Coronavirus

CNBC reports: The Food and Drug Administration on Monday expanded eligibility for Pfizer and BioNTech booster shots to children ages 12 to 15 years old, as school restarts after winter break amid a surge of Covid infections across the U.S. The FDA also shortened the time between primary vaccination and the booster dose to at least five months, down from …

Mediaite reports: Newly-elected New York City Mayor Eric Adams confidently told viewers of Morning Joe that it is “time to live with Covid” Monday morning while discussing plans to keep the city open until the potentially deadly contagion eventually dissipates. “We have to live with covid and modify our behavior because if another variant comes out, what are we going …

CNN reports: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has tested positive for Covid-19 and is exhibiting “mild” symptoms, according to a statement from him released by the Defense Department on Sunday. “I have informed my leadership team of my positive test result, as well as the President. My staff has begun contact tracing and testing of all those with whom I have …

Reuters reports: Over 4,000 flights were cancelled around the world on Sunday, more than half of them U.S. flights, adding to the toll of holiday week travel disruptions due to adverse weather and the surge in coronavirus cases caused by the Omicron variant. The flights cancelled by 8 pm GMT on Sunday included over 2,500 entering, departing from or within …

The New York Daily News reports: If more Americans get vaccinated and boosted, the U.S. just might return to a semblance of normalcy by February or March, the country’s top infectious disease expert said on Sunday. Hopefully, enough people get vaccinated “to the point that when omicron comes down to a low level, we keep it down at a low …

The New York Daily News reports: New York City hit yet another grim COVID-19 milestone on the last day of 2021, recording a single-day record of nearly 50,000 new cases on Dec. 31, according to state data released Saturday afternoon. City residents reported 49,724 positive tests Friday, making up the lion’s share of the state’s record-breaking case total of over …

The Associated Press reports: By late morning Saturday on the East Coast, more than 2,500 U.S. flights and nearly 4,200 worldwide had been canceled, according to tracking service FlightAware.That is the highest single-day toll yet since just before Christmas, when airlines began blaming staffing shortages on increasing COVID-19 infections among crews. Saturday’s disruptions weren’t just due to the virus, however. …

The Metro reports: A man set himself on fire in a car in an apparent anti-vaccine protest on a busy street in Melbourne. Video showed a silver hatchback fully in flames near Church Street in the suburb of Richmond at around 8pm on New Year’s Day, while diners at nearby restaurants reported hearing “screams.” Lydia O’Connor told The Herald Sun …

Reuters reports: United Airlines and Spirit Airlines are bumping up pay for on board staff as they scramble to keep schedules intact after U.S. airlines were hammered by a week of mass cancellations. While Spirit’s flight attendants are receiving double pay on any work through Jan. 4, according to their union, United is offering triple time for pilots who pick …

The New York Daily News reports: As New York continues to ride a relentless COVID wave into the new year, Gov. Hochul on Friday extended a statewide mask mandate for businesses through at least the end of January and reported another day of record-breaking positivity numbers. At the close of a year of vaccine jabs and squashed dreams of post-pandemic …

The Dallas Morning News reports: Gov. Greg Abbott is asking the federal government for help adding COVID-19 testing sites in some of Texas’ largest counties, including Dallas and Tarrant. His request came Friday as the highly contagious omicron variant spreads throughout the state and tests are in high demand. “Detecting COVID-19 and preventing COVID-related hospitalizations are critical to our fight …

ABC News reports: Over 1,400 flights going into, out of and within the U.S. were canceled on Friday as the year comes to a close with snarled travel due to the impact of COVID-19 and the omicron variant on airlines and their crews. According to FlightAware’s live delay and cancellation statistic, just over 1,400 flights in the U.S. were canceled …

The Washington Post reports: Amtrak said Thursday that it will reduce its schedule between New Year’s Eve and Jan. 6 as it battles bad weather in some parts of the country and a surge in coronavirus cases among its employees. “Amtrak regrets any inconvenience,” the railroad said in a statement. “We are continuing to monitor changing conditions and will make …

The Associated Press reports: The omicron-fueled surge that is sending COVID-19 cases rocketing in the U.S. is putting children in the hospital in record numbers, and experts lament that most of the youngsters are not vaccinated. “It’s just so heartbreaking,” said Dr. Paul Offit, an infectious-disease expert at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “It was hard enough last year, but now …

Reuters reports: Australians bade farewell to 2021 with a traditional fireworks display over Sydney harbour as good news from South Africa – the first country to pronounce itself past its Omicron wave – brought hope for a joyous New Year. Thanks to Omicron, the New Year began its annual roll from East to West quietly – with no official firework …

The Washington Post reports: The rapid surge of omicron infections in the United States may be relatively brief, measured in weeks rather than months, according to infectious-disease experts who have been astonished by the speed of the coronavirus variant’s spread — and who are hoping this wave ebbs just as quickly. The idea of a rapid peak and swift decline …

The Associated Press reports: Pope Francis canceled his New Year’s Eve tradition of visiting the life-sized Nativity scene set up in St. Peter’s Square to discourage large crowds from forming. Meanwhile, major Italian cities scrapped their traditional Dec. 31 open-air concerts as Italy battles a record-setting surge in coronavirus cases. The Vatican has largely followed Italy’s lead in imposing restrictions …

The Orlando Sentinel reports: Orange County officials said Wednesday the state has balked at opening testing sites amid a tidal wave of demand and denied a request this week for flashing signs to help provide information to people in miles-long lines. A state testing site, like one that was operated at the Orange County Convention Center in 2020, would alleviate …

Via press release from the State Department: International Travel Challenges During COVID-19 U.S. citizens who choose to travel internationally should be aware that they may face unexpected challenges related to COVID-19 as they attempt to return to the United States or attempt to travel from one overseas location to another. U.S. citizens who do choose to travel internationally should make …

The Washington Post reports: Several Canadian provinces Thursday tightened restrictions amid an omicron-fueled increase in coronavirus cases that has overwhelmed testing and tracing systems and pushed the seven-day average of new cases in the country up 141 percent over the previous week. In Quebec, the hardest-hit province, Premier François Legault [photo] announced that a curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 …