Health experts still learning about omicron subvariant, now dominant in Northeast As a version of COVID-19’s omicron variant —the XBB.1.5 subvariant — grows more prevalent in some parts of the U.S., health experts say it likely escapes immune protection better than previous muta… kwadington The Hill

More than 80 percent of coronavirus cases in the Northeast are now due to XBB.1.5.

Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 makes up nearly half of U.S. COVID cases- CDC The fast-spreading Omicron XBB.1.5 is estimated to make up nearly half of U.S. COVID-19 cases, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed on Friday, putting it on track to become the dominant subvariant in the country. Reuters Reuters

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U.S. FDA proposes shift to annual COVID vaccine strategy The U.S. health regulator on Monday proposed the use of one dose of the latest updated COVID-19 shot annually for most people, similar to the influenza immunization campaign, as it moves to simplify the country's vaccination strategy. Reuters Reuters

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Currently, people in the United States need to first get two doses of the original COVID vaccine spaced a few weeks apart, followed by a booster a few months later. ...

Study of airplane wastewater shows COVID-19 travel restrictions failed Tests of toilet tank water from flights entering the United Kingdom helped Welsh scientists determine that steps meant to keep the COVID-19 virus from traveling among countries appear to have failed. UPI

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China reports big jump in COVID hospitalisations - WHO China reported a large jump in COVID-19 hospitalisations in the week through to January 15 to the highest since the pandemic began, according to a weekly report published by the World Health Organization on Thursday. Reuters Reuters

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Here’s How Long You’re Contagious With The Latest COVID Variant It can be hard to know if you’re putting others at risk, but there are rules you can follow to help protect those around you. YahooNews

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Long story short, you are likely contagious for about 10 days after symptoms begin. You should isolate for the first five days and wear a mask on at least days six through 10.

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Is it time for a reality check on rapid COVID tests? At-home rapid tests have become a staple of COVID-19 precautions, but some experts worry that people are relying too much on these tests and that's creating a false sense of security. NPR

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How often do you need a COVID booster shot? Yearly, new data suggests. Yale researchers have found people need annual COVID-19 booster shots to prevent or slow down outbreaks. Here's what to know. YahooNews

Healthy people should get annual COVID-19 boosters to prevent widespread outbreaks, a new study from Yale University suggests.

Yearly shots provide just enough frequency to prevent huge outbreaks, while not putting an undo burden on people.

Lack of vaccination, severe illness tied to higher risk of long COVID CIDRAP

A US military study suggests that people who are unvaccinated against COVID-19 and those with moderate or severe infections are at significantly higher risk for persistent symptoms for 1 to 6 months.

CDC needs a reset requiring support from the federal level, new think tank report finds | CNN The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is in "a moment of peril" and a "strong, effective, and more accountable" agency is an urgent matter of national security, according to a new report from the Center for Strategic & International Studies' (CSIS) Commission on Strengthening America's Health Security. Carma Hassan CNN

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Pandemic funding eased medical debt for many Americans The number of Americans who had trouble paying their medical bills dropped precipitously between 2019 and 2021, and funds from the American Rescue Plan and other pandemic relief programs may have been a reason why. UPI

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Top pharma CEO says Covid likely to become endemic, urges investment in pandemic preparedness

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The chief executive of Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis on Thursday warned the coronavirus pandemic will likely settle into an endemic phase and renewed calls for policymakers to sufficiently finance pandemic preparedness.

More than 65 million people around the world may have long COVID The number of affected COVID-19 survivors is based on the estimated global rate of 10% of infected people and more than 651 million documented cases and is likely an undercount. CIDRAP

Worldwide, at least 65 million people have long COVID, and that is likely an underestimate, finds a review article published late last week in Nature Reviews Microbiology.

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