CNN By Forrest Brown, CNN For awhile there, it appeared we might be able to ring in New Year’s Eve in major cities across the world with something resembling the big celebrations of yore. Another Covid-19 surge and the rapid spread of the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus have dashed those hopes — at
Continue ReadingBy Sara Sidner, CNN They heard their dad take his last breath. With little warning four months ago, Alec and Gabriella’s father, Billy Walker — who rarely ever caught a cold — lay in the hospital in Portland, Oregon. He had chosen not the get the Covid-19 vaccine: He was healthy, no medical problems. He
Continue ReadingBy Jacqueline Howard, CNN As Covid-19 cases continue to rise and the Omicron variant sweeps the world, some nations are rolling out fourth doses of coronavirus vaccine for the most vulnerable people. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s office announced this week that adults 60 and older, medical workers and people with suppressed immune systems could
Continue ReadingBy Jeremy Diamond, CNN The Biden administration is lifting restrictions on eight southern African countries that were put in place last month after the Omicron variant was first identified in South Africa, two administration officials told CNN. The restrictions will lift on December 31 at 12:01 a.m. ET, the officials said. News of the lifted
Continue ReadingBy Elizabeth Cohen, Danielle Herman and Justin Lape, CNN For Americans who suffer from weak immune systems, it felt like a miracle occurred on December 8. That day, the US Food and Drug Administration authorized a drug to help keep immune-compromised people from getting infected with the coronavirus. But that joy quickly turned to despair
Continue ReadingBy Alaa Elassar, Ed Lavandera and Ashley Killough, CNN Dr. Jack Lyons remembers the pandemic’s early days when grateful communities banged pots and pans to honor frontline health care workers. But now, faced with hostility just for trying to save his patients’ lives, he says that, sadly, those days are long gone. Lyons is one
Continue ReadingBy Veronica Stracqualursi and David Wright, CNN Former President Donald Trump pushed back on a questioner’s skepticism about the effectiveness and safety of the Covid-19 vaccine in a new interview, saying that the “vaccine works” and “people aren’t dying when they take the vaccine.” “Look, the results of the vaccine are very good, and if
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There are eight new COVID-19 related deaths in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 5,598, the Oregon Health Authority reported Thursday.
Continue ReadingBy Jamie Gumbrecht, Amanda Sealy and Jacqueline Howard, CNN The US Food and Drug Administration on Thursday authorized Merck’s antiviral pill, molnupiravir, to treat Covid-19 “for the treatment of mild-to-moderate coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in adults with positive results of direct SARS-CoV-2 viral testing, and who are at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19, including
Continue ReadingBy Laura Ly and Jason Hanna, CNN Next week’s New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square will be “scaled back,” with fewer revelers and everyone required to wear a mask, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office said Thursday. The celebration in Times Square typically holds around 58,000 people in viewing areas, but this year
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There are 31 new COVID-19 related deaths in Oregon, including one in Deschutes County, raising the state’s death toll to 5,590, the Oregon Health Authority reported Wednesday.
Continue ReadingBy Tierney Sneed and Ariane de Vogue, CNN The Supreme Court said Wednesday it is scheduling oral arguments for January 7 in the cases challenging the Biden administration’s Covid-19 vaccine requirements for large employers and certain health care workers. The arguments were scheduled after Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Brett Kavanaugh were asked to
Continue ReadingBy Donald Judd, CNN President Joe Biden on Wednesday pledged more than 250,000 treatment courses of Pfizer’s antiviral pill will be available starting in January after the US Food and Drug Administration authorized it to treat Covid-19. “With today’s action, we add the first-ever oral treatment to our nation’s medicine cabinet and take a significant
Continue ReadingBy Hamilton Wende and Niamh Kennedy, CNN South Africa has passed the peak of its Omicron outbreak, according to one of the country’s top scientific researchers. The country has “surpassed the peak of the Omicron wave now, driven by the significant decline in the populous province and epicenter: Gauteng,” Ridhwaan Suliman, senior researcher at the
Continue ReadingBy Jacqueline Howard, CNN Two new preprint papers add to the growing evidence that the Omicron coronavirus variant may be less likely to cause severe disease and hospitalization compared to the Delta variant. Omicron is associated with a two-thirds reduction in the risk of Covid-19 hospitalization compared with Delta, suggests one study, released online Wednesday
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CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) — Oregon State University says it will “likely” require students and employees to receive a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot. Oregon Public Broadcasting reports the school has already mandated the initial doses of the vaccine. OSU says the booster requirement isn’t official, but urged students, faculty and staff to seek out the additional
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There are 25 new COVID-19 related deaths in Oregon, including three from Deschutes County, raising the state’s death toll to 5,559, the Oregon Health Authority reported Tuesday.
Continue ReadingBy Melissa Alonso, CNN Amazon, Walmart, CVS, Walgreens are limiting the number of at-home Covid kits customers can buy due to huge demand. The rapid spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant ahead of the holidays has sparked the surge — and there has been anecdotal evidence over the past week of test shortages at stores
Continue ReadingBy ADAM BEAM Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Gov. Gavin Newsom says California will require health care workers to get booster shots against the coronavirus. The Democratic governor said Tuesday the action will make sure hospitals are prepared as a new version of the virus begins to spread throughout the state. California already requires
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Gov. Kate Brown extended her declaration of a state of emergency to mid-2022 Tuesday as Oregon continues to implement its plan to prepare for and respond to the impending Omicron variant surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.
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