A WHO official weighs in on Covid, vaccines, and mistakes that were made "The biggest collective failing has been that we've underestimated this microbe," the WHO's Mike Ryan says of SARS-CoV-2. Helen Branswell STAT

The Covid-19 pandemic has entered its third year, with no end in sight, and the world is fed up to the gills. A new and even more highly transmissible variant, Omicron, has been scorching through holiday gatherings over the past couple of weeks. People who are thrice vaccinated are among the infected.

LA County COVID data show stark difference between vaccinated and unvaccinated New data from Los Angeles County shows a sharp difference in the likelihood of death or hospitalization from COVID-19 in those who have been vaccinated versus those who have not. ABC7 Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Los Angeles County reported more than 20,000 new COVID-19 cases in one day on Thursday - but as grim as that news sounds, new data also shows how effective vaccines have been at containing the virus' most severe consequences: deaths and hospitalizations.