Public Health

A combination of severe staffing shortages, financial challenges and rising hospital admissions are straining capacity at Oregon hospitals. Health officials are now asking residents to mask up to prevent further strain on the state's healthcare system. 

At least 18 cases of the newest omicron subvariant BA.2.75 have been confirmed in seven U.S. states as of July 20, early disease surveillance data shows. 

The omicron variant's evolutionary pattern differs from earlier variants and offers hints that the next new strain that emerges may also be in the omicron family, The New York Times reported July 20. 

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, or MIS-C, a condition that spiked when COVID-19's alpha variant surged in early 2021, is now leveling off, according to The Wall Street Journal. 

The omicron subvariant BA.5's highly transmissible nature and ability to evade immunity is spurring health experts to revisit earlier assumptions about the typical time span between COVID-19 infections, The Wall Street Journal reported July 19.

The omicron "sister variants" BA.4 and BA.5 now account for more than 90 percent of confirmed cases in the U.S., according to the CDC's latest variant proportion estimates.

Some states are relying on their own strategies to ration monkeypox vaccines as confirmed U.S. cases surpass 2,000. 

COVID-19 vaccines were more effective during the winter omicron surge, when BA.1 accounted for most cases, than they were this spring, when BA.2/BA.2.12.1 prevailed, according to a CDC study.  

With omicron-specific vaccines expected this fall, many eligible people who aren't up to date with their boosters are debating whether to get them now or hold off until the updated shots are available, CBS News reported July 16. 

For the first time since late May, the CDC is predicting that COVID-19 admissions will increase nationwide, according to the agency's ensemble forecast from 16 modeling groups.