Travel curbs augur somber Christmas amid omicron uncertainty | AP News LONDON (AP) — Travel restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus are hammering the already beleaguered travel and tourism industries and adding to the gloom in Europe in the midst of the crucial holiday season. AP NEWS

...

Rural Arizona hospitals seek feds help for COVID staffing | AP News PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona is committing millions of dollars and asking the federal government for extra help as hospitals face a growing strain from rising COVID-19 caseloads and warn they are nearing their limits. AP NEWS

...

Gov. Doug Ducey earmarked another $35 million aimed at helping hospitals staff their existing beds and discharge patients more quickly. His administration also asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency for 133 people to bolster staffing at seven rural hospitals....

What we know — and don’t know — about the omicron variant

As cases of infection with the omicron variant of the coronavirus multiply around the world, scientists are racing to characterize the heavily mutated variant to understand how it spreads and gauge new risks during this wave of the pandemic.

Preliminary studies released this month have offered some clues about the effectiveness of vaccines against the omicron variant and whether it causes more severe illness, but much remains uncertain, and more research is needed. 

British surge seen as warning on omicron but responses vary | AP News LONDON (AP) — Spiraling infections in Britain driven in part by the new omicron variant of the coronavirus rattled many in Europe on Thursday, fueling a familiar dread that tighter restrictions will scuttle holiday plans again this year. AP NEWS

...

CDC data indicate Omicron is starting to eat into Delta's U.S. dominance New CDC data show that the Omicron coronavirus variant is starting to eat into the Delta variant’s dominance in the U.S. Andrew Joseph STAT

...