Month: December 2021

The arrival of Omicron, the latest and most transmissible COVID-19 variant to date, underscores the tremendous need for updated COVID-19 policy in the U.S. We always knew it would be difficult to contain a highly transmissible respiratory virus before Omicron. The arrival of the Delta variant forced us to abandon our goal of “herd immunity.” With the arrival … Read more

South Africa’s noticeable drop in new COVID-19 cases in recent days may signal that the country’s dramatic omicron-driven surge has passed its peak, medical experts say. Daily virus case counts are notoriously unreliable, as they can be affected by uneven testing, reporting delays and other fluctuations. But they are offering one tantalizing hint—far from conclusive … Read more

U.S. health regulators on Wednesday authorized the first pill against COVID-19, a Pfizer drug that Americans will be able to take at home to head off the worst effects of the virus. The long-awaited milestone comes as U.S. cases, hospitalizations and deaths are all rising and health officials warn of a tsunami of new infections … Read more

It’s clear that 2020 was a terrible year for health in the U.S., but just how terrible is now coming into focus. New mortality data from the National Center for Health Statistics finds that life expectancy dropped by 1.8 years in 2020 compared to 2019, and more than 528,800 more U.S. residents died in 2020 … Read more

Contracts to purchase tests could be signed as soon as next week, but relief could be weeks away for people trying to buy the hard-to-find tests. View original article Contributor: Michael D. Shear and Sheryl Gay Stolberg

The data offer a rare bit of good news. Still, hospitalizations are likely to increase simply because the variant is so contagious. View original article Contributor: Carl Zimmer and Emily Anthes

In Minnesota, an ambitious initiative is training hundreds of Guard members to become certified nursing assistants and relieve burned out nursing home workers. View original article Contributor: Andrew Jacobs

Routine use of a more advanced screening method turns a low-cost procedure into a pricier one. View original article Contributor: Jay Hancock

People who are aerobically fit and work out a lot tend to imbibe more than their less fit peers. View original article Contributor: Gretchen Reynolds