Jan 15 Watch 3:58 Omicron spreads as free home tests are set to roll out By PBS NewsHour Starting Saturday, private insurers are required to cover the cost of up to eight at-home testing kits, while those without insurance can get a free kit from the federal government. Meanwhile, COVID-19 cases rose by another 800,000 across the U.S. Continue watching
Jan 15 Clap, don't chant: China aims for 'Zero COVID' Olympics By Candice Choi, Associated Press The prevention protocols will be similar to those at the Tokyo Games this summer, but much tighter. That won't be a stretch in Beijing, with China having maintained a “Zero COVID" policy since early in the pandemic. Continue reading
Jan 14 Watch 6:30 Health systems buckle under latest surge of COVID hospitalizations By William Brangham, Courtney Norris President Biden on Friday announced free tests to help combat the rapidly spreading omicron variant. But the surge is battering hospitals and stretching some to capacity, with COVID hospitalizations jumping 179 percent in the past two weeks. William Brangham reports,… Continue watching
Jan 14 Watch 5:52 Boston schools face staff shortages amid sky-high COVID cases By Stephanie Sy, Claire Mufson Most of the nation’s nearly 100,000 public schools are open. But as the omicron surge continues, some districts are struggling to keep in-person learning going. Boston Public Schools have been operating in person since last spring, though a high number… Continue watching
Jan 14 A doctor's advice about testing and masks right now By Nicole Ellis As omicron continues to spread across the U.S. confusion has grown around how to get a test and what type to use, which masks are effective and how to safely isolate or quarantine and still work or care for a… Continue reading
Jan 14 Unvaccinated pregnant people are at higher risk for COVID complications, newborn deaths By Theresa Gaffney, STAT Almost all of the pregnant people in the Scottish study who needed critical care for COVID-19 — 102 out of 104 overall — were unvaccinated. There were over 450 total fetal and newborn deaths that coincided with COVID-19 — all… Continue reading
Jan 14 Federal testing website launches next week, limited to 4 tests per home By Zeke Miller, Associated Press The announcement on Friday comes as the administration looks to address nationwide shortages, but supplies will be limited to just four free tests per home. Continue reading
Jan 14 Biden administration threatens to take COVID relief funds back from Arizona over anti-mask rules By Fatima Hussein, Zeke Miller, Associated Press The Treasury Department warns in a Friday letter that Arizona has 60 days to remove the anti-masking provisions before the federal government moves to recover the relief money. Continue reading
Jan 14 WATCH: White House says Russia is prepping pretext for Ukraine invasion By News Desk The White House says U.S. intelligence officials have determined a Russian effort is underway to create a pretext for its troops to further invade Ukraine, and Moscow has already prepositioned operatives to conduct “a false-flag operation” in eastern Ukraine. Continue reading
Jan 14 3 women charged with beating airline security officer at JFK By Associated Press Airlines reported more than 5,000 episodes involving unruly passengers last year, including over 3,600 cases of people allegedly refusing to wear face masks as required. Continue reading