One of Vermont's largest employers is opting out of a state request that employer-sponsored health plans cover at-home COVID-19 tests, according to VTDigger.
Public Health
New York is projected to have the highest number of daily COVID-19 cases of any state on New Year's Eve, according to forecasts from Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic.
The nation's seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases has surpassed figures seen during this summer's delta surge.
Life expectancy in the U.S. dropped nearly two years in 2020, from 78.8 years in 2019 to 77 years in 2020, according to the CDC's finalized mortality report published Dec. 22. The decrease was largely fueled by COVID-19 deaths.
Public health officials say actions the White House announced this week to address the omicron variant's spread will not prevent COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations from increasing over the next few weeks, The New York Times reported Dec. 21.
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At least three states have set COVID-19 records over the past five days.
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.
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.