Omicron variant reported in 38 states as COVID cases across the country increase
CBSN
Officials are bracing for a surge of new coronavirus infections fueled by the Delta variant and Omicron variant.
Omicron variant has been reported in 38 states, according to Centers for Disease Control data. Though reported Omicron cases have so far been mild, experts advise that every precaution should be taken to prevent infection.
"If you have a lot of hospital workers, nurses and doctors and ICU staff calling in sick at home because they have symptomatic COVID, that's going to really tax an already strained health system," Dr. Peter Hotez, professor of pediatrics and molecular virology at Baylor College of Medicine, told CBS News.
Monterey, California — The battle over President-elect Trump's pick for Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, may become a test of loyalty for Republican stalwarts — some of whom stood at the center of a bid 10 years ago to remove Hegseth as the head of a veterans' charity over allegations of financial mismanagement, repeated intoxication and sexual misconduct.
Washington — Republicans have celebrated holding onto their narrow majority in the House, adding to their flip of the Senate and the White House for a trifecta in Washington next year. But President-elect Donald Trump's selection of a number of House Republicans to fill top posts in his administration is pulling from an already shallow bench, temporarily whittling the GOP majority down further as Trump takes office in January.