Health

Ina Fassbender/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — COVID-19 has been a major challenge for schools. From shutting down in March 2020 to reopening and trying to stay open, the task has been varied and in some cases monumental. This school year — the third since the pandemic began — has presented its own promise and challenges, […]

Fabrice Coffrino/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — The World Health Organization is investigating a mysterious illness in South Sudan that has killed dozens of people. So far, 97 people have died of the unknown disease in Fangak, Jonglei State, in the northern part of the country. Fangak County Commissioner Biel Boutros Biel told ABC News on […]

SOPA Images/Getty Images The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday authorized Merck’s COVID-19 pill for certain adults. The authorization is limited to adults who have a high risk of severe illness and for whom alternative FDA-authorized treatment options are not accessible or medically appropriate. This is the second COVID-19 treatment in pill form after Pfizer’s […]

Andriy Onufriyenko/Getty Images With omicron’s explosive spread threatening to outpace current COVID-19 treatments, the race is on to find new options that will stand up to the variant. The first oral antiviral treatment for the virus was authorized by the Food and Drug Administration Wednesday. Pfizer’s Paxlovid has proved effective against severe illness and death […]

Lindsey Nicholson/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Urgent care chain CityMD announced it is temporarily closing more than a dozen of its 150 locations in New York and New Jersey amid a surge in COVID-19 cases and increased demands for testing. The 19 shuttered clinics include 13 in New York City […]

Victoria Jones/PA Images via Getty Images (NEW YORK) — With the presence of omicron rapidly increasing across the country, federal health officials are warning the surge in coronavirus cases expected in the weeks to come could significantly increase hospital demand. As more than 7,800 Americans are admitted into hospitals with the virus each day, from […]

Chesnot/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — A month after the omicron variant was first identified, it has become the dominant strain in the United States, responsible for about three-quarters of new COVID infections. As of Wednesday, cases have been identified in 49 states and Washington, D.C. South Dakota has not reported any omicron infections yet. While […]

Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images (NEW YORK) — An at-home treatment for COVID-19 that can prevent serious illness was authorized by the Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday, offering a note of optimism for the future of the pandemic as the world faces the omicron variant. When taken early, Pfizer’s pill was 89% effective at […]

Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images (NEW YORK) — An at-home treatment for COVID-19 that can prevent serious illness was authorized by the Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday, offering a note of optimism for the future of the pandemic in an otherwise uncertain time as the world faces the omicron variant. When taken early, […]

Guillermo Legaria/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — The spread of the omicron variant and the recent rise in COVID-19 cases across the country combined with the upcoming holiday presents a particular challenge for parents of children under the age of 5. Nearly two years into the coronavirus pandemic, that age group is the only one not […]