New York City will implement vaccine mandate for all private sector workers All private sector employers in New York City will now be required to implement a Covid-19 vaccine mandate by Dec. 27, the city’s mayor, Bill de Blasio, announced Monday. By <a href="/profiles/ivana-kottasova">Ivana Kottasová</a> and Kathryn Snowdon, CNN CNN

...Public sector workers were already subject to vaccine mandates.  

With the first case of omicron confirmed in California and more cases expected across the U.S., public health officials who know the difference between good and bad crisis communication say they can't afford to be quiet and wait until scientists know how risky the new variant is before they speak out.

"We don't want to just be silent on the matter, because then that can cause fear and then that can allow for misinformation to creep in," says Elya Franciscus, the epidemiology operations manager for COVID-19 in Harris County, Texas.

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration announced Friday that it is sending 9 million Covid vaccine doses to Africa amid growing concerns about the omicron variant.

The new shipment brings the total U.S. donations to Africa to 100 million vaccines, the White House said. An additional two million vaccines will be sent elsewhere in the world.

The shipment is part of President Joe Biden's pledge on Thursday to send more than 200 million vaccines abroad in 100 days. ...

Study suggests past COVID infection may not fend off omicron | AP News THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — South African scientists are warning that reinfections among people who’ve already battled COVID-19 appear to be more likely with the new omicron variant than with earlier coronavirus mutants. AP NEWS

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WASHINGTON — President Biden, confronting a worrisome new coronavirus variant and a potential winter surge, laid out a pandemic strategy on Thursday that includes hundreds of vaccination sites, boosters for all adults, new testing requirements for international travelers and free at-home tests.

WHO says measures used against delta should work for omicron | AP News MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Measures used to counter the delta variant should remain the foundation for fighting the coronavirus pandemic , even in the face of the new omicron version of the virus, World Health Organization officials said Friday, while acknowledging that the travel restrictions imposed by some countries may buy time. AP NEWS

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