omicron variant

There is still no formal evidence that conjunctivitis is connected to XBB.1.16, which is only beginning to spread globally but makes up less than 5% of the Florida cases and 12% of those nationwide.

Older adults and others at high risk are now able to get a second shot of the COVID-19 booster that targets omicron.

Although reported cases are trending down in Florida, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 continues to mutate. The latest subvariant, called XBB.1.5, has mutations that make it highly transmissible and somewhat resistant to vaccines and past infection.

Holiday gatherings were already expected to fuel infections, but a new subvariant could continue to drive up cases this winter.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky has signed off on updated versions of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines that target the original virus and the omicron subvariants.

The omicron variant has proved adept at finding hosts, often by reinfecting people who recovered from earlier bouts of COVID. But whether omicron triggers long COVID as often and severe as previous variants is a matter of heated study.

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."

Fewer than five states have a surgeon general. Florida has had one since 2007, but critics say the job serving as the top advocate for wellness and disease prevention has changed because of state politics.

Under an order from President Biden, the Pentagon is deploying a thousand troops to help hospitals that are experiencing a surge in patients and have a lot of employees out sick.

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.

Health experts don't anticipate as many people will die during this wave as did during the delta surge this summer.

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