pandemic

Not long after the World Health Organization and China released a report last year dismissing the possibility that the SARS-CoV-2 virus originated in a lab leak, scientists from major research institutions around the world noted the paucity of the published data, and advocated for a rigorous scientific investigation into the pandemic’s origins.

More than half the U.S. population lives in counties where Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations are high enough that people should wear masks in indoor public settings, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.

The CDC’s latest assessment represents a significant jump from the week before, reflecting the added pressure that the easily spread Omicron BA.5 subvariant is putting on the U.S. since it became the dominant COVID-19 strain. Over a third of U.S. counties now fall into the CDC’s “high” category, up from one in five counties a week earlier.

 China has been tweaking its stringent COVID curbs but shows no sign of backing off from its "dynamic zero" policy, and has lagged in vaccination efforts that would enable it to do so, casting a heavy shadow over the world's second-largest economy.

The absence of a roadmap out of zero-COVID and expectations that it will persist well into 2023 leaves residents and businesses facing a prolonged period of uncertainty.

The growing dominance of two new ultra-contagious Omicron subvariants is prolonging a wave of coronavirus cases in California and sparking growing concerns from health officials that coming weeks could see significant spread and increased hospitalizations.

BA.4 and BA.5 are now believed to be responsible for most new infections nationwide. The strains are of particular concern because they are not only especially contagious but also capable of reinfecting those who have survived earlier Omicron infection.

CNN interviewed Dr. Anne Rimoin, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health professor of epidemiology and the Gordon-Levin Endowed Chair in Infectious Diseases and Public Health, about the need for a testing and vaccine campaign focused on monkeypox.

“Viruses never stay in one population; they are going to spread wherever they can to vulnerable populations, so it’s really important to get in front of this as soon as we can,” Rimoin said.