omicron

A group of doctors are pushing for stronger mask advisories and mandates as COVID cases continue to rise in Massachusetts.

The city of Worcester is “strongly encouraging residents to wear masks” in indoor public settings, officials announced Friday, amid COVID-19 cases rising. The city is averaging about 129 COVID cases per day, a metric that’s risen steadily since it reached a low-point on March 12. It’s now at its highest point since February, the city said. COVID cases are on…

The BA.2 omicron subvariant still remains the dominant COVID strain across the U.S., but another subvariant has gained momentum in recent days. BA.2.12.1, which health officials say appears to be up to 27% more contagious than BA.2, is responsible for approximately 36.5% of cases nationwide, according to the most recent CDC weekly numbers. While BA.2 accounts for approximately 75% of…

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

As Massachusetts hovers around a 5% positivity rate, doctors are predicting what may be coming in the next several weeks as we get closer to Memorial Day, graduations and other summer gatherings. Top local doctors spoke to NBC10 Boston during our weekly “COVID Q&A” session to discuss this outlook. The doctors agreed that while the next few weeks look...

More than half of the residents in Massachusetts and Rhode Island were infected with COVID during the omicron surge, a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows. More than 52% of people in Massachusetts have been infected with COVID since the omicron surge began in December, while more than 53% of the population were infected…

News about the BA.2 omicron subvariant continues to grow as it becomes the dominant COVID-19 strain not just in New England but across the U.S., but what should you be watching for? According to the CDC, that variant accounts for over 70% of COVID circulating in New England. By comparison, it is responsible for more than half of new infections...

As the “stealth” BA.2 omicron variant becomes more prevalent in New England, the latest wastewater data shows another modest uptick in COVID-19 levels throughout Boston. This data is prompting new concerns about what the wastewater levels mean for the weeks ahead in terms of a possible COVID spike. Top Boston doctors spoke to NBC10 Boston during our weekly “COVID...

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has told eight states to stop using a COVID-19 antibody treatment as it is not effective against the new Omicron variant. U.S. drug regulators warned doctors in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont that sotrovimab, a monoclonal antibody, can no longer be used. The FDA said...

The days are getting warmer, people are enjoying the outdoors, and COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are low. For Kevin McPartland, who is training for the Boston Marathon in a few weeks, it feels like the home stretch of the pandemic. “It kind of makes me feel a lot more comfortable kind of taking on things and going out to new…

Rising infections associated with the so-called “stealth” omicron variant BA.2 are fueling concerns that the U.S. could soon experience another COVID-19 wave. According to the CDC, that variant accounts for 72.6% of COVID circulating in New England. By comparison, it is responsible for 54.9% of new infections nationally. BA.2, also known as “stealth omicron,” is considered a subvariant of omicron….

The latest COVID wastewater data shows levels in the Boston area at a slight increase, though nowhere near the steep surge levels seen during the omicron peak that started in December.

A top vaccine expert is calling for further research into tinnitus after he developed the possible side effect following his second dose of the MRNA COVID-19 vaccine. Gregory Poland, MD, is the director of the Mayo Clinic’s Vaccine Research Group in Minnesota. While he remains an advocate for vaccines, he said he wants a better understanding of why he...

As countries across the world face a rise in COVID-19 cases as a result of the BA.2 variant, many are worried about another spike here in Massachusetts and across the country. Top Boston doctors responded to that worry in NBC10 Boston’s weekly “COVID Q&A” session. The doctors said we should take a wait-and-see approach for now but the country...

Rising COVID infections associated with the so-called “stealth” omicron variant BA.2 are fueling fresh leeriness about the state of the pandemic in Massachusetts and across the country, just as life as we now know it is beginning to return to normal. According to the CDC, that variant accounts for 55.4% of COVID circulating in New England. By comparison, it’s responsible…

With COVID cases in the U.S. hitting an 8-month low, the World Health Organization last week confirmed the arrival of a new COVID-19 variant identified as Deltacron. Currently in the U.S., there have been two cases identified of this hybrid variant, both in California. Three top Boston doctors spoke to NBC10 Boston during our weekly “COVID Q&A” session and...

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.

Though COVID-19 cases remain low in the West, China is currently in the midst of its worst outbreak since the initial height of the pandemic in early 2020. The latest surge in cases, fueled by the highly transmissable omicron variant, has forced some manufacturing hubs across the country to suspend or limit production. China locked down 17.6 million people in…

Top Boston doctors talked about a new “Deltacron” variant, rising cases in Europe and Asia and whether a fourth vaccine dose is really necessary on NBC10 Boston’s weekly “COVID Q&A” series.

The World Health Organization last week confirmed the emergence of a new COVID-19 variant dubbed deltacron — a hybrid strain that combines both the delta and omicron variants. At a March 9 press conference, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s technical lead for COVID-19, said cases have been reported in Denmark, France and the Netherlands, but noted the levels of detection…