Biden administration health officials outlined a long-term vision for a future in which the nation coexists with COVID-19 without living in crisis and facing disruption to normal life.
Many experts have expressed omicron's transmissibility as a potential COVID-19 endgame. But the WHO's comments signal the pandemic may not end anytime soon.
Preliminary calculations suggest BA.2 could be 1.5 times more infectious than BA.1, Denmark's top infectious disease authority, Statens Serum Institut, said in a note on Wednesday.
The Biden administration is formally withdrawing its vaccine and testing mandate for businesses, after the Supreme Court blocked the requirements earlier this month.
WHO maintains that BA.2 is not a "variant of concern," meaning there is no current evidence to suggest this new subvariant will worsen COVID-19 transmission, illness severity, or efficacy of vaccines and public health efforts like masking and social distancing.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The state of Florida has closed its monoclonal antibody sites after the FDA abruptly revoked the drug's emergency-use authorization. On Tuesday alone, state officials said they canceled at least 2,000 appointments for those scheduled to get the treatment.