By Travis Caldwell and Holly Yan, CNN It’s still too early to predict whether Omicron’s rapid spread will help push coronavirus from the pandemic phase to a more manageable endemic phase — but “I would hope that that’s the case,” Dr. Anthony Fauci said Monday. A disease that is endemic has a constant presence in
Continue Reading By Travis Caldwell and Holly Yan, CNN It’s still too early to predict whether Omicron’s rapid spread will help push coronavirus from the pandemic phase to a more manageable endemic phase — but “I would hope that that’s the case,” Dr. Anthony Fauci said Monday. A disease that is endemic has a constant presence in
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EL PASO, Texas – Covid-19 deaths in El Paso continue to impact patients who are not fully unvaccinated. There were 41 deaths reported for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Week 2. Ten of those deaths were breakthrough deaths. The total spans a period of two months: 14 deaths in Dec. and 27 deaths
Continue Reading By Jacqueline Howard, CNN Early data out of Israel suggests that a fourth dose of either the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna coronavirus vaccine can bring an increase in antibodies — more than what’s been seen after a third dose — but it still might not be enough to protect against breakthrough infections caused by the Omicron
Continue Reading By Rachel Ramirez and Brandon Miller, CNN Though massive volcanoes have the potential to affect global temperatures and weather, the eruption near Tonga on Saturday was likely not large enough to impact global climate, experts tell CNN. The Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai eruption on Saturday was enormous; likely the largest in 30 years, according to experts. It injected
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By Elizabeth Cohen, CNN Senior Medical Correspondent If the scientists at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had their way, to curb the spread of Covid-19 right now, nearly every US school would cancel football, wrestling, band and loads of other mainstay school activities. In another piece of guidance, the CDC tells people
Continue Reading By Elizabeth Cohen, CNN Senior Medical Correspondent If the scientists at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had their way, to curb the spread of Covid-19 right now, nearly every US school would cancel football, wrestling, band and loads of other mainstay school activities. In another piece of guidance, the CDC tells people
Continue Reading EL PASO, Texas — With the omicron variant surging, more people are trying to get a Covid-19 test. Several agencies nationwide, including the Better Business Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission, said the demand in tests has led to an opportunity for scammers to take advantage of you. The BBB reports scammers are setting up
Continue Reading By Travis Caldwell and Holly Yan, CNN Areas that were among the first to get hit hard by the Omicron variant are starting to see their Covid-19 numbers level off or even improve. But that’s not the case for much of the country, US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said. “There are parts of the
Continue Reading By Jen Christensen, CNN Picture a not-too-distant future when you can book that summer trip to Italy or you don’t have to remember to take off your mask for graduation photos. After the past 25 months, forgetting the pandemic for even a little while may sound like a fantasy — after all, the coronavirus has
Continue Reading By Travis Caldwell and Holly Yan, CNN Areas that were among the first to get hit hard by the Omicron variant are starting to see their Covid-19 numbers level off or even improve. But that’s not the case for much of the country, US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said. “There are parts of the
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EL PASO, Texas — Americans will be able to start ordering at-home Covid-19 rapid tests from the federal government beginning this week. The new federal initiative to increase testing will start on January 19. Senior officials in the Biden administration say that each residential household address is limited to only four free tests at the
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EL PASO, Texas — If you’ve walked into a hospital and believe you are seeing fewer nurses or hospital staff, you’re not alone. Those same nurses are telling ABC-7 they see fewer co-workers working alongside them and have to pick up the extra load, many times to the point of exhaustion. Sunday on ABC-7 Xtra,
Continue Reading By Matt Villano, CNN Birthdays are usually joyous occasions for Bonnie Wiener-Bambara, with daylong parties that involve pampering, dinner and friends. When she turned 47 on January 10, however, the festivities were practically nonexistent. There was good reason for the change in plans: The college professor in Patchogue, New York, has a 13-month-old daughter. Because
Continue Reading By Allison Hope, CNN Refreshed. Renewed. Ready for 2022. NOT. In past years, returning from the holidays came replete with new energy to start the year. There were resolutions (be more active!) and lofty goals (write the book!) and restored energy to commit to them. Staring down the barrel of 2022, though, the thought of
Continue Reading By Kristen Rogers, Parija Kavilanz and Amanda Sealy, CNN The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has changed its mask guidelines to recommend that people “wear the most protective mask you can that fits well and that you will wear consistently.” The agency describes well-fitting respirators approved by the National Institute of Occupational Safety
Continue Reading By MIKE STOBBE AP Medical Writer NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. health officials have updated their mask guidance, encouraging more Americans to wear N95 or KN95 masks to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted the updated guidance late Friday afternoon. Those kinds of masks are considered better
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By LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Marine Corps has approved its first two COVID-19 vaccine exemptions based on religious reasons, something no other military service has done so far. The Marines say the two exemptions are the first to be approved by the Corps in 10 years. The Marines said
Continue Reading By Katherine Dillinger and John Bonifield, CNN The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its mask information for the American public on Friday, including clarifying that certain types of masks and respirators offer more protection from the coronavirus than others and offering tips on what consumers should look for when shopping for them.
Continue Reading By Jacqueline Howard and Betsy Klein, CNN Just as free Covid-19 tests are landing in the mailboxes of people who ordered them, the first free N95 masks for the public have started to arrive at US pharmacies, with more on the way in the coming days. The Biden administration seeks to ramp up access to
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By MICHAEL R. SISAK and JENNIFER PELTZ Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge has ordered Martin Shkreli to return $64.6 million in profits reaped from inflating the price of a lifesaving drug and barred him from the pharmaceutical industry for the rest of his life. The ruling Friday by a federal judge
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By ZEKE MILLER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says the federal website where Americans can request free COVID-19 tests will begin accepting orders on Wednesday. The announcement on Friday comes as the administration looks to address nationwide shortages, but supplies will be limited to just four free tests per home. Americans shouldn’t
Continue Reading By Ashley Strickland, CNN Space travel is known to be notoriously rough on the human body, but new research has revealed just how hard it hits red blood cells. When we’re on Earth, our bodies create and destroy 2 million of these cells per second. In space, astronauts experienced 3 million red blood cells destroyed
Continue Reading By Kristen Rogers, CNN As wintry weather whips across the United States, one challenge may be staying warm if you can’t afford or are cutting back on indoor heating. Staying warm is necessary “for a variety of health reasons” in addition to comfort, said Dr. Georges Benjamin, the executive director of the American Public Health
Continue Reading By Ed Lavandera and Chris Boyette, CNN Oklahoma City hospitals are short of staff and overwhelmed, with no ICU or inpatient beds available as the Omicron variant causes a surge of Covid-19 patients, according to an open letter from leaders of the city’s four major health care systems. “Our emergency departments are overflowing. Our caregivers
Continue Reading By Travis Caldwell, CNN As Covid-19 hospitalizations reach new highs, more states and health care systems are cutting back services that aren’t urgent and relying on National Guard personnel to fill staffing gaps as infected health care employees miss work to recover and patient demand grows. While officials have started to call out very early
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EL PASO, Texas — Grocery stores are having a difficult time keeping their shelves fully stocked for customers, but it is not because of panic buying. Gary Huddleston, a grocery industry consultant from the Texas Retailers Association, said the empty shelves could be attributed to three problems. During the pandemic, companies have had a difficult
Continue Reading By Andrea Kane and Nadia Kounang, CNN The Omicron variant of the coronavirus is causing Covid-19 cases to spike, with an average of more than 747,000 new cases a day, according to the latest numbers from Johns Hopkins University. That’s almost three times the average daily cases from a year ago, when the country was
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By MARK SHERMAN and JESSICA GRESKO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has stopped a major push by the Biden administration to boost the nation’s COVID-19 vaccination rate, a requirement that employees at large businesses get a vaccine or test regularly and wear a mask on the job. At the same time, the
Continue Reading By Deidre McPhillips, CNN The Omicron surge has driven Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations to record highs in the United States. This week, however, officials have started to call out very early signs that the wave is peaking — or at least plateauing — in parts of the Northeast. But case rates are still higher in
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