Omicron, which World Health Organization officials warned is spreading faster than any COVID-19 variant, is again calling into question the effectiveness of reusable cloth masks.
Public Health
About 87 percent of unvaccinated adults in the U.S. said news about the omicron coronavirus variant does not make them more likely to get the shots, a Kaiser Family Foundation survey published Dec. 21 found.
New York City residents who receive a COVID-19 booster by the end of the year will receive $100, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Dec. 21.
Omicron may have an average incubation period of three days, shorter than any variant yet, according to preliminary findings from studies cited by The Atlantic.
As the nation enters its normal flu season amid the COVID-19 pandemic, experts say there's still much unknown about what's to come.
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Clinicians at Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic Health System recently performed their 10,000th COVID-19 monoclonal antibody infusion.
Some experts are warning against writing off the omicron variant as milder than other variants, and preliminary findings from the U.K. suggest it appears no less severe than delta.
President Joe Biden will announce new initiatives Dec. 21 that his administration is rolling out as the omicron variant contributes to a surge in new COVID-19 cases in the U.S.
The omicron coronavirus variant has quickly become the dominant strain in the U.S., accounting for 73.2 percent of new infections for the week ending Dec. 18, genomic surveillance data from the CDC shows.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, part of HHS, is investing $282 million to update the current 10-digit number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline to a three-digit dialing code.