Coronavirus Variant

Advisers ultimately said sticking with JN.1 rather than its offshoots promises to offer a better chance at cross-protection. The FDA will decide the final recipe soon.

Health officials predict that the variant may be more transmissible or is better at evading our immune systems. However, there's no sign so far that JN.1 causes more severe illness than other variants.

The new variant is called JN.1. It's an omicron offshoot that makes up about 44% of COVID cases across the country, according to the CDC.

The new approach would simplify vaccination guidance so that, every fall, people would get a new shot, updated to try to match whatever variant is dominant.

Recent research suggests that the virus is mutating to better dodge immune defenses. KHN examines what public health officials believe is on the horizon and how best to fight the disease.

During the week of March 18-24, the state had 8,774 reported cases. The total the previous week was 8,049. The state now issues reports every two weeks.

University of Miami researchers have been tracking SARS-CoV-2 variants through genomic sequencing. The effort's leader says: “We are now mirroring the national trends."

In Florida, only half of fully vaccinated nursing home residents have gotten the booster for COVID. When you add unvaccinated residents into the mix, just 41% are boosted.

While the governor said the treatments are "not 100%," he added that they should still be made available.

The FDA says therapies from Regeneron and Eli Lilly should no longer be used because they don't work against omicron. Gov. Ron DeSantis says the action will "cost some Americans their lives."

Omicron has exploded in schools across the Tampa Bay region this year and some local high school students say their district isn't doing enough to notify them of possible exposure.

At the VA — the nation's largest health care system — dozens of hospitals have had to implement "contingency standards" since the omicron wave began.