Public Health

Nineteen senators co-signed a letter to HHS and CMS urging the agencies to cover at-home COVID-19 tests for Medicare beneficiaries. 

A new version of the omicron variant, known as BA.2, has been reported in 40 countries, The Washington Post reported this week.

The nation's seven-day average for new COVID-19 cases is falling, but deaths continue to rise and now are eclipsing levels seen during the delta wave, data from the CDC and Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins University show. 

Antibodies able to block the omicron coronavirus variant last four months after a third dose of Pfizer-BioNTech's vaccine, according to a study published Jan. 22 by bioRxiv.

Rather than altering the definition of "fully vaccinated," the CDC is emphasizing the importance of staying up to date with COVID-19 vaccination schedules. 

Most states will likely see omicron cases peak by mid-February, Anthony Fauci, MD, said during a Jan. 23 interview on ABC's "This Week."

Two separate studies published by the CDC Jan. 21 explored vaccine and booster dose effectiveness against the periods in which delta and omicron were emerging and predominant.

The U.S. saw a marginal decrease in new COVID-19 cases and deaths last week, while hospitalizations figures ticked up slightly, according to the CDC's COVID data tracker weekly review published Jan. 21. 

Monoclonal antibody treatments were used less among Black, Asian, Hispanic and other race COVID-19 patients when compared to white and non-Hispanic COVID-19 patients, according to a data analysis published Jan. 21 by the CDC.

Eleven states publicly report data on current or cumulative COVID-19 hospitalized based on vaccination status.