Public Health

School districts across Missouri are divided as to whether they will comply with the letter or continue enforcing mask mandates and quarantine policies.

WHO COVID technical lead Maria Van Kerkhove has cautioned against referring to Omicron's symptoms as "mild" following some early data on its severity.

Some researchers expressed cautious optimism about a small study showing that the variant does not completely escape vaccine immunity.

For a while there, it looked like we were on the COVID exit ramp. Now it seems we're likely to exhaust the Greek alphabet labeling variants.

Scientists have stressed the importance of booster shots as the COVID vaccines become less effective over time.

As COVID cases hit their highest level for two months, only a quarter of U.S. adults have had a booster shot.

State Rep. Jonathan Carroll, who proposed the bill, said those who turn down the COVID vaccine should take responsibility for the potential consequences.

Scientists are rushing to find out more about the new variant of concern, about which little is known.

Laboratory work is ongoing to determine exactly how transmissible and vaccine-resistant the new variant of concern is.

He added that travel bans against several African nations—likened to apartheid by one U.N. leader—are being reconsidered.

In just days, the Omicron variant has been identified in states across the country.

The recommendation comes after it was suggested that COVID variants could be more likely to arise in immunocompromised populations.

There may be many more U.S. cases of the variant of concern that have not been reported, with community transmission confirmed in some locations.

Scientists say it is plausible the variant of concern emerged from an animal host, but its origins are still unclear.

Dr. Anthony Fauci urged people to get vaccinated and receive booster shots after the case was identified in California.

The first five cases of what later became known as AIDS were reported 40 years ago.

The scientific community has praised the efforts of scientists from South Africa, Botswana and Hong Kong for their early detection of the variant of concern.

Scientists initially flagged the variant as concerning because of the large number of mutations it has compared with other forms of COVID.

Experts spoke to Newsweek about the new variant that has been classified as a variant of concern by the World Health Organization.

Omicron became the fastest variant to go from discovery to being classified as variant of concern by the World Health Organization on Friday.

Of 61 travelers who arrived on two flights from South Africa and tested positive for COVID Friday, 13 of them had the Omicron variant.

World Health Organization experts will convene on Friday to assess a new COVID variant that has worried scientists because of its mutations.

Scientists are concerned about the variant which has a high number of mutations on the part of the virus that infects cells.

State governor Gretchen Whitmer has urged people to get vaccinated as Michigan battles a sharp rise in cases.

The new variant has a large number of mutations on the spike the virus uses to invade the body, prompting concern from scientists.

"Rachelle was 32. She had two small children and that's the last thing she said to me. 'Tell my boys I love them,'" the victim's friend told local media.

"It is politically no longer justifiable that entire industries…are faced with great existential fears, while others...take the freedom not to vaccinate," said one official.

The variant may spread faster than the original form of Delta, which is now the most dominant strain in the world.

The FBI and CDC are investigating after 15 vials labeled "smallpox" were discovered at a lab outside Philadelphia.

The commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Health said the state would move to expand booster shot eligibility with or without the federal government.