Health News

Former White House vaccine coordinator Dr. Bechara Choucair discusses concerns over the new omicron variant as the FDA is working to obtain genetic information and patient samples.

Switzerland is putting off a planned party for its next president and considering enhanced restrictive measures amid rising coronavirus case counts and concerns about the emergence of a new COVID-19 variant

Health officials in Brazil have reported the country’s first confirmed cases of the omicron variant in two travelers returning from South Africa, the first such cases in Latin America

States have credible claims that family members took more than $10 billion.

New York City says the first officially authorized safe havens for people to use heroin and other narcotics have been cleared to open in the city in hopes of curbing deadly overdoses

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says no member of the National Guard will be allowed to participate in drills or other training required to maintain their status in the Guard unless they are vaccinated against COVID-19 or are given an exemption

Economic powerhouses Japan and France are reporting their first cases of the omicron variant, while new findings indicate the mutant coronavirus was already in Europe close to a week before South Africa sounded the alarm

Dr. Alok Patel at Stanford Children’s Health discusses the modification of vaccines since the detection of the new variant and how concerned Americans should be.

Mexican officials have reversed their previous position against giving coronavirus booster shots and are studying a plan to administer third doses to people over 60

California corrections officials have begun limiting medical parole only to inmates so ill they are on ventilators

U.S. health advisers are reviewing Merck's closely watched COVID-19 pill, which could become the first easy-to-use drug for American patients

The U.S. has improved its surveillance system for tracking new coronavirus variants such as omicron, boosting its capacity by tens of thousands of samples since early this year

Women’s rights activists in Poland used red paint symbolizing blood to protest a government plan to register every pregnancy in a national database and a proposal to further restrict abortion

"It's something that, in real time, we're learning more and more about."

Britain says it will offer all adults a booster dose of vaccine within two months to bolster the nation’s immunity as the new omicron variant of the coronavirus spreads

Next to a North Texas day care center is a site where Total Energies is pumping for natural gas

Next to a North Texas day care center is a site where Total Energies is pumping for natural gas

Greece says residents over 60 will have to undergo mandatory vaccinations against COVID-19 or face monthly 100-euro ($114) fine beginning next year

New York has authorized safe injection sites for drug users, which would be the 1st to operate openly in the U.S.

A court in Moscow has convicted a monk who denied the coronavirus' existence and castigated the Kremlin on accusations of encouraging suicides

The Czech Republic's outgoing and incoming prime ministers have put aside their differences to support an initiative to administer 1 million COVID-19 booster shots in a week

The European Union’s medical agency chief said Tuesday that it is ready to deal with the new omicron variant, and that it will take two weeks to have an indication whether the current COVID-19 vaccines will be able to deal with it

Japan has confirmed its first case of the new omicron coronavirus variant, a Namibian diplomat who recently arrived from his country

Dutch health authority says it found new omicron coronavirus variant in local cases going back 11 days

Germany’s highest court has rejected complaints against curfews and other restrictions imposed by federal legislation earlier this year in areas where the coronavirus was spreading quickly

Japan confirms first case of new omicron coronavirus variant, a person who arrived from Namibia

Next to a North Texas day care center is a site where Total Energies is pumping for natural gas

ABC News contributor Dr. John Brownstein discusses what we do and don’t know about the new omicron variant and its impact on controlling the pandemic.

ABC News’ Linsey Davis speaks with Robert Wood Johnson Foundation CEO Dr. Richard Besser on the potential threat from the omicron variant and what it means for the battle against COVID-19.

China has pledged to donate 600 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccines to Africa as the world grapples with the unequal distribution of the shots between rich and poor countries

Enforcement began in Los Angeles for one of the strictest vaccine mandates in the country

A federal judge has blocked President Joe Biden's administration from enforcing a coronavirus vaccine mandate on health care workers in 10 states that had brought the first legal challenge against the requirement

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday broadened its recommendation for COVID-19 booster shots for all adults as the new omicron variant is identified in more countries

Portuguese health authorities say they have identified 13 cases of omicron.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has rejected a request by Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt that his state’s National Guard be exempt from a Pentagon requirement that all military members be vaccinated against COVID-19

Biden will urge Americans to get vaccinated and to receive a booster shot.

ABC News producer Liezl Thom joins from Pretoria, South Africa, to share insight on the new omicron COVID-19 variant and how the country is responding.

ABC News contributor Dr. John Brownstein speaks on the effectiveness of the vaccine and COVID-related mandates after the omicron variant became present in more than a dozen countries.

CDC strengthens COVID-19 booster shot recommendation to include all adults as new omicron variant spreads

The Supreme Court has turned away an emergency appeal from employees at the largest hospital system in Massachusetts who object to the COVID-19 vaccine on religious grounds

The new variant, first identified in southern Africa, is a variant of concern according to the World Health Organization.

Chancellor Angela Merkel will hold talks with the governors of Germany’s 16 states amid growing concern about the steep rise in new coronavirus cases in the country

UN: Early evidence shows global risk from omicron variant is “very high”; future surges may have “severe consequences”

Dutch military police have arrested a husband and wife who left a hotel where they were being quarantined after testing positive for COVID-19 and boarded a plane bound for Spain

A body will decide whether to expand the booster program.

The developer of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine says it will work on adapting it to the new omicron COVID-19 variant

South African doctors say the rapid increase in COVID-19 cases attributed to the new omicron variant is resulting in mostly mild symptoms

The World Health Organization says it could still take some time to get a full picture of the threat posed by omicron, a new variant of the coronavirus as scientists worldwide scramble to assess its multiple mutations

Sen. Ted Cruz suggested Fauci be investigated for statements about COVID-19.

About 3.5 million state-level employees and civil servants in Germany will receive a 2.8% raise and a tax-free COVID-19 bonus of about $1,470 next year