Researchers at Arizona State University in Tempe have identified a new coronavirus variant that emerged from a common circulating strain in the U.S., reports ABC 15 Arizona.
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The Biden administration is creating a network of community volunteers to boost Americans' trust in COVID-19 vaccines, according to documents obtained by Politico.
As COVID-19 cases begin to surge in Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is asking the federal government to abandon its population-based vaccine allocation formula and instead send more to states facing a rise in cases, The Washington Post reported March 30.
Arkansas, Delaware and Wisconsin will all open COVID-19 vaccination eligibility to residents 16 and older in the next week, with at least 39 states offering the vaccine to all adults by mid-April, reports The New York Times.
COVID-19 hospitalizations are steadily increasing in Michigan, largely driven by a jump in cases among younger adults who have not been vaccinated yet, the Michigan Health & Hospital Association said March 24.
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Low levels of flu activity amid the COVID-19 pandemic have made it more challenging for experts developing next year's flu shot to predict which strains will predominate next winter, reports Politico.
The percentage of U.S. adults reporting symptoms of an anxiety or depressive disorder rose between August 2020 and February 2021, according to a CDC report published March 26.
A small minority of fully vaccinated people living in Minnesota have tested positive for COVID-19, though officials say the "breakthrough" infections are not especially worrisome, reports The Star Tribune.
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, MD, said she feels a sense of "impending doom" about another potential COVID-19 surge and issued an impassioned plea for Americans to maintain virus precautions during a March 29 briefing at the White House.
COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are extremely effective at protecting pregnant and lactating women against the virus, and likely provide protection for their babies as well, according to a study published March 25 in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.