The omicron variant appears to spread more than twice as quickly as delta, according to preliminary findings cited by The New York Times.

While administering monoclonal antibodies via intravenous infusion is standard practice to prevent severe hospitalization and death in outpatients with COVID-19, new research from UPMC shows giving the drug via four injections under the skin may be just as effective.

The nation's seven-day average for COVID-19 cases and deaths fell this week, while hospitalizations increased slightly, according to the CDC's COVID data tracker weekly review published Dec. 3.

For the week ending Nov. 27, New Mexico reported high flu activity for the fourth consecutive week, according to data from the CDC's FluView report published Dec. 3.

As more information emerges about the omicron variant — which has now been detected in five states — public health experts nationwide say the delta variant is still the main threat, The Washington Post reported Dec. 2.

Wisconsin and Illinois on Dec. 2 both reported the highest single-day increase in COVID-19 cases seen this year.

The World Health Organization deemed coronavirus variant B.1.1.529 — also known as omicron — a variant of concern and the U.S. followed suit Nov. 30 also classifying it as a variant of concern. The nation's first cases have been reported as U.S. officials race to contain it. 

Vermont has the highest percentage of its population fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the CDC's COVID-19 vaccine distribution and administration data tracker.

Here are the rates of positive COVID-19 tests in each state, along with the number of new cases most recently reported and number of tests conducted per 100,000 people. 

New daily COVID-19 hospitalization rates in the U.S. have risen 17 percent over the last two weeks, with 36 states and the District of Columbia seeing hospitalization rates trend upward, according to data tracked by The New York Times.

Several colleges and universities have launched innovative nursing programs and partnerships to address persistent nursing shortages around the country.

The number of fully vaccinated adults who report getting a COVID-19 booster dose has more than doubled in the last month, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation's latest COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor report released Dec. 2. 

In response to the emergence of the omicron variant, the White House has unveiled a new strategy that aims to further combat the virus by encouraging booster shots and helping to respond quickly to winter surges.

In an effort to reduce overdose deaths caused by increasingly potent illegal drugs, New York City opened two supervised injection sites Nov. 30, according to The New York Times.

At least 18 patients at Chicago-based Jesse Brown Veterans Affairs Medical Center have tested positive for COVID-19 after a sick staff member worked for several days, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Nov. 30. 

California officials have confirmed that a recent case of COVID-19 was caused by the coronavirus variant B.1.1.529 — also known as omicron — the first known case detected in the U.S., according to a Dec. 1 news release from the CDC.

When former New Jersey Health Commissioner Shereef Elnahal, MD, became president and CEO of Newark, N.J.-based University Hospital in 2019, improving quality and safety became part of his central goals. 

Amid an existing nursing workforce shortage exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, many hospitals and health systems have turned to travel nurse agencies to supplement the loss of full-time RNs. 

Fully vaccinated people with weaker immune systems contract COVID-19 three times more often and have more severe illness than those with strong immune systems, a study published Nov. 30 in the Journal of Medical Economics found. 

New Hampshire is currently seeing the highest average rate of daily COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people in the nation, with higher rates than all other states as well as every major U.S. region, according to state and local health agency data cited by The New York Times.