OMICRON

Bexar County COVID-19 cases are trending upwards again, though hospitalizations are staying relatively steady.

The CDC must decide whether to formally recommend the booster for this age group.

For more than a year now, the original COVID-19 vaccines have held up remarkably well — even miraculously so — against a Greek alphabet of new variants: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta. But now experts say something is changing. Since the start of 2022, the initial version of Omicron, known as BA.1, has been spinning off new sublineages — BA.2, BA.2.12.1, BA.4, BA.5 — at an alarming pace.

Unvaccinated people who got Covid last winter have little protection from reinfection, and even vaccinated people might be vulnerable after only a few months.

South Africa's new cases have gone from an average of 300 per day in early April to about 8,000 per day in mid-May.

North Korea's leader blames the outbreak on bureaucratic and medical incompetence.

The U.S. will have to decide soon whether to bet big on an Omicron vaccine.

State media report the country's first outbreak, but observers believe the virus has long been present.

In the wake of the Omicron variant wave over the winter, more than half of Americans are estimated to have antibodies from a previous infection.

In the wake of the Omicron variant wave over the winter, more than half of Americans are estimated to have antibodies from a previous infection.

The following is a transcript of an interview with Dr. Scott Gottlieb that aired Sunday, April 24, 2022, on "Face the Nation."

Moderna's goal is to produce a combination shot that specifically targets Omicron.

Pfizer tested the kid booster while Omicron was surging this winter.

Citing a "robust response" of antibodies against Omicron in their vaccine trials, the companies said they were planning to submit a request "in the coming days."

As prevalence of the Omicron subvariant nears 90% nationwide, officials around the world are already tracking the rise of dozens of new potential variants.

Shanghai is under strict lockdown, in contrast to the relatively relaxed approach it previously took to the pandemic.

The Chinese leader's comments come as infections rise and residents complain of food shortages.

The World Health Organization says it's tracking an Omicron variant that's a recombination of BA.1 and BA.2 that could be more transmissible, however.

Not much is untouched by COVID-19, and the nation’s blood supply is no exception.

China's financial hub is now subject to indefinite restrictions after Covid cases hit a new high.

Millions of Americans 50 and older are now eligible to receive another booster shot, after the Food and Drug Administration authorized a new round of COVID-19 vaccines for those who want them. But there are questions about both the effectiveness and who will pay for the optional shots. Senior White House correspondent Weijia Jiang has the latest.

Scientists say relaxed COVID measures in China and Europe could be behind the recent rise.

Scientists say relaxed COVID measures in China and Europe could be behind the recent rise.

The financial hub will be locked down in two phases, in China's biggest city-wide lockdown yet.

An Omicron subvariant, known as BA.2 is estimated to become dominant in the U.S. in the coming weeks. BA.2 is at least 30% more transmissible than its cousin BA.1, and it has been driving new COVID-19 surges in the U.K. and other European countries.

A CDC map shows how the BA.2 subvariant has outcompeted other types of coronaviruses in the northeastern US.

On March 7, after over a year and a half of mandatory masking, the ProtecTU mask policy officially changed to optional masking in most indoor spaces. Additionally, as a March 3 Trinitonian news brief outlines, dorm room occupancy expectations returned to pre-COVID guidelines. The policy changes have come as a result of the TU community...

Data from Walgreens, which conducts testing at its pharmacies nationwide, shows BA.2 as the dominant variant at 51% of all positive Covid cases as of March 19.

At last, rapid COVID tests are everywhere—and that means a surge of false-negative results.

When the latest COVID wave arrives, do nothing

For the majority of Americans, experts say we don't need to worry as much as past waves.

For the majority of Americans, experts say we don't need to worry as much as past waves.

Pfizer and Moderna vaccines proved very effective against COVID Omicron variant, study shows

China is by far the world’s biggest COVID powder keg — and it might be on the verge of exploding. Not since the earliest days of the pandemic has the most populous country on the planet ever reported more than about 200 coronavirus cases per day — dizzying evidence of the blunt, even brutal, effectiveness of Beijing’s “zero COVID” strategy, which requires strict mass lockdowns at the first flicker of an outbreak.

What accounts for BA.2’s recent success? It's not due to an ability to evade the protection of COVID-19 vaccines, a new study finds.

Five things you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic this Thursday morning.

Cases of COVID-19 are surging in several European countries because of the BA.2 Omicron subvariant, and US experts are keeping their masks on.

The COVID-19 restrictions currently in place in 18 prefectures, including the Tokyo area, will end Monday.

Despite the spread of the new sub-variant, U.S. daily cases and hospitalizations continue to drop while deaths plateau.

Despite the spread of the new sub-variant, U.S. daily cases and hospitalizations continue to drop while deaths plateau.

Visualizing the effect at the global, national and local levels.

The effects of the first one may be fading. When will it be time for seniors to re-up?

A massive storm shifted from the Plains into the Southeast on Friday night, hitting areas like Memphis with snow that they rarely saw over the winter.

Children were still three times less likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 if they were vaccinated.

The economy grew by 0.8% in January as the effects of Omicron started to ease.

CDC numbers show BA.2 now makes up roughly 11% of sequenced COVID cases in the United States.

CDC numbers show BA.2 now makes up roughly 11% of sequenced COVID cases in the United States.

Here are four shapes that the next variant might take—and that will also dictate the shape of our response.

The World Health Organization said its expert group concluded that immunization provides high levels of protection against severe disease and death.

San Marcos Consolidated ISD’s mask mandate comes to an end Tuesday.[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] Breaking News, News, News - Mobile, News Alert San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]

Starting Monday, businesses will no longer be required to ask for vaccination cards, and masks will no longer be mandated in public schools for children ages 5 and older.

Texas Biomedical Research Institute is researching and developing variant-specific treatments to help in the fight against COVID-19.

The stock market is losing crucial support from the Federal Reserve.

Teachers are trying to make up for a lag in learning over the past two years because of COVID-19 shutdowns and quarantines.

Community Labs is scrambling to catch up on a backlog of COVID tests as the demand for testing has doubled compared to previous months.

With new COVID variants and constant recommendation updates, it can be tough to wade through the information, so our KSAT Trust Index team is doing your fact checking for you.

Just last week, we asked: If you’re a health care worker, what are you seeing lately on the job?

As the highly contagious Omicron variant sweeps through the population, testing sites have been bombarded, resulting in some issues and delays for testing companies.

As the raging omicron variant of COVID-19 infects workers across the nation, millions of those whose jobs don’t provide paid sick days are having to choose between their health and their paycheck.

Omicron COVID-19 cases are booming, not just in Bexar County, but in other rural counties surrounding San Antonio.

University Health’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Bryan Alsip, answered some of the most-asked questions about COVID-19 and the new omicron variant, which now accounts for a majority of new cases.

Look, life as we know it right now is pretty insane. Omicron is raging across the country, it didn’t even feel like 2021 happened and America’s sweetheart, Betty White, is dead.

President Joe Biden is urging concern but not alarm as the United States set records for daily reported COVID-19 cases and his administration struggles to ease concerns about testing shortages.

New COVID-19 cases continue to surge in Bexar County this week, with more than 4,300 new cases reported on Tuesday.

Why are so many vaccinated people getting COVID-19 lately.

COVID hospitalizations in Bexar County have increased by more than 75% from just one week ago.

It's been a rollercoaster of a year, and 2021 is ending like it began — with COVID-19 cases on the rise.

With the number of COVID cases in children on the rise, local pediatricians are encouraging parents to vaccinate their children.

We might not be able to claim that 2021 was *the* wildest year in recent history (2020 will likely get that credit for quite some time), but it might be a close second.

Greece’s health minister says music will be banned at all commercial venues for New Year’s celebrations as part of new restrictions announced in response to a surge in COVID-19 infections fueled by the omicron variant.

Cases of Omicron are outpacing previous variants of concern like Delta across Texas.

The latest COVID-19 variant is upending holiday plans for tens of thousands of travelers — but it didn’t do much damage to holiday shopping.

President Joe Biden is announcing plans to deliver 500 million free COVID-19 tests to Americans, increase support for hospitals and expand the availability of vaccines to confront a winter surge of coronavirus cases driven by the fast-spreading omicron variant.

As Omicron cases are surging nationally, local doctors are advising what to look for and if we should cancel holiday plans.

Omicron has raced ahead of other variants and is now the dominant version of the coronavirus in the U.S. Federal health officials said Monday that omicron accounted for an estimated 73% of new infections last week.

The new omicron variant took only a few weeks to live up to dire predictions about how hugely contagious it is.

The European Union’s top official says omicron is expected to be the dominant coronavirus variant in the 27-nation bloc by mid-January.

British Health Secretary Sajid Javid says the omicron variant of COVID-19 is spreading so rapidly that it has the potential to overwhelm Britain’s hospitals.

Doctors at the Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio are identifying COVID variants by genome testing.

To protect yourself against the omicron variant, experts say to do what you would against any other variant.

University Health first began sending positive COVID-19 tests for sequencing in March. So far, the omicron variant has not been detected.

Although there’s still a lot of uncertainty surrounding the new Omicron COVID-19 variant, health officials say that early data indicates the mRNA vaccines are still proving to be effective.

A push for COVID-19 vaccinations continues as the holidays approach and concerns over the Omicron variant heighten.

While all eyes are on the new and little-understood omicron variant, the delta form of the coronavirus isn’t finished wreaking havoc in the U.S., sending record numbers of patients to the hospital in some states, especially in the Midwest and New England.

California is reporting its second confirmed case of the omicron COVID variant in as many days.

Scientists say it could be weeks before they better understand how dangerous the omicron variant is.

Britain says it will offer all adults a booster dose of vaccine within two months to bolster the nation’s immunity as the new omicron variant of the coronavirus spreads.

With the emergence of a new COVID variant, experts say not to panic because we have tools to protect against it.

President Joe Biden is urging Americans to get vaccinated, including booster shots, as he seeks to quell concerns over the newly identified coronavirus variant named omicron.