A tantalizing clue to why omicron is spreading so quickly
A new study from the University of Hong Kong offers preliminary information that could explain why this new coronavirus variant may be more transmissible.
COVID-19
Portugal has one of the top vaccination rates but isn't taking chances with omicron
Scientists are watching how Portugal and other highly vaccinated countries are faring against the coronavirus' new omicron variant.
California allows San Francisco to maintain existing COVID-19 masking rules
Starting Wednesday, a statewide mask mandate was back in effect, but vaccinated San Francisco residents will be allowed to go without face coverings inside gyms and workplaces.
Early demand for Christmas trees fueled in part by pandemic
This holiday season Christmas trees began flying off lots and choose-and-cut farms well before Thanksgiving and sold out in many areas weeks before Christmas Day.
German police move against an alleged murder plot by anti-vaccination extremists
The police conducted raids in the city of Dresden and the nearby town of Heidenau come after a group allegedly organized online to kill Saxony's state premier, Michael Kretschmer.
Colleges go back to drawing board — again — to fight COVID
Many colleges are telling students to prepare for another term of masking, testing and, if cases get bad, limits around social life.
Cornell shuts down its Ithaca campus after significant signs of omicron variant found
The campus reported nearly 500 new cases of COVID-19 among the student body. The new omicron variant was detected "in a significant number" of positive tests, the university said.
In a largely symbolic move, the Senate votes to block Biden's vaccine-or-test mandate
The White House says the president will veto the bill if it reaches his desk. But GOP lawmakers pushed the measure as the political fight over vaccine mandates deepens.
Omicron boosters are in the works, but will they be needed?
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.
More people died of malaria in 2020 than in 2019. Here's why
A new report from the World Health Organization contains some encouraging numbers but also cause for concern, with both cases and deaths on the upswing last year. The pandemic is just one reason.