 | | | | Novavax Inc said its COVID-19 vaccine is effective in generating an immune response against the Omicron variant, and an additional booster dose produces further immune resistance to the new variant, according to early data published on Wednesday. | | | | | | U.S. President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that 250,000 treatment courses of Pfizer's newly authorized COVID-19 anti-viral drug will be available in January from the 10 million courses the United States had pre-purchased. | | | | | | Top U.S. infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said on Wednesday that attending large gatherings of over 40 people is not considered safe for vaccinated people, even those who got a booster dose. | | | | | | A surge in U.S. COVID-19 cases from the Omicron variant is overwhelming testing capacity in high-infection areas like New York City due in part to staffing shortages among healthcare workers and the limited number of open test sites, according to interviews with more than a dozen officials, health providers, and testmakers. | | | | | | The United States has administered 499,013,558 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Wednesday morning and distributed 609,035,545 doses, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. | | | | | | The risk of needing to stay in hospital for patients with the Omicron variant of COVID-19 is 40% to 45% lower than for patients with the Delta variant, according to research by London's Imperial College published on Wednesday. | | | | | | Consumer medical products maker Compass Health Brands is voluntarily recalling about 104,900 of its bed rails after receiving reports of three deaths associated with some of the products, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said on Wednesday. | | | | | | California will require healthcare workers and workers in "high-risk congregate settings" to get a COVID-19 vaccine booster by Feb. 1, Governor Gavin Newsom said on Wednesday as part of the state's response to the highly transmissible Omicron variant. | | | | | | France on Wednesday reported 84,272 new COVID-19 infections in the last 24 hours, coming close to its all-time high of almost 87,000 cases in November 2020. | | | | | | Belgium will close cinemas and theatres and play sporting fixtures behind closed doors immediately after Christmas in a tightening of coronavirus restrictions to curb a surge in cases of the Omicron variant. | | | | | |
