Tuesday, December 21, 2021
Newly elected Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has announced that, starting on January 15, 2022, individuals will be required to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19 in order to enter certain indoor spaces in Boston. People working in those locations also will be required to have received their vaccines.
This new policy is in addition to the Citys existingindoor mask mandate.
The new policy, dubbed B Together, covers certain indoor locations offering indoor dining, indoor fitness, and indoor entertainment.
Indoor Dining (portions of food service establishments offering food and drink, including those identified below)*
Indoor Entertainment, Recreational, and Event Venues (including those listed below)
Indoor Gyms and Fitness Settings (including those listed below)
Restaurants
Movie theaters
Commercial gyms and fitness centers
Bars
Music or concert venues
Yoga, Pilates, barre, and dance studios
All indoor dining areas of food service establishments
Commercial event and party venues
Boxing and kickboxing gyms
Museums and galleries
Fitness boot camps
Professional sports arenas and indoor stadiums
Indoor pools
Convention centers and exhibition halls
Other facilities used for conducting group fitness classes
Performing arts theaters
Bowling alleys
Other recreational centers
*Excludes (1) food service establishments offering food or drink exclusively for off-premises or outdoor consumption, and (2) food service establishments providing charitable food services, such as soup kitchens.
Employees working in these covered locations also must be vaccinated. Covered businesses are responsible for checking proof of vaccination and posting a notice (availablehere) about the COVID-19 vaccine requirement at their entrance.
The policy excludes pre-kindergarten through grade 12 public and non-public schools and programs, child care programs, senior centers, and community centers. The policy does not apply to indoor college and university spaces that already require vaccination for all members of the community.
Individuals may demonstrate their vaccination status with any of the following:
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) vaccination card;
A digital image of their CDC vaccination card;
An image or printout of any official immunization record;
A City of Boston-designated app containing a digital image of any official immunization record; or
Another COVID-19 vaccine verification app.
There is no requirement in the policy to have a vaccine booster to enter indoor establishments. However, the Boston Public Health Commission, in consultation with public health data and guidance from the CDC, may modify this provision in the future.
Covered businesses must require proof of vaccination. If a customer requests an exemption from the vaccine requirement due to a disability, the Cityswebsiteadvises the covered business to:
engage with them in a cooperative dialogue to see if a reasonable accommodation is possible. A business does not have to provide a reasonable accommodation if doing so would create a direct threat (including contact with an unvaccinated individual) for other customers or employees of the business, or impose an undue hardship on the business.
Covered businesses do not have to check vaccination status for entry for a quick and limited purpose, such as using the bathroom, placing an order, or making a delivery. Individuals entering a venue for these limited purposes must wear a face mask.
The timeline for compliance with the B Together policy is:
Date
Requirement
January 15, 2022
People age 12 and over must show proof of one dose of vaccine
February 15, 2022
People age 12 and over must show proof of full vaccination
March 1, 2022
Children ages 5-11 must show proof of one dose of vaccine
May 1, 2022
People ages 5 and over must show proof of full vaccination
City inspectors will check for compliance. Businesses that are found not in compliance will receive a warning. If businesses continue not to comply, they may be fined or face other enforcement action.
Jackson Lewis P.C. 2021National Law Review, Volume XI, Number 355
COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Africa: a call to action The Lancet
Alpha, Beta, Delta, Gamma and now Omicron.
Different variants of COVID-19 have been identified over the last two years by the World Health Organization, but could Omicron be the last?
>> Ohio sees highest 24-hour COVID-19 case count of entire pandemic
At some point this virus might mutate to a form that is no longer severe, said Dr. Jeffrey Weinstein, Patient Safety Officer with Kettering Health Network. This strain, Omicron, may not be that one. Its really looking more and more like it is not the one
Weinstein said viruses can work in two ways when they become mutated.
You can see a virus mutate and become more severe and you can see a virus mutate and lose what we call pathogenicity, its ability to cause disease, Weinstein said.
Omicron became a variant of concern for the World Health Organization in late November, when it was first identified in South Africa. In a matter of weeks, Omicron has spread quickly.
I suspect that in our region many, if not most of our cases, are Omicron by now, Weinstein said.
>> Coronavirus: Biden lays out plan to curb omicron surge, focuses on vaccinations
A variant of concern is identified by the WHO when it shows an increase in transmissibility or detrimental change in COVID-19 epidemiology, increase in virulence or change in clinical disease presentation or a decrease in effectiveness of public health and social measures or available diagnostics, vaccines, therapeutics.
But many are asking if Omicron is a more severe version of COVID-19 than the variants that came before?
We certainly are seeing hospitalizations from Omicron, but we see that it looks like a smaller percentage of the people who get infected, Weinstein said. Its a smaller percentage, but if that totally number is much, much higher youre going to end up with the result of more people in the hospital rather than fewer.
When Delta was first detected it was determined that it was 50 percent more contagious than the original version of COVID-19, Weinstein said Omicron appears to be significantly more contagious than Delta.
When you see it get into a community it takes over very fast, Weinstein said.
Health experts in South Africa have reported that cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 there tended to be quite mild, Weinstein said. He said when a virus moves to another part of the world their can be a lot of variability with it, meaning it impacts different demographics and people with different comorbidities.
Initial data shows the current vaccines appear to be effective against the virus, but Weinstein said getting a booster may increase your ability to fight off the virus if you get it.
A booster looks to give you pretty good protection, Weinstein said. You are much, much less likely to get very sick and end up in a hospital or die from COVID than if you were not vaccinated or boosted.
2021 Cox Media Group
Public health experts have urged pregnant women to get vaccinated.
CARLISLE, Pa. Abigail Martin and her 9-month-old daughter Sophie Jo will be celebrating Christmas with extended family this year, a marked change from 2020.
It was really stressful at first. I was very scared, Abigail said. We didnt do family gatherings. Work was shut down. So we were just living inside all the time.
The choice to get vaccinated wasnt easy at first. Already in her second trimester of pregnancy, Abigail became eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine in Pennsylvania on Jan. 20. But she was worried about potential side effects due to being pregnant.
I was a little bit unsure about it. I didnt really know what to think, which way to go. Ive heard bad things. I was hearing really good things, she said.
Public health experts have urged pregnant women to get vaccinated. According to a CDC study released in November, unvaccinated pregnant individuals were 70 percent more likely to die from COVID-19, as well as having higher risk of getting admitted into the ICU and being put on a ventilator or an ECMO machine.
Women who get COVID in pregnancy have a significant increase of developing moderate to severe disease, subsequently requiring hospitalization, said Dr. Chavone Momon-Nelson, an OB-GYN at UMPC.
Late one night, Abigail made a call from a hotel room to a dependable source: her family doctor.
Shes been my doctor since I was 14 or 15 and I really trust her opinion, Abigail said.
Her doctor informed her the vaccine could help protect her, as well as pass antibodies on to her unborn baby.
So at 34 weeks pregnant, Abigail got the shot.
At this point now, if I could do it all over again, I would have gotten it earlier, she said.
Her daughter Sophie Jo is 9-months-old now and healthy.
I think in the end it was just the best decision I could have made for my family and my daughter, Abigail said.
The White House says President Biden will deliver a speech Tuesday to announce a plan to distribute 500 million free at-home rapid COVID-19 tests beginning next month, as the administration ramps up attempts to deal with the spread of the omicron variant. The administration says it will set up a website for Americans who want to request a test to be delivered to their homes for free. This would be the second public-facing pandemic-specific website from the Biden administration, which previously built a site to direct people to vaccine providers.
The presidents so-called winter plan will also send 1,000 medical military members including doctors, nurses, and other personnel to hospitals overwhelmed with COVID patients and will set up more free federal testing sites. And the administration says it will deploy hundreds of federal vaccinators across 12 states, Tribes, and territories to help enable thousands of additional appointments over the next few weeks.
The actions come as the number of new coronavirus cases has exploded due in large part to omicron, a highly infectious variant of the virus; according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), omicron is now the dominant strain of the virus in the US. Its unclear if theyll be sufficient to make a dent in the virus spread the strain moves so quickly that waiting until next month to start sending out tests likely wont blunt the initial surge.
Biden also plans to invoke the Defense Production Act to increase the pace of coronavirus test production, and the White House says the Strategic National Stockpile has hundreds of millions of N-95 masks, more than 100,000 ventilators, and other personal protective equipment ready to ship out if and when states need them.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday that Bidens planned speech was not about another lockdown but rather being directly clear with the American people about the benefits of being vaccinated, the steps were going to take to increase access, increase testing, and the risks posed to unvaccinated individuals.
The administration plans to have new federal testing sites set up before Christmas in New York City.
President Biden said that he would set up new federal coronavirus testing sites nationwide to mitigate the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. The first of those sites will open in New York City before Christmas.
The move comes after New York City officials announced that they would open an additional 23 coronavirus testing sites by the end of the week to try to meet a soaring demand as people race to learn their status before holiday travel and indoor gatherings.
Testing helps us on so many levels, Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters on Monday. It helps to make sure that each person knows where they stand. On the very personal level, when you get tested, you know whats going on, you know what to do.
By the end of this week, New Yorkers will have 112 city-run sites, which are spread out among all five boroughs and have been opened in various settings, including health care facilities, schools, libraries and community centers.
The city estimates that more than 130,000 people are being tested at the citys sites every day, which is double the number three weeks ago. New Yorkers also have access to hundreds of private testing sites across the city.
Heres how to be tested for Covid-19 in New York.
Essentially everyone, including people who do not live in New York, regardless of whether they have Covid-19 symptoms. But certain sites have minimum age requirements, which are listed on the citys coronavirus portal.
You can find a list of city-operated and privately run testing locations on the citys portal. You can also text COVID TEST to 855-48.
Each site is supposed to specify what tests are available and when results can be expected. The portal also lists if an appointment is needed to visit a particular location and whether there are other requirements such as a screening to see if you were recently exposed to the virus or a doctors order for a test.
The hours for each site are also listed. The N.Y.C. Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health locations and saliva self-testing sites will stop testing at 2 p.m. on Friday. All mobile testing sites will be closed Christmas Day.
While city-run sites are without cost, some private testers charge a fee. Poor weather may also force some locations to close. City officials encourage people to call a testing site before going.
Dec. 21, 2021, 8:38 p.m. ET
The New York State Health Department is in charge of regulating all private testing sites, including sites in New York City.
But certain testing sites have recently come under increased scrutiny. The New York attorney general Letitia James on Monday issued a warning to LabQ Diagnostics, a Brooklyn-based laboratory with testing sites across the city, over false advertising. The companys website advertises test results within 48 hours, but some people have reported waiting more than 96 hours.
Many New Yorkers have seen lines at testing sites snake around blocks, and the wait can sometimes exceed two hours.
The wait time at the N.Y.C. Health + Hospitals locations can be tracked using this dashboard. For example, the site lists test locations with no reported wait time as well as sites that have wait times of more than two hours. Workers aim to update the expected wait times every two hours.
New Yorkers with certain underlying health conditions or who are over 65 can schedule an in-home appointment by calling 929-298-9400, seven days a week, between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m.
At-home tests can also be ordered online, through one of five different vendors: Hims & Hers, Pixel by LabCorp, QuestDirect by QuestDiagnostics, Vault Health or Zeel. The cost of the tests largely depends on what insurance carriers cover. In some cases, a screening to check if you were recently exposed to the virus must be completed before an order can be placed.
Testing kits have become hard to find in pharmacies and other stores, and some retailers are charging higher prices. The attorney generals office on Tuesday condemned price gouging and asked people to report it.
You should quarantine for 10 days and contact your medical provider or call the city at 1-212-COVID-19. The New York City Test & Trace Corps offers help to those who test positive, such as a hotel room in which to quarantine, food or medical support like medicine and mental health care.
Those infected should try to determine when they might have been exposed and reach out to people they interacted with and had close contact with during that time period. The state health department recommends reaching out to people you were in close contact with starting two days before your symptoms appeared or if you are asymptomatic, two days before taking your test.
They may hear from a contact tracer who will help notify people who might have been in contact with them and connect people with resources.
Hong Kong will mandate all government employees to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19, or get tested for the virus every three days, authorities announced on Tuesday.
The news rules will come into effect on January 3, the statement said.
Employees who have a medical certificate to prove they are unfit to receive Covid-19 vaccinations will have the costs of the tests reimbursed, while other employees will have to pay for them at their own expense.
The government said the new measures are in response to the growing number of infection cases involving mutant strains of Covid-19 with high transmissibility in the world.
Hong Kong has followed mainland China in adopting a "dynamic zero-Covid strategy," closing its borders for much of the pandemic to non-residents and instituting strict quarantine requirements for returning residents.
It has so far not recorded any locally-transmitted cases of the Omicron variant.
WASHINGTON President Biden was in close contact with a White House official who later tested positive for the coronavirus, the administration said on Monday.
The president spent about 30 minutes near the official aboard Air Force One on a trip from South Carolina to Pennsylvania on Friday, Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said in a statement. The official, who was vaccinated and had received a booster shot, began experiencing symptoms two days later and tested positive on Monday morning.
The president is tested on a regular basis. As part of that regular testing, the president received an antigen test Sunday, and tested negative, Ms. Psaki said. This morning, after being notified of the staffers positive test, the president received a P.C.R. test and tested negative.
The news came as administration officials acknowledged that as the highly contagious Omicron variant has surged, a cluster of cases have been reported in and around the White House, including at the National Security Council, the State Department, Treasury and other agencies. Mr. Biden, who is 79, will deliver a speech on Tuesday that his advisers say is meant to emphasize that fully vaccinated people will face far fewer health risks from the virus and its variants than the unvaccinated.
This is not a speech about locking the country down, Ms. Psaki told reporters on Monday. This is a speech outlining and being direct and clear with the American people about the benefits of being vaccinated, the steps were going to take to increase access and to increase testing, and the risks posed to unvaccinated individuals.
In her statement about Mr. Bidens exposure to the virus, Ms. Psaki added that he would be tested again on Wednesday, and that as a fully vaccinated person, he was not required to quarantine after exposure. According to guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fully vaccinated people who have had close contact with someone who has Covid should be tested five to seven days from the date of exposure and wear a mask in public indoor settings for two weeks or until they receive a negative test result.
Researchers still do not know how likely Omicron is to cause severe illness in most people, but its speed has stunned public health experts. With Omicron already the dominant form of the coronavirus in the United States, White House officials have tried to emphasize that breakthrough cases among the fully vaccinated and boosted will most likely be mild compared with infections the unvaccinated may face; but given the variants contagiousness, those cases could become more common.
Officials have also said that there is no reason to treat this wave like the devastating one the United States faced in spring 2020, but the virus is interfering with day-to-day functions in the administration. At least one person a journalist who traveled with Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken to Southeast Asia last week tested positive, causing Mr. Blinken to cut short his trip. Another White House official, who attended a Christmas party with journalists on Tuesday, later tested positive. The administration has not disclosed the scope of infections in the White House and at various agencies.
I would just note that we do expect there to be breakthrough cases, as there are as there will be across government, Ms. Psaki said on Monday when asked to describe infections in the administration.
Some federal agencies are planning to require employees to return to the office. A memo sent to Commerce Department employees on Friday from Don Graves, the deputy secretary, outlined a plan to start a staggered approach to return beginning in January. Ms. Psaki said on Monday that everyone who worked in the administration was encouraged to receive a booster shot and that 99 percent of the White House staff had received one.
Dec. 21, 2021, 8:38 p.m. ET
Still, a memo sent to the staff on Monday afternoon provided a link to schedule a Pfizer dose and a plea: The best way to protect yourself and others is by being fully vaccinated and receiving a booster as soon as you are eligible. Both memos were obtained by The New York Times.
In his speech on Tuesday, Mr. Biden is expected to encourage the public to receive a booster shot as soon as they are eligible.
President Donald J. Trump, who for years falsely claimed that vaccines were dangerous and pointedly declined to be seen receiving his coronavirus vaccine while he was in office, told the former Fox News host Bill OReilly on Sunday that he had received a booster.
Their audience, at a speaking tour stop in Houston, began to boo, according to a video distributed by one of Mr. OReillys social media accounts.
Dont, dont, dont, dont, Mr. Trump said, waving his arm to dismiss the naysayers and downplaying the reaction.
Mr. Bidens advisers have pointed out that they have taken extra precautions to keep him safe from exposure, including protocol that requires day-of testing if an official is to meet with him. Officials who see the president every day are therefore tested every day, an administration official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe internal planning.
Mr. Trump, on the other hand, eschewed most precautions while he was in office.
Azi Paybarah and Lauren McCarthy contributed reporting.
Its likely that the symptoms of Omicron will resemble Deltas more than they differ.
Theres probably a huge amount of overlap between Omicron and the prior variants, because they are essentially doing the same thing, said Dr. Otto O. Yang, an infectious disease physician at the University of California, Los Angeles, David Geffen School of Medicine. If there are differences, theyre probably fairly subtle.
One possible difference is that Omicron may be less likely than earlier variants to cause a loss of taste and smell. Research suggests that 48 percent of patients with the original SARS-CoV-2 strain reported loss of smell and 41 percent reported loss of taste, but an analysis of a small Omicron outbreak among vaccinated people in the Netherlands found that only 23 percent of patients reported loss of taste, and only 12 percent reported loss of smell. Its unclear, though, whether these differences are because of Omicron or some other factor, like vaccination status.
Indeed, many Covid-19 symptoms vary depending on a persons vaccine status. Maya N. Clark-Cutaia, an assistant professor at the New York University Meyers College of Nursing who has been following up with Covid-19 patients throughout the pandemic, said that vaccinated patients with Delta or the original coronavirus tend to present with headache, congestion, sinus pressure and sinus pain, while unvaccinated patients are more likely to have shortness of breath and cough, along with flulike symptoms.
Dec. 21, 2021, 8:38 p.m. ET
With Omicron, Dr. Clark-Cutaia said patients shes talked to in Pennsylvania are presenting with similar symptoms to Delta. Vaccinated Omicron patients complain of headaches, body aches and fever like a really bad cold, she said. Unvaccinated people have the same shortness of breath, cough and flulike symptoms she saw among unvaccinated people with Delta and the original coronavirus.
One other difference between Omicron and other variants is that Omicron seems to have a shorter incubation time after a person is exposed, it takes as few as three days for them to develop symptoms, become contagious and test positive compared with four to six days with Delta and the original coronavirus, said Dr. Waleed Javaid, the director of infection prevention and control at Mount Sinai Downtown in New York City. That could be because the variants mutations help it attach to and go inside cells, he added.
COVID-19: What to do next if you test positive
If you test positive for COVID-19, here are the steps you need to take to get better and help stop the spread.
ProblemSolved, USA TODAY
As COVID-19 cases surge, fueled by the highly transmissible omicron variant of the coronavirus, Americanswonderhow to approach the holidays and safely travel and gather with friends and family.
The pace of new cases in the USA is up 41% compared with a month ago, according to a USA TODAY analysis of Johns Hopkins data. For much of December, cases hovered around 120,000 but have jumped to more than130,000 aday.
As of Saturday, the omicron variant accounted for 73.2% of new COVID-19 infections in the nation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.The week ending Dec. 11, it accounted for 12.6% of new cases.
Get COVID-19 updates right to your inbox: Sign up for our newsletter, Coronavirus Watch, here
Health experts said COVID-19 vaccines are less effective against the new strain, which may lead to more breakthrough infections. Boosters provide more protection against omicron, but the CDC reportedonly 30% of the eligible population has received their booster.
Here are answers to some common questions:
Though the easy answer is to stay home, it's important to recognize how challenging the past year has been on families and the need to see loved ones around the holidays, saidAkhil Bindra, a pulmonologist at the Cleveland Clinic.
"Being conscientious of that, there is a safe way to do it, but there's always some risk," Bindra said.
The best way to protect loved ones from severe disease is to get vaccinated and boosted, he said. Getting tested for the virus before you gather inside is a good idea, even if you don't have symptoms,he said.
Wearing a mask indoors will add another layer of protection, he said,acknowledging it may not be realistic to expect of all families.
Tuesday,presidential health adviserAnthony Fauci said vaccinated Americans don't need to cancel their plans."If you dont have the availability of the test and you are fully vaccinated and boosted, you should feel comfortable having a holiday meal or gathering with family members who are also vaccinated and boosted," he said onNBC's "Today."
The CDC defines close contact as being within 6 feet of someone withCOVID-19 for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period.
The agency urges unvaccinated people quarantine if theyvehad close contact with someone with COVID-19, which entails:
The CDC recommends consulting your local health departments website for more information on quarantine. In some states, unvaccinated individuals can shorten their quarantine to 10 days without testing if they dont develop symptoms or seven days upon receiving a negative test result.
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People who are fully vaccinated do NOT need to quarantine after contact with someone who had COVID-19 unless they develop symptoms, the CDC said. They should still get tested five to sevendays after their exposure and wear a mask in indoor public settings for 14 days after exposure or until they get a negative test result.
A person infected with COVID-19 may be contagious 48 hours before symptoms start, health experts said. Early studies have shown people may be most likely to unknowingly spread the virus to others during that initial two-day period.
The CDC recommendspeople get tested five to sevendays after exposure and wear a mask in indoor public settings for 14 days after exposure or until they get a negative test result.
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Regardless of vaccination status, health experts said, Americans should not travel to see family or friends if theyve tested positive for the coronavirus. Unfortunately, that may mean canceling holiday plans.
According to the CDC, people who test positive for the coronavirus andexperience symptoms should:
The CDC said a person infected with COVID-19 should isolate from people for 10 full days, counting Day 1 as the first full dayafter symptoms developed. After isolation, health experts said, its not always necessary to retest.
A positive test doesnt necessarily mean you have to wait another 10 days because we know that these tests can stay positive for a while, said Purvi Parikh, an allergist and immunologist with the Allergy and Asthma Network, a nonprofit forallergy, asthma and immune conditions. After 10 days, its very unlikely youll be contagious.
She recommended rest, hydrating with lots of fluids andover-the-counter pain medication to alleviate symptoms during the isolation period.
Even if youre asymptomatic, health experts said, its important to isolate after testing positive for the coronavirus.
If you test positive for the coronavirus and never develop symptoms, the CDC said, Day 0 is the day of your positive viral test and Day 1 is the first full day after your positive test.
If you develop symptoms before the 10-day isolation period is over, the agency said, your period must start over with Day 0 being the first day of symptoms and Day 1 the first full day after symptoms develop.
Even if symptoms never develop, the CDC recommended followingthe same rules of isolation as someone who does have symptoms, including avoiding contact with other household members, using separate facilities, not sharing personal items and wearing a mask.
Biden warns of illness and death as omicron surges
Warning the omicron variant of the coronavirus "is here," President Joe Biden predicts a "winter of severe illness and death" for those who are still unvaccinated and implores Americans anew to get their shots and boosters. (Dec. 16)
AP
If youre not feeling sick and have yet to test positive for the coronavirus, health experts urged unvaccinated Americans to get vaccinated as soon as possible.
Those who tested positive for the coronavirus and are unvaccinated should follow the same isolation rules as people who are fully vaccinated and infected.
People who are unvaccinated are more at risk of severe disease, hospitalization and death, Parikh said, which means they should be extra vigilant of symptoms that may require emergency care.
Regardless of vaccination status, people who are at high risk for severe disease, such asthose over 65, are immunocompromised or have underlying medical conditions, should call their doctor for early treatment options.
You should strongly consider monoclonal antibody infusion preferably two to three days after (testing positive), Parikh said. It will lessen your chances of needing to be admitted in the hospital or dying of COVID-19.
Bindra,with the Cleveland Clinic, said themajority of cases at his hospital are unvaccinated people, highlighting the need to get vaccinated. "It's still not too late," he said.
The omicron surge has helped fueltherise in cases, he said. According to the CDC, omicron canspread among the vaccinated and people who are asymptomatic.Bindra said among the small number of vaccinated cases at his hospital, most are older or immunocompromised patients.
Though more research is needed on the signs and symptoms of omicron compared with other variants, Bindra said it's important to remember that delta is still circulating, which can accountfor manylonger-term andintensive care unit hospitalizations.
The CDC saidpeople who have COVID-19 should not get vaccinated right away. If you are asymptomatic, wait until you meet the criteria for leaving isolation to get a shot. If you aresymptomatic, wait until you have recovered and meet the criteria to leave isolation, the CDC said.
Yes. Omicron is a variant of the coronavirus, similar to delta. They both occurred when genetic mutations occurred to the virus.
"I think the longer the virus can exist which is now, existing for about two years (there's a)higher chance of it continuing to mutate. So I don't think any of us expect that this one will count asthe last mutation," Bindra said.
Contributing: Mike Stucka and Ryan Miller
Follow Adrianna Rodriguez on Twitter: @AdriannaUSAT.
Health and patient safety coverage at USA TODAY is made possible in part by a grant from the Masimo Foundation for Ethics, Innovation and Competition in Healthcare. The Masimo Foundation does not provide editorial input.
