omicron

The U.S. on Wednesday authorized updated COVID-19 boosters for children as young as 5, seeking to expand protection ahead of an expected winter wave.

Pfizer is asking the Food and Drug Administration to expand use of its updated COVID-19 booster shot to children ages 5 to 11.

President Joe Biden will deliver remarks on Thursday highlighting arrival of new COVID-19 vaccine boosters that have been updated to target the most common omicron strains currently in circulation.

Pfizer has asked U.S. regulators to authorize its combination COVID-19 vaccine that adds protection against the newest omicron strains: the BA.4 and BA.5 variants.

While COVID-19 cases are declining overall, experts are worried the trend could change due to the two new subvariants.

COVID super dodgers, people who have never been infected with COVID-19, are becoming an even more exclusive club now that the BA.5 omicron subvariant has taken over.

The omicron variants have shown a remarkable ability to get around the protection offered by infection and vaccination.

The subvariants are now responsible for 70% of new coronavirus cases, and their immunity to existing vaccines has concerned scientists. Here’s what you need to know about the subvariants.

Coachella was mostly outdoors, but the festival did not require masks or vaccination.

The BA.2 subvariant is now believed to be the dominant COVID-19 strain circulating in Los Angeles County, which has seen an uptick in daily infection numbers — though hospitalization figures remain low and the death rate keeps declining, the public health director said Thursday.

The new BA.2 omicron subvariant, nicknamed the “son of omicron” by one local expert, is responsible for surges in parts of Europe, Asia and, now, California and San Diego County. Dr. Davey Smith, the chief of infectious diseases and global public health at UC San Diego, talked to NBC 7 about the latest coronavirus mutation.

The number of COVID-positive patients in LA County hospitals has climbed by 23 people to 373, departing from the recent downward trend.

How different is the BA.2 subvariant of the coronavirus? Not much, says NBC News medical contributor Dr. John Torres. The subvariant has not been labeled as a variant of concern, and it’s not that different from Omicron, Torres says. Here’s a metaphor: if a fully new variant is like the virus putting on a full new outfit, a subvariant is...

Incoming White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha talks about the new omicron sub-variant BA.2 and whether the U.S. will see the kind of surge that Europe and Asia are experiencing.

COVID-19 hospitalizations in LA county continue to decline, a promising sign that we’ve likely passed the omicron peak. Hetty Chang reports for the NBC4 News at 11 p.m. on Jan. 27, 2022.

Moderna announced it started the second phase of its clinical trials on a vaccine that specifically targets the omicron variant, which could be a game changer as it accounts for 99.9% of infections in the United States.

Bay Area health departments are on alert after two cases of the subvariant of omicron BA.2 were confirmed in the South Bay, and labs are taking a deeper dive into the research.

Pfizer announced Tuesday it has launched a clinical trial to test an updated COVID-19 vaccine that targets the omicron variant.

There are different masks on the market: N95’s which are approved by the U.S. Government; KF94, approved by South Korea; and KN95, approved by China. Here are five ways to spot fake U.S. Government approved masks.

The omicron variant is sickening so many sanitation workers around the U.S. that some cities have had to delay or suspend garbage and recycling pickup, angering residents shocked that governments can’t perform this most basic of functions