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

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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.