation to nausea and vomiting, and even loss of taste or smell. While scientists continue to piece together who is more likely to get hit with these outcomes, they still lack answers about why some experience serious illness and others don’t.

Age is definitely the biggest correlation for severe disease, Gigi Gronvall, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, told CNET. «But there have been 29-year-olds who have died, children who have died, when all indications suggest they should have had a mild disease course.»

Scientists are also trying to get their arms around «long COVID» — a range of symptoms that can run on for weeks or even months after a patient is first infected. The World Health Organization has issued a definition that includes a variety of lingering symptoms — including fatigue, trouble breathing, sleeplessness, difficulty focusing, anxiety and depression — and the list keeps changing. Even so, the condition’s cause is not clearly known.

«After two years, we don’t understand much about long COVID, and don’t know its prevalence with omicron after vaccination,» Bob Wachter, the chair of the department of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, tweeted Wednesday. «It remains a hardship for millions, and a lingering concern for me as I think about the prospect of getting even a ‘mild’ case of omicron.»

While some general symptoms, like loss of smell and taste, appear less common with omicron, Gronvall said, «we just don’t know if people with that variant will suffer long COVID. We just haven’t had enough time to tell.»

How long will immunity from vaccines last with variants like omicron?

The first COVID-19 vaccines went into arms a year ago in the US, and the two most effective in the US — from Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech — took a unique approach: Using Messenger RNA (mRNA) to teach our cells how to make a protein that will trigger an immune response to the virus.

While researchers have been studying mRNA vaccines «for decades,» according to the CDC, this marks the first time they’ve been made available to the public. Scientists continue to gather information on how effective they are — and how long until their effectiveness begins to decline.

«We are definitely still figuring that out,» Gronvall said. «We’re seeing that protection wanes earlier than six months, which is why boosters are being recommended at six months.»

As new variants like the quick-spreading omicron emerge, she added, «whether the booster will be sufficient for a long period of time or not is something we still need to uncover.»

According to the World Health Organization, the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are far less effective in preventing infection by the omicron strain than earlier COVID-19 variants. Other vaccines — including those from Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, and ones manufactured in Russia and China — do even less to prevent infection by the omicron variant, The New York Times reported.

Still, fully vaccinated individuals are much less likely to experience severe symptoms, hospitalization and death, according to Harvard Medical School, especially if they receive a booster shot.

«It’s not a worst-case scenario, where the vaccines are ineffective,» Gronvall said. «In lab scenarios we’ve seen, vaccines provide less protection. That seems to be borne out in reality, but we can’t project yet into the real world.»

Will there be more variants like delta and omicron?

Viruses constantly mutate. Sometimes these mutations result in new disease strains that emerge quickly and disappear, according to the CDC. Other times, they persist and create spikes in the rate of infection and disease. In two years, COVID has mutated into five «variants of concern,» according to WHO, based on the severity of disease, the effectiveness of medical countermeasures and the strain’s ability to spread from person to person.

The alpha, beta and gamma variants were all downgraded to «variants being monitored» in September, with delta and omicron still considered variants of concern. This week federal health officials declared the omicron variant the dominant strain in the US, accounting for nearly three-quarters of new infections. Preliminary studies indicate illness caused by omicron may be less severe than delta, which doubled the hospitalization rate of the original alpha strain, but is also far more contagious.

Health officials warn that the longer the pandemic lasts and the longer large groups remain unvaccinated, the more time the virus will have to spread and mutate. While researchers can quickly map and identify variants, they need time to see how dangerous a new strain is as they gather data on hospitalizations and deaths.

«We’re still not great at looking at new variants and projecting what that means in the real world,» Gronvall said. «We have better tools to read genetic material and determine when variants emerge. But we can’t read them like a book.»

Where did COVID-19 come from?

Experts are still not certain how COVID-19 emerged. The prevailing theory is that it leaped from an animal to a human. The first symptoms of COVID-19 were reported in Wuhan among people who either worked or lived near Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, an open-air «wet market» that sold fresh beef, poultry, fish and produce.

According to numerous sources, including a June 2021 study in Scientific Reports, the market also traded in exotic animals as pets and food, including badgers, hedgehogs, civets and porcupines.

Others, however, claim that SARS-CoV-2 emerged in a lab — with a naturally occurring or human-engineered virus infecting a researcher, who spread it to others. While there has been no solid evidence to back the lab-leak theory, former President Donald Trump and his supporters pushed the lab-origin theory through 2020.

«There’s a lot of people using this as a vehicle for other agendas,» Gronvall said. «And certainly the Chinese have been lying.» Government officials originally claimed that there were no contraband animals present at the market, she added, but researchers looking for a separate tick-borne disease photographed many illegal animals there, «stuffed together in close quarters, in poor health and stress conditions, in the months before cases were identified.»

«People are looking to blame [someone],» Gronvall said. «They’re not looking for an explanation that is very human and plausible. But there’s no virus that’s been identified in the laboratory that’s at all close to what ended up spreading around the world.»

Because the Chinese government shut down the Huanan market and removed all evidence almost as soon as cases of COVID were being associated with it, Gronvall said, researchers are not likely to ever find the exact animal culprit.

«It wasn’t like SARS in 2003, when you had these palm civets there that were all infected and it was a pretty quick thing,» she said.

To uncover more about the emergence of COVID-19, this summer, President Joe Biden directed the federal intelligence community to «redouble their efforts» to investigate the virus’ origins.

What we do know, heading into the third year of the disease, is we have a medicine cabinet of tools — including vaccines and antiviral pills — we didn’t have when we first learned of COVID-19. For more, here’s what we know about the Moderna and Pfizer vaccine boosters and how to pick which one to get.

The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.

Technologies

Nintendo’s Pokemon Legends: Z-A Is a Hit. Just Ask My Kid

Pokemon Legends: Z-A has sucked my family in, and I can’t get my Switch controller back from my son.

I’d love to tell you all about Pokemon Legends: Z-A, arriving this week, and what it’s been like to play on the Nintendo Switch 2. I can mostly do that — but for most of the past five days, it hasn’t really been me playing. What started as co-playing together quickly turned into my kid taking over completely as he got hooked. And honestly, I’d say that’s a good sign.

Nintendo makes a lot of Pokemon games, too many for me to keep track of. But Legends Z-A is the first that’s Switch 2-optimized, although you can play on original Switches, too. I can’t tell you what that’s like, though — my early review access limited me to playing Pokemon Legends: Z-A on the Switch 2 only at home. I was doubtful about how much a city-based game would truly feel like a must-have experience, but so far it’s already become one of my favorite Pokemon games ever.

I’ll let my son tell you. He’s gotten deep into the trading card game and has played most of the recent Pokemon titles over the past year, and he says this is his favorite so far. When I asked him why, he said it’s because the game completely rethinks how battles work. The quick, real-time system feels more immediate and far less sluggish than in past Pokemon games. Plus, he’s loving the story… and honestly, so am I.

A city full of surprises

My son loves the «peculiar» storyline, the fast-paced battles (which he now wants in every Pokemon game) and the constant sense of surprise while exploring Lumiose City.

All of Pokemon Legends: Z-A (at least from what I’ve seen in my 10-plus hours so far) takes place entirely within Lumiose City — a Paris-like metropolis where the CEO of a company called Quasartico Inc. is planning to rebuild everything into a new world where Pokemon and humans can better coexist. The setup reminded me of the Detective Pikachu movie during my demo a few weeks ago, and it turns out my instincts were right.

Pokemon roam in wild zones within the city, occasionally spilling into urban areas, while mysterious rogue «Mega Evolution» Pokemon have begun appearing and threatening the city’s calm. There’s clearly a deeper mystery at play, and while I’m still uncovering it, I won’t spoil anything here.

The game seems to mostly involve a journey to level up in rank from Z to A by battling various Pokemon trainers, but that’s not the whole story. There’s a group of friends you hang out with at a local hotel, along with research missions you have to carry out. Side quests are everywhere. The city, though it can feel a bit sparse at times, stretches all the way up to its rooftops, where all sorts of hidden spots are waiting to be discovered. It feels like a living maze, and one I’m still navigating.

And the city’s always changing, too. Wild zones keep multiplying, and from day to night the city’s dynamics shift. Battles take place at night, with trainers gathering in new pop-up spots each time. It’s not as lively as I’d hoped — this isn’t Grand Theft Pokemon — but the cozy, vibrant world still makes me daydream about what a real-life Universal Pokemon theme park could someday look like.

The Pokemon shine

I keep reminding myself to take extra time to discover and level up my Pokemon. At least that’s what my son’s telling me to do. He loves how many Pokemon can become Mega Evolved in this game, and how much fun the battle moves are to pull off. I’m happy he’s happy. I thought I’d get lost in the RPG aspects of the game, but I think the real-time Pokemon battles put me in a looser state of mind, more able to explore and not feel locked down into systems and rulesets. Swapping Pokemon battle moves and reassigning them to buttons is easy, too.

The stronger focus on trainer battles — and the sheer variety of Pokemon capable of mega evolving — gives the game more of that classic, Pokemon-centered energy than Pokemon Legends: Arceus ever did. I found myself more excited to see how different Pokemon looked and behaved than to uncover new realms to explore. After all, for all of Lumiose City’s secrets, you’re spending a lot more time roaming one massive location than in any other Pokemon game I can remember. Thankfully, the visual upgrades on the Switch 2 make those Pokemon look fantastic in battle.

I do want to spend more time in Lumiose City, though, and can’t help but wonder if this is a glimpse of how all Pokemon games will keep evolving. It’s hard to say, since Legends games like Z-A and Arceus have been more experimental than the rest of the series. But, like Arceus, Z-A is now one of my favorite Pokemon games on Switch. And on Switch 2, it plays smoother and feels better than any Pokemon game ever has before.

Technologies

iPhone 17 Preorders Spike and Overall Phone Sales Aren’t Slowing Down Despite Tariffs

Global smartphone shipments saw a notable increase in the third quarter of 2025. Plus, preorders for Apple’s new iPhone 17 beat out the iPhone 16.

Despite tariffs and market uncertainty, global smartphone shipments increased 2.6% in the third quarter of 2025, compared to the same time last year, according to the International Data Corporation. Additionally, preorders for the iPhone 17, which launched last month, outpaced last year’s iPhone 16.

These increased sales include premium phones like the latest iPhones and Samsung foldables, suggesting yet again that pricier phones still sell in periods of economic strain. It’s a remarkable achievement, says IDC senior research director Nabila Popal, citing shrewd financing options as the reason people keep buying these high-end phones, which cost anywhere from $800 to nearly $2,000.

«[Phone makers] have mastered the art of innovation not only in hardware and software to entice upgrades but also in removing purchase friction. They have flawlessly combined cutting-edge devices with innovative financing models and aggressive trade-in programs that make the upgrading decision a ‘no-brainer’ for consumers,» Popal said in an IDC press release.

Apple sold 58.6 million iPhones this quarter, an increase of 2.9% over the same period in 2024, with more preorders for the iPhone 17 series than its predecessor. But Samsung wasn’t far behind, with its Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7 selling better than all of the company’s prior foldables. The company still reigns atop the phone market with 61.4 million phones sold, representing 19% of the market in the third quarter of this year — an increase of 6.3% from the same period last year. Meanwhile, Apple lands slightly behind Samsung with 18.2% market share this quarter.

The other phone makers trailing Apple and Samsung are, in order: Xiaomi, with 13.5% of the market; Transsion, with 9%; and Vivo with 8.9%. The remaining companies in the phones industry, from Chinese stalwarts like Oppo and Honor to Motorola and Google, make up the remaining 31.4% of the market for the quarter. All told, 322.7 million phones were sold, up from 314.6 million in the third quarter of 2024, according to IDC.

IDC’s findings for the third quarter continue the small but steady growth of phone sales over the year, including a modest 1% increase in the preceding three months — which includes the April deadline when President Donald Trump unveiled sweeping tariffs. In the second quarter, IDC cited midrange devices like Samsung’s Galaxy A36 and other phones that started incorporating AI. But even persistent tariffs haven’t slowed down people’s appetites for pricier phones in the third quarter.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Tuesday, Oct. 14

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Oct. 14.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s Mini Crossword has an odd vertical shape, with an extra Across clue, and only four Down clues. The clues are not terribly difficult, but one or two could be tricky. Read on if you need the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.