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Move to shorten COVID isolation stirs confusion, doubt

Associated Press WASHINGTON — U.S. health officials’ decision to shorten the recommended COVID-19 isolation and quarantine period from 10 days to five is drawing criticism from some medical experts and could create more confusion and fear among Americans. To the dismay of some authorities, the new guidelines allow people to leave isolation without getting tested to see if they are still infectious. The guidance has raised questions about how it was crafted and why it was changed now, in the middle of another wintertime spike in cases, this one driven largely by the highly ...

Omicron spreads global gloom over New Year’s celebrations

Associated Press BRUSSELS — After struggling with the coronavirus for far too long, the world understands all too well Belgium’s word of the year, “knaldrang!” — the urge to party, the need to let loose. Yet as New Year celebrations approach, the omicron variant is casting more gloom. Dire warnings abound, caseloads are rising alarmingly fast, air traffic is snarled and several countries are considering more restrictions to add to the patchwork of lockdowns and other measures already in place around Europe. The top U.S. infectious-disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, warned ...

Fauci: US should consider vaccine mandate for US air travel

Associated Press WASHINGTON — Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert, said Monday the nation should consider a vaccination mandate for domestic air travel, signaling a potential embrace of an idea the Biden administration has previously eschewed, as COVID-19 cases spike. Fauci, President Joe Biden’s chief science adviser on the pandemic response, said such a mandate might drive up the nation’s lagging vaccination rate as well as confer stronger protection on flights, for which federal regulations require all those age 2 and older to wear a mask. “When you ...

CDC cuts COVID isolation, quarantine for all from 10 to 5 days

AP Medical Writer NEW YORK — U.S. health officials on Monday cut isolation restrictions for Americans who catch the coronavirus from 10 to five days, and similarly shortened the time that close contacts need to quarantine. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials said the guidance is in keeping with growing evidence that people with the coronavirus are most infectious in the two days before and three days after symptoms develop. The decision also was driven by a recent surge in COVID-19 cases, propelled by the omicron variant. Early research suggests omicron may ...

By Matthew Perrone

AP Health Writer WASHINGTON — U.S. health regulators on Thursday authorized the second pill against COVID-19, providing another easy-to-use medication to battle the rising tide of omicron infections. The Food and Drug Administration announcement on Merck’s molnupiravir comes one day after the agency cleared a competing drug from Pfizer. Pfizer’s pill, Paxlovid, is likely to become the first-choice treatment against the virus, because of its superior benefits and milder side effects. As a result, Merck’s pill is expected to have a lesser role against the pandemic than ...

Pfizer pill first authorized home COVID treatment

AP Health Writer WASHINGTON — U.S. health regulators on Wednesday authorized the first pill against COVID-19, a Pfizer drug that Americans will be able to take at home to head off the worst effects of the virus. The long-awaited milestone comes as U.S. cases, hospitalizations and deaths are all rising and health officials warn of a tsunami of new infections from the omicron variant that could overwhelm hospitals. The drug, Paxlovid, is a faster way to treat early COVID-19 infections, though initial supplies will be extremely limited. All of the previously authorized drugs against ...