SARS-CoV-2, or severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, is a single-stranded RNA virus that causes the disease known as COVID-19 in humans. Disease symptoms and modes of transmission are tightly linked to respiration processes. The virus is primarily spread via small, virus-laced particles called respiratory droplets that are released when an infected person coughs, sneezes, talks or exhales. Disease severity ranges from mild-to-severe, and common symptoms include fever, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, sore throat, runny nose and body aches. Loss of taste or smell may also accompany infection.
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. In the 2 years since then, millions of lives have been lost or forever changed.
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. In the 2 years since then, millions of lives have been lost or forever changed.
COVID-19 Registry
Our COVID-19 Research Registry includes top-ranked, COVID-19 research articles, curated by experts, and serves as a resource for scientists working together to accelerate SARS-CoV-2 research.
ASM Journals
We are committed to broadly disseminating research relevant to public health emergencies. This collection highlights all COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2 research published across ASM Journals.
COVID-19 Advocacy
ASM has played a key role in educating Congress, informing legislation and building support for pandemic-related policies rooted in science.
Providing Trusted Information
Timeline of Events
Shaping the U.S. Response
March 10, 2020: ASM Expresses Concern About Coronavirus Test Reagent Shortages
July 2020: ASM Defends Science-Based Health Policy in Letter to Executive Branch
Feb. 9, 2021: ASM Endorses RISE Act of 2021 to Support Research
Dec. 23, 2021: ASM Submits Comments on Cures 2.0 Legislation
Jan 21, 2022: ASM Discourages Congress's Research-Stifling COVID Investigation
Feb 4, 2022: ASM Comments on Draft PREVENT Pandemics Act
July 2020: ASM Defends Science-Based Health Policy in Letter to Executive Branch
Feb. 9, 2021: ASM Endorses RISE Act of 2021 to Support Research
Dec. 23, 2021: ASM Submits Comments on Cures 2.0 Legislation
Jan 21, 2022: ASM Discourages Congress's Research-Stifling COVID Investigation
Feb 4, 2022: ASM Comments on Draft PREVENT Pandemics Act
Leading on Diagnostics and Testing
Downloadable Resources
COVID-19 Fact Sheets
Looking for simple, accurate information you can use to talk about COVID-19 and answer questions from your friends and family? Check out these fact sheets from ASM, which are freely available for you to download. We'll be releasing a new set each week throughout February 2022. Be sure to share on social media!Note that ASM retains copyright for these infographics. They may be used for personal or non-commercial, educational purposes only with the following citation: "American Society for Microbiology, 2022." Please contact communications@asmusa.org for other uses.
COVID-19 Toolkit
Need to explain COVID-19 to your friends, family members or local community? Download our resource collection that includes information about how COVID-19 is spread, key facts about the current crop of vaccines and suggestions for how people can protect themselves. Includes resources in English, Spanish and Nepalese!
Hear From Experts
Progress on Omicron-Specific Vaccines
Updated February 11, 2022ASM President-Elect Colleen Kraft, M.D., the Associate Chief Medical Officer at Emory University Hospital and associate professor in the Department of Medicine, discusses the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in a CNN interview aired January 2022.
View COVID-19 Registry Virtual Journal Clubs
Watch past COVID-19 Research Registry virtual journal club recordings where SARS-CoV-2 research is presented and discussed in depth by a panel of experts. Topics include long COVID, emerging variants, vaccines and therapeutics. Watch Past Registry Virtual Journal Club Sessions
Podcasts
A study in which 36 volunteers were infected with SARS-CoV-2, and what was learned about the kinetics of virus reproduction in the nose and throat, development of symptoms, and reliability of lateral flow antigen assays.
Determining the number of neutralizing epitopes on the SARS-CoV-2 spike that are recognized by antibodies.
COVID-19 mRNA vaccination of both uninfected and previously infected persons elicits cross-variant neutralizing antibodies, and directed evolution of a bacterial protein to form a virus-like capsid that specifically packages its encoding mRNA.