Hits ‘keep coming’: Hospitals struggle as COVID beds fill
DETROIT — Hospitals across the country are struggling to cope with burnout among doctors, nurses and other workers, already buffeted by a crush of patients from the ongoing surge of the COVID-19 delta variant and now bracing for the fallout of another highly transmissible mutation.
CDC endorses schools’ coronavirus ‘test-to-stay’ policies
NEW YORK — U.S. health officials are endorsing “test-to-stay” policies that allow close contacts of students infected with the coronavirus to remain in classrooms if they test negative.
COVID-19 fears dash hopes for the holiday season — again
Lines again stretch around blocks at some COVID-19 testing sites. Refrigerated mobile morgues are on order, and parts of Europe are re-tightening borders amid a winter spike in coronavirus infections.
Ige: ‘An alarming increase’ in COVID cases
The Hawaii National Guard made a quick about-face Friday on plans to draw down a joint task force mobilized for the state’s COVID-19 response.
Court allows Biden employer vaccine mandate to take effect
A federal appeals court panel on Friday allowed President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for larger private employers to move ahead, reversing a previous decision on a requirement that could affect some 84 million U.S workers.
Ige: ‘An alarming increase’ in new COVID-19 cases
Gov. David Ige today said the state is experiencing a “big surge in the number of COVID-19 cases.”
Pressure builds against doctors peddling false virus claims
They have decried COVID-19 as a hoax, promoted unproven treatments and pushed bogus claims about the vaccine, including that the shots magnetize the human body.
CDC recommends Pfizer, Moderna shots over J&J’s
Most Americans should be given the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines instead of the Johnson & Johnson shot that can cause rare but serious blood clots, U.S. health officials said Thursday.
Hawaii officials urge COVID caution heading into the holidays
Despite COVID-19 cases rising yet again on Oahu, Lt. Gov. Josh Green says no changes to virus safety protocols are currently planned for the holidays.
One year later, ‘vaccines are truly life-savers’
The state Department of Health on Wednesday marked the one-year anniversary of the first COVID-19 vaccinations in the islands.
Honolulu latest county to adopt a hotel tax
HONOLULU — Honolulu has become the latest Hawaii county to adopt its own hotel tax after Mayor Rick Blangiardi signed legislation adding a 3% surcharge to the state’s levy on short-term rentals.
US faces a double coronavirus surge as omicron advances
The new omicron coronavirus mutant speeding around the world may bring another wave of chaos, threatening to further stretch hospital workers already struggling with a surge of delta cases and upend holiday plans for the second year in a row.
Home testing kits on tap: HMC will distribute Monday at Hilo Civic
Hilo Medical Center will be distributing 3,600 home COVID-19 testing kits at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium beginning Monday.
US COVID death toll hits 800K
The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 topped 800,000 on Tuesday, a once-unimaginable figure seen as doubly tragic, given that more than 200,000 of those lives were lost after the vaccine became available practically for the asking last spring.
Pfizer confirms COVID pill’s results, potency versus omicron
WASHINGTON — Pfizer said Tuesday that its experimental pill to treat COVID-19 appears effective against the omicron variant.
Booster blitz: UK races to get ahead of surging omicron
LONDON — Long lines formed Monday at vaccination centers across England as people heeded the government’s call for all adults to get booster shots to protect themselves against the omicron variant, and as the U.K. recorded its first death of a patient infected with omicron.
Air Force discharges 27 for refusal to get COVID vaccine
WASHINGTON — The Air Force has discharged 27 people for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine, making them what officials believe are the first service members to be removed for disobeying the mandate to get the shots.
One year of vaccines: Many lives saved, many needlessly lost
One year ago, the biggest vaccination drive in American history began with a flush of excitement in an otherwise gloomy December. Trucks loaded with freezer-packed vials of a COVID-19 vaccine that had proved wildly successful in clinical trials fanned out across the land, bringing shots that many hoped would spell the end of the crisis.
Boris Johnson: UK faces ‘tidal wave’ of omicron cases
LONDON — Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned Sunday that Britain faces a “tidal wave” of infections from the omicron coronavirus variant, and announced a huge increase in booster vaccinations to strengthen defenses against it.
UK scientists urge more restrictions to fight omicron surge
LONDON (AP) — The British government may need to introduce tougher restrictions to slow the growth of the omicron variant and prevent a new surge in COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths, British scientists said Saturday.
