Thousands descend on DC for anti-vaccine mandate rally Thousands of demonstrators protesting vaccine mandates descended onto Washington, D.C., on Sunday, mostly maskless, with some sporting far-right and pro-Trump memorabilia and others drawing Joseph Choi TheHill

Thousands of demonstrators protesting vaccine mandates descended onto Washington, D.C., on Sunday, mostly maskless, with some sporting far-right and pro-Trump memorabilia and others drawing comparisons between the vaccine and the Holocaust. ...

Why rapid COVID tests aren't more accurate and how scientists hope to improve them

How much should you trust the results of a rapid antigen test? That's a question many people are asking these days amid recent research and anecdotes suggesting these tests may be less sensitive to omicron. Researchers are working fast to figure out what's going on and how to improve the tests.

That includes people like Dr. Wilbur Lam, a professor of pediatrics and biomedical engineering at Emory University and one of the lead investigators assessing COVID-19 diagnostic tests for the federal government. His research team began evaluating rapid antigen tests against live samples of the omicron variant last December in the lab, and in early assessments, he says, some tests failed to detect the coronavirus "at a concentration that we would have expected them to catch it if it were another variant."

That finding prompted the Food and Drug Administration to update its online guidance in late December to note that, while rapid antigen tests do detect the omicron variant, "they may have reduced sensitivity."

Stressed hospitals are asking workers with covid to return — even if they may be infectious The changes underscore how the hyper-transmissible omicron variant has sidelined employees, overwhelmed resources and upended nearly two years of strict protocols. Washington Post

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Booster shots needed against omicron, CDC studies show NEW YORK (AP) — Three studies released Friday offered more evidence that COVID-19 vaccines are standing up to the omicron variant, at least among people who received booster shots. They are the first large U.S. AP NEWS

NEW YORK (AP) — Three studies released Friday offered more evidence that COVID-19 vaccines are standing up to the omicron variant, at least among people who received booster shots.