Health & Safety

Omicron has been found in wastewater in California and Texas

4:41pm December 08, 2021

by Raquel Maria Dillon

California and Houston have detected the omicron variant in multiple wastewater treatment plants. This is the first time a credible signal for omicron has been found in sewage samples.

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Health & Safety

Winston-Salem is ‘nowhere close’ to lifting mask mandate, official says

1:58pm December 08, 2021

by April Laissle

Forsyth County is averaging about 100 new COVID-19 cases per day, nearly double the rate from a month ago. The percent positive metric is also up.

Health & Safety

Do vaccines stop infections from the omicron variant? Early results are released

8:37am December 08, 2021

Preliminary data out of South Africa suggest COVID vaccines are much less effective at stopping infection from the omicron variant, but there's hope the vaccines will protect against severe disease.

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Dispatches From Within: It was at this time I tried to find a way out

7:56am December 08, 2021

by Melvin Abuaku and Chase Orie

If you, or someone you know, is in crisis, please call the National suicide prevention lifeline. It's a free 24-hour hotline at 1.800.273.TALK.

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Dr. Naresh Aggarwal talks in April with Jennifer Bain, who volunteered for a study of Medicago's COVID-19 vaccine in Toronto.

Health & Safety

A COVID vaccine grown in plants measures up

5:48pm December 07, 2021

by Joe Palca

A COVID-19 vaccine from a Canadian biotech firm has been found effective at preventing moderate to severe disease. It could soon become the first plant-based vaccine authorized for human use.

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People line up outside a free COVID-19 vaccination site that opened Friday in Washington, D.C. The local health department is stepping up vaccination and booster shots as more cases of the omicron variant are being identified in the United States.

Health & Safety

Omicron boosters are in the works, but will they be needed?

5:43pm December 07, 2021

by Sydney Lupkin

Omicron has many more mutations than previous variants of concern, a fact that raises questions about how effective existing vaccines will be against the new form of the coronavirus.

An excerpt of an apology made by Bangkok Post on Dec. 4. The Thai media outlet apologized for using racist language in a headline on a Dec. 2 story about the omicron variant. The headline read, "Government hunts for African visitors."

Opinion: I'm shocked by the racist cartoons and travel bans sparked by omicron

5:23pm December 07, 2021

by Ifeanyi Nsofor

The variant is bringing out the worst in some Western governments and global media outlets, says Dr. Ifeanyi Nsofor, a global health advocate in Nigeria.

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy talks to reporters at the White House on July 15.

Health & Safety

The U.S. surgeon general issues a stark warning about the state of youth mental health

5:04pm December 07, 2021

by L. Carol Ritchie

Children and young adults were already facing a mental health crisis before the pandemic, says Surgeon General Vivek Murthy. During the pandemic, rates of anxiety and depression have only increased.

National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins served for 12 years under three presidents and presided over an expansion of the agency's budget and efforts to develop new cures to diseases.

Health & Safety

The NIH director on why Americans aren't getting healthier, despite medical advances

5:00pm December 07, 2021

by Selena Simmons-Duffin

As he prepares to leave his post of 12 years, Francis Collins reflects on the agency's biomedical advances, the dangers of polarizing medicine and the huge health gaps that still exist in the U.S.

What the omicron variant might mean for current — and future — vaccines

4:59pm December 07, 2021

by Sydney Lupkin

Former scientific head of Operation Warp Speed Moncef Slaoui explains why he is confident in existing vaccines' protection against omicron and how soon a variant-specific booster could be developed.

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