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CNN — The US Food and Drug Administration is poised to sign off as soon as this week on updated Covid-19 vaccines targeting more recently circulating strains of the virus, according to two sources familiar with the matter, as the country experiences its largest summer wave in two years. The agency is expected to greenlight updated mRNA vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech that target a strain of the virus called KP.2, said the sources, who declined to be named because the timing information isn’t public. It was unclear whether the agency simultaneously would authorize Novavax’s updated shot, which targets the...

A surge in COVID-19 infections has swept the country this summer, upending travel plans and bringing fevers, coughs and general malaise. It shows no immediate sign of slowing. While most of the country and the federal government has put the pandemic in the rearview mirror, the virus is mutating and new variants emerging. Even though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) no longer tracks individual infection numbers, experts think it could be the biggest summer wave yet. So far, the variants haven’t been proven to cause a more serious illness, and vaccines remain effective, but there’s no certainty...

Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign is requiring its employees to be “up to date” on COVID-19 vaccines, according to a job listing from the campaign, which is searching for National Booker. The Harris campaign has a job listing for a “National Booker,” tasked with working “with the Surrogates Communications Director and Deputy Communications Director to execute Harris for President’s strategy for deploying surrogates and allies across national and regional media outlets.” According to the listing, the National Booker is also tasked with managing daily reservations with media bookers and “developing strategies to increase the visibility of campaign spokespeople and...

(KTLA) — Coronavirus levels in California’s wastewater have reached a “very high” level for the first time since last winter. According to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the trend matches what’s being reported in several other states. The Golden State was one of seven states with “very high” levels; the others were Arkansas, Florida, Maryland, Nevada, Oregon and Texas. In Los Angeles County, the nation’s most populous, coronavirus levels in wastewater have also increased.

A summer COVID surge is underway in the U.S., warns the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) — so should you be concerned? As of June 25, 2024, the CDC estimated that COVID-19 infections are "growing or likely growing" in 44 states and territories, according to a news alert on its website. Despite the rise in cases, hospitalizations and deaths remain low, the data shows. Given that the pandemic was declared officially over as of May 5, 2023, public health officials don’t collect the same amount of COVID data as they once did.

HONOLULU (KHON2) — COVID numbers are up statewide according to the Department of Health (DOH). At least 1,180 new cases were diagnosed this week alone. But some people said finding a COVID test isn’t as easy as it used to be and neither is getting vaccinated. “I woke up realizing that I’m having symptoms. And so luckily, we had a test that we got on Amazon. So I took the test and it was positive,” said Murti Hower. He immediately went to the doctor to get medication.

If you or any of your friends have gotten sick with COVID-19 recently, you’re not the only ones: Case rates are rising in the Bay Area and the proof is in the pipes. According to the California Department of Public Health, the region now has the most viral wastewater than anywhere else in California. In an email to SFGATE, Amanda Bidwell, a wastewater researcher and data analyst at Stanford, said that over the past 21 days “consistently high concentrations” of SARS-CoV-2 have been detected in wastewater samples collected across San Francisco. “Currently we are seeing some of the highest concentrations...

In a survey, 22 percent of respondents said they knew of at least one vaccinated person who suffered health issues after taking the injections. People who did not comply with COVID-19 vaccine requirements were hesitant because they knew someone who had experienced a health problem after getting the injection, according to recent research. “Knowing someone who experienced a health problem following COVID-19 injection reduced the likelihood of injection, the International Journal of Vaccine Theory, Practice, and Research reported. Such people “were more likely to oppose injection mandates and passports. .. Conversely, “knowing someone who had health problems following the COVID-19...

CHICAGO -- People age 65 and older should get an additional dose of the current COVID-19 vaccine, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends. The agency's independent vaccine advisers voted Wednesday to recommend the additional shot, and CDC Director Dr. Mandy Cohen endorsed the recommendation, CNN reported. The vaccine is recommended for everyone ages 6 months and older, but data from the CDC shows that people haven't been getting the shots.

An “unknown” outbreak aboard a cruise ship is spreading, and now 154 people are sickened, said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in an update this week. So far, 25 crew members and 129 passengers on the Carnival-owned Cunard Cruise Line’s Queen Victoria have become ill during the trip, which is up by about 15 cases from when the illnesses were reported earlier in February, according to the CDC. The Queen Victoria cruise has 1,824 passengers and 967 crew members on board, according to the agency. It’s still not clear what’s causing the outbreak on the cruise...

“An impactful storm system will bring rain and wind to the area today and tonight,” the National Weather Service (NWS) Bay Area branch warned on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. The first of the two storms, heading from Hawaii to Northern California, could bring “quite rambunctious” winds from the Bay Area to the Central Coast, according to the local NWS. Such winds, coupled with saturated soil conditions, could topple trees and cause power outages, the meteorologists warned on X. “This one’s going to pack quite a punch,” Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California, Los...

The new year is kicking off with a spike in respiratory illnesses across the U.S., including COVID-19, flu and respiratory syncytial virus. Considering all the circulating illnesses right now, it might be time for masking to make a comeback, experts say. "We're certainly in the winter peak of respiratory viruses," Dr. Albert Ko, professor of epidemiology and medicine at the Yale School of Public Health, tells TODAY.com. A post-holiday COVID spike alongside upticks of the usual winter illnesses, like flu and RSV, make this surge "very much expected," he adds. Amid this rise in the spread of illnesses, mask mandates...

While the U.S. is only a few weeks into winter, this year’s respiratory virus season is already looking different than last year’s. Covid and flu are both surging and there’s no peak in sight. During the previous winter, flu and RSV got off to an early start but were already declining by the time hospitalizations from the omicron virus started to spike in December 2022.

A new Covid variant that is behind a resurgence in hospital admissions may be more deadly than previously thought, research suggests. BA.2.86 — or 'Pirola' — is a mutation on the Omicron BA.2 subvariant and is the ancestor of the currently dominant JN.1, which is responsible for more than three in five Covid cases as of January 6. Both strains have around 60 more spike protein mutations than the original coronavirus and over 30 more than other Omicron variants such as BA.2 and XBB.1.5.

Will Your Sons and Daughters Fight in Central Europe? COMMENTARY By Shea Bradley-FarrellDecember 21, 2023 Will Your Sons and Daughters Fight in Central Europe?AP Who bears the responsibility for the war in Ukraine? According to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, members of U.S. Congress, and even U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, it is the American people. Recently, Secretary Austin told America that if Congress fails to pass another $60 billion in aid to Ukraine, it will “most likely” result in American troops fighting in Europe. The additional aid to Ukraine has been stalled by members of Congress who want assurances...

(NEXSTAR) — As Americans prepare to gather for the holidays, many say they fear becoming sick in the coming months. Based on the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, those concerns may be genuine. While the CDC doesn’t track COVID-19 testing as closely as it did during the pandemic, it does still track other COVID-related data. That includes hospital admissions for COVID, jumped by almost 9% in the most recent week of data, through Nov. 11. The percentage of people visiting the emergency room and testing positive for COVID is up by 7%, and the number...

Covid-19 remains a threat as a virus variant has been spreading steadily around the globe, the World Health Organisation said Tuesday. "This virus, SARS-CoV-2, is circulating in every country right now and it still poses a threat," WHO expert Maria Van Kerkhove said. "We have to remain vigilant because the virus is circulating, evolving and changing," she told a discussion on the WHO's social media channels. Van Kerkhove was the WHO's technical lead during the coronavirus pandemic that struck in 2019 and is now the UN health agency's interim director for epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention

The federal program offering free COVID-19 rapid at-home tests through the mail has just been restarted ahead of the winter holiday season and a potential rise in cases.Every American household may order four of the tests starting Monday, Nov. 20 by visiting covid.gov/tests, the Department of Health and Human Services says.If a household did not order four tests when the program was restarted in late September, it may place two orders for a total of eight tests now.About 15 million households ordered tests in September.Rapid tests ordered this week will begin being delivered on Monday, Nov. 27. The cost of...

The Biden administration on Monday said it is offering another round of free at-home Covid tests to U.S. households ahead of the holiday season, when more people gather indoors and the virus typically spreads at higher levels. Starting Monday, Americans can use COVIDtests.gov to request four free tests per household. Those who have not ordered any tests this fall can now place two orders for a total of eight tests, according to the website. The administration in September allowed people to request an initial round of four free tests through the site, resuming a federal program that temporarily shut down...

PCR and rapid tests aren't the only places where evidence of SARS-COV-2, commonly known as COVID-19, shows up. The virus that causes COVID-19 also turns up in a city's wastewater. Because of that, wastewater has become a powerful tool to give scientists early glimpses into when infections are peaking. "Wastewater actually tells us a really great story," said Amanda Wegner, communications and public affairs director at the Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District. "What we've learned with viruses is that people shed the virus. When they use the bathroom, that enters the wastewater stream." According to the Centers for Disease Control and...