A new study identifies seven U.S. virus variants with the same worrying mutation.

As Americans anxiously watch the spread of coronavirus variants that were first identified in Britain and South Africa, scientists are finding a number of new variants that seem to have originated in the United States — and many of them may pose the same kind of extra-contagious threat.

In a study posted on Sunday, a team of researchers reported seven growing lineages of the coronavirus, spotted in states across the country. All have gained a mutation at the exact same spot in their genes.

CDC director: Too early for states to roll back mask mandates “It's encouraging to see these trends coming down but they're coming down from an extraordinarily high place,” Rochelle Walensky said. Jesse Naranjo POLITICO

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky on Sunday said it was too premature for state officials to roll back mask mandates, arguing that while coronavirus metrics were trending down, cases and deaths were still too high.

Hospitals still ration medical N95 masks as stockpiles swell Mike Bowen’s warehouse outside Fort Worth, Texas, was piled high with cases of medical-grade N95 face masks. His company, Prestige Ameritech, can churn out 1 million masks every four days, but he... AP NEWS

One year into the COVID-19 pandemic, many millions of N95 masks are pouring out of American factories and heading into storage. Yet doctors and nurses like Turner say there still aren’t nearly enough in the “ICU rooms with high-flow oxygen and COVID germs all over.”

Tight supply creates reluctance over federal vaccine sites OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Biden administration's plan to open 100 vaccination sites by the end of the month was initially embraced by governors and health officials, who considered it a much needed... AP NEWS

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Biden administration’s plan to open 100 vaccination sites by the end of the month was initially embraced by governors and health officials, who considered it a much needed lifeline to get more Americans inoculated against the coronavirus.

White House says it's not looking to require COVID-19 tests before The White House says it’s not currently looking to require passengers to get COVID-19 tests before domestic flights. Jordan Williams TheHill

The White House says it’s not currently looking to require passengers to get COVID-19 tests before domestic flights.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released its much-anticipated, updated guidance Friday to help school leaders decide how to safely bring students back into classrooms, or keep them there. Rather than a political push to reopen schools, the update is a measured, data-driven effort to expand on old recommendations and advise school leaders on how to "layer" the most effective safety precautions: masking, physical distancing, handwashing and respiratory etiquette, ventilation and building cleaning, and contact tracing.

For politicians, parents and school leaders looking for a clear green light to reopen schools, this is not it.

"CDC is not mandating that schools reopen," CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Friday on a phone briefing with reporters.