Will Stone

Deaths tend to increase as hospitals fill. And hospitals are overflowing due to COVID

Will Stone

Some hospitals report less strain as omicron seems to cause less severe illness. But they're still overcrowded with patients. Research shows death rates rise significantly when hospitals are full.

A commuter masks up for a bus ride in Liverpool, England. The omicron variant of the coronavirus has surged in the U.K. and is now dominant in the U.S. as well. There's now data indicating just how severe its symptoms might be.

What we know about the symptoms — and the severity — of the omicron variant

Will Stone

Researchers are looking at data from U.S. cases to determine if the variant causes milder disease. Even if the answer is yes, they say, rates of hospitalization could be high during the surge.

A colorized electron micrograph image of a cell (red) infected with with SARS-CoV-2 virus particles (yellow), isolated from a patient sample.

Omicron is spreading at lightning speed. Scientists are trying to figure out why

Will Stone

The burning questions: What makes this newly identified variant so transmissible? And what does it mean for preventing spread?

Experts say Biden's plan to help hospitals deal with COVID surge isn't enough

Will Stone

President Biden has rolled out a plan to help hospitals deal with omicron and the expected surge of patients. Experts say the support is welcome, but still doesn't go far enough.

U.S. Army critical care nurse Capt. Edward Rauch Jr. leaves notes on the door of a COVID-19 patient who is on a ventilator at Beaumont Hospital in Dearborn, Mich.

With omicron now dominant, depleted U.S. hospitals struggle to prepare for the worst

Will Stone

Understaffed hospitals are already coping with increased patient demand heading into the holidays. They have few options to expand if omicron creates a huge new wave of COVID patients.

Struggling hospitals brace for another wave of COVID brought by the omicron variant

Will Stone

Many U.S. hospitals are already struggling with a wave of COVID-19 patients and now they are also racing to prepare for the omicron variant, which threatens to further accelerate hospitalizations.

What omicron's fast spread could mean for the U.S. — and the world

Will Stone

The variant has spread through South Africa with remarkable speed — and been detected in at least 60 other countries. Specialists are trying to figure out the next stage for this unwelcome variant.

Booster shots are authorized for all U.S. adults, but some are wondering if they need them. A nurse fills a syringe with a Pfizer-BioNTech dose at a pop-up vaccine clinic in the Arleta neighborhood of Los Angeles.

I'm fully vaccinated and I also had COVID. Do I need a booster?

Will Stone

Booster shots have been authorized for all U.S. adults, and the government is urging people to get them. But what if you've already had COVID and the vaccine?

After declining most of the fall, COVID-19 cases are rising again in many parts of the U.S.

U.S. COVID cases start to rise again as the holidays approach

Will Stone

After declining most of the fall, new infections are up again in more than half of U.S. states, worrying experts about what the holiday season may bring.

A long-running decline in COVID-19 cases nationally masks some trouble spots emerging in the upper half of the United States. The disease is hitting states in the Mountain West such as Colorado, Utah and Wyoming especially hard, but even parts of the Northeast have dealt with a worrying surge in cases and hospitalizations.

COVID is still crushing parts of the U.S. as the holiday season approaches

Will Stone

The U.S. is entering an uneasy stretch of the pandemic. Despite progress, the delta surge is dragging on in certain regions. Can vaccines ward off a big surge over the holidays?