The Latest Breaking News from Omicron

DENVER — Uptake of new boosters targeting variants of omicron is slowly increasing, in a change from the days when getting a COVID-19 vaccine appointment felt like a competitive sport.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — After steady decline since mid-July, some metrics of COVID-19 spread are showing early signs of plateauing in California, as transmission has begun to trend upward once again in some parts of the world.

Health officials at airports are conducting random Covid-19 tests on passengers with respiratory symptoms from Hong Kong and Singapore to detect Omicron's new XBB subvariant, according to disease control authorities.

Levels are still below the peak reached during the Omicron BA.4/BA/5 wave in the summer.

A surge in cases is indicating a new wave has started in the UK

The prevalence of BF.7 has doubled in the United States over the past two weeks, rising from 0.8% to 1.7%

Fainting and fatigue may signal onset of variant, experts say

The prevalence of BF.7 has doubled in the United States over the past two weeks, rising from 0.8% to 1.7%

Pfizer Inc. and its German vaccine partner said their booster tailored to the latest omicron variants raised more antibodies against the dominant strains of COVID-19 when compared with the original shot designed to fight the form of the virus.

Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech said their COVID-19 vaccine booster, adapted for the BA.4 and the BA.5 subvariants of Omicron, generated a strong immune response and was well-tolerated in testing on humans. With the results, which the companies described as consistent with preclinical data, the partners are following up…

Uptake of this version of the booster will likely remain low for kids, unless there's a wintertime surge of new cases.