Omicron variant up to 3 times more infectious than Delta, CDC says The Omicron variant of the coronavirus is up to three times more infectious than the Delta variant, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday. By Rhea Mogul, Adam Renton, Jack Guy and Ed Upright, CNN CNN

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Biden tamps down omicron alarm, urges vaccinations President Biden on Tuesday sought to tamp down worries about the omicron coronavirus variant, underscoring that COVID-19 vaccines protect against severe illness from the virus. Morgan Chalfant TheHill

President Biden on Tuesday sought to tamp down worries about the omicron coronavirus variant, underscoring that COVID-19 vaccines protect against severe illness from the virus.

Why are so many vaccinated people getting COVID-19 lately? | AP News Why are so many vaccinated people getting COVID-19 lately? A couple of factors are at play, starting with the emergence of the highly contagious omicron variant. Omicron is more likely to infect people, even if it doesn't make them very sick, and its surge coincided with the holiday travel season in many places. AP NEWS

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Florida hospital system says 50% of its COVID patients are mainly there for other reasons The nationwide picture is unclear, but many of those in COVID-19 hospitalization statistics are not there primarily because of the coronavirus. YahooNews

About half of the patients listed as being in the hospital with COVID-19 were admitted for "non-COVID reasons," a health authority in Florida said.

COVID-19 infections spiking in US Capitol Coronavirus infections in the U.S. Nathaniel Weixel TheHill

Coronavirus infections in the U.S. Capitol have skyrocketed, with the seven-day average positivity rate rising from less than 1 percent to greater than 13 percent, according to a memo sent to lawmakers Monday from Capitol physician Brian Monahan.

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.

Puerto Rico’s COVID-19 positive rate jumps from 2% to over 30% in just two weeks ABC News ABC News

Just two weeks ago, Puerto Rico had a COVID-19 test positivity rate of 2% -- the lowest it had ever been, according to the island’s health department COVID-19 dashboard.

As of Monday, that rate (an indicator of community spread) jumped to 33%, an explosive increase that tracks with the emergence of the highly contagious omicron variant and has sparked concerns among the scientific community and health officials on the island.

Humans have infected wild deer with Covid-19 in a handful of states, and there’s evidence that the coronavirus has been spreading among deer, according to recent studies that outline findings that could complicate the path out of the pandemic. 

Scientists swabbed the nostrils of white-tailed deer in Ohio and found evidence that humans had spread the coronavirus to deer at least six times, according to a study published last month in Nature. 

About one-third of the deer sampled had active or recent infections, the study says. Similar research in Iowa of tissue from roadkill and hunted deer found widespread evidence of the virus. 

With at-home Covid-19 tests in high demand and their efficacy in question, health departments from California to Massachusetts are turning to sewage samples to get a better idea of how much the coronavirus is spreading through communities and what might be in store for health care systems.

Experts say wastewater holds the key to better understanding the public health of cities and neighborhoods, especially in underserved areas that do not have equal access to care.