OMICRON VARIANT

This next phase of vaccination targets people 12 and older.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends getting an updated COVID-19 booster to help restore protection that has decreased since the previous vaccination and provide broader protection against newer variants.

Bebtelovimab is designed as a treatment option for those newly diagnosed with COVID-19 who cannot take Paxlovid and are deemed at high risk of severe outcomes. It replaces a series of monoclonal treatments that no longer are effective against virus due to mutation.

The Minnesota Department of Health said the two variants have become more dominant in the state, thoughs the variants have grown, the number of COVID-19 cases in Minnesota has continued to trend downward since mid-May. Those numbers could be deceiving, however.

A seemingly endless stream of “subvariants” of omicron, the most recent Greek-letter variant, has emerged in the past few months. How different are these subvariants from one another? Can infection by one subvariant protect someone from infection by another subvariant? And how well are the existing coronavirus vaccines doing against the subvariants? We asked medical and epidemiological experts these and other questions.

Health officials say that declining hospitalizations is a better metric for tracking spread.

Federal health officials say the best prevention against COVID-19 infection among infants, who cannot be vaccinated, is for pregnant women and new mothers to become vaccinated.

The BA.2 subvariant has been found in most states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and accounts for nearly 4% of cases nationwide.

After two years of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, a Minnesota emergency room physician talks about the toll on hospital staff and patients.