omicron

WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday authorized updated COVID-19 booster shots specifically targeting a subvariant of omicron. The agency approved two options aimed at the BA.5 subvariant of omicron that is now dominant in the U.S.: one... Read More

WASHINGTON — This week the World Health Organization has begun monitoring two new subvariants of the omicron strain known as BA.4 and BA.5, adding to a lengthy tracking list which already includes omicron subvariants BA.2.12 and BA.2.12.1, and the new... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Applications for U.S. unemployment benefits rose last week but remain near historically low levels, reflecting relatively few layoffs across the economy. Jobless claims rose by 23,000 to 248,000 for the week ending Feb. 12, the Labor Department... Read More

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Some conservatives are taking aim at policies that allow doctors to consider race as a risk factor when allocating scarce COVID-19 treatments, saying the protocols discriminate against white people. The wave of infections brought on by... Read More

WASHINGTON — Beginning Jan. 15, private health insurers will be required to cover the cost of home testing kits despite recent concerns from elected officials and researchers over the reliability and availability of rapid antigen testing. “I’ve heard from so... Read More

Scientists are seeing signals that COVID-19′s alarming omicron wave may have peaked in Britain and is about to do the same in the U.S., at which point cases may start dropping off dramatically. The reason: The variant has proved so wildly contagious... Read More

DAVOS, Switzerland — For the second year in a row, the coronavirus is wreaking havoc on the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos. The organization, which has been hosting the high-profile networking event for business executives, world leaders and... Read More

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The omicron variant appears to cause less severe disease than previous versions of the coronavirus, and the Pfizer vaccine seems to offer less defense against infection from it but still good protection from hospitalization, according to an analysis... Read More

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden addressed the nation Monday, calling the new omicron variant of the coronavirus a cause for concern “but not a cause for panic.” Speaking in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, as Dr. Anthony Fauci,... Read More