- Israel to mark October 7 attack as Gaza war spreads
- Gauff fights back to reach China Open final
- Recovering Stokes ruled out of first Pakistan Test
- Hezbollah battles troops on border as Israel pounds Lebanon
- Alcaraz, Sinner breeze into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Bagnaia wins Japan MotoGP sprint to cut Martin's lead
- Alcaraz breezes into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Gaza cultural heritage brought to light in Geneva
- 'Bullet for democracy': Trump returns to site of rally shooting
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- South Korean cult-horror series 'Hellbound' returns at BIFF
- Nepalis fear more floods as climate change melts glaciers
- Honduras arrests environmentalist's alleged murderer
- Padres pitcher Musgrove needs elbow surgery
- Supreme Court lets stand rules to curb mercury, methane emissions
- Boston beat Denver in NBA exhibition season opener, but Jokic says omens are good
- Chagos diaspora angry at lack of input on islands' fate
- Biden says 'not confident' of peaceful US election
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- Lukaku stars as Napoli beat Como to hold Serie A top spot
- Ohtani set for MLB playoff debut as Dodgers face Padres
- Pogba's drug ban cut to 18 months from four years
- Devine leads New Zealand to big win over India in Women's T20 World Cup
- Bosnia floods kill 16 people
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Prosecutors seek dismissal of rape charges against French rugby players
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- Bolivia's Morales says claims he raped a minor are a 'lie'
- MLB Reds hire two-time champion Francona as manager
- Daniel Maldini receives first Italy call-up for Nations League
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
- Ancelotti points finger at Madrid's 'lack of intensity'
- Haiti reeling after 70 killed in gang attack
- Five Czech kids in hospital over TikTok 'piercing challenge'
- What happens next in Iran-Israel conflict?
- Country star Garth Brooks denies rape accusations
- Stubbs hits maiden century as South Africa make 343-4 against Ireland
- DR Congo to begin mpox vaccination campaign Saturday in east
- Odegaard injury has forced Arsenal to be 'different', says Arteta
- Ratcliffe refuses to guarantee Ten Hag's Man Utd future
- Meta must limit data use for targeted ads: EU court
- Mauritius to hold legislative election on November 10
- Britain qualify for America's Cup final after 60-year wait
- IMF asks Sri Lanka to protect hard-won gains
- Morata returns to Spain Nations League squad after injury
- Irish regulator to probe Ryanair use of facial recognition
- Public allowed to see video evidence in France mass rape trial
- US hiring soars past expectations in sign of resilient market
- Under-fire Ten Hag 'together' with Man Utd hierarchy
- Guardiola talks of Man City love affair as financial hearing rumbles on
As Covid surges in US, health officials say vaccines remain key
Faced with a doubling of Covid hospitalizations in recent months, US health authorities reiterated the need Tuesday for vaccine vigilance to fight the pandemic, even as the jabs' immunity against new Omicron subvariants remains unclear.
The United States is recording some 5,100 coronavirus-related hospitalizations per day, "a doubling of hospital admissions since early May," Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky told a press briefing.
The increase is linked to the meteoric rise of the Omicron variant's BA.4 and BA.5 sublineages, which were first detected in April and which respectively represent 16 percent and 65 percent of the virus currently circulating in the United States.
While they do not appear to be more severe than previous variants, "we do know it to be more transmissible and more immune-evading," Walensky said, although she added that vaccination and booster effectiveness against severe illness and death likely remains high with the new variants.
"So staying up to date on your Covid-19 vaccines provides the best protection against severe outcomes," she said.
Despite the rise in cases, the new variants should not be allowed to cause panic or "disrupt our lives," President Joe Biden's chief medical advisor Anthony Fauci told the briefing.
While daily tolls have reduced substantially since the crisis peaked more than a year ago, the United States is still recording 300 to 350 deaths per day, an "unacceptable" number, Fauci said.
The country is seeing between 100,000 and 150,000 new reported cases daily, but the figure could be substantially underestimated due to the expansion in use of home Covid tests, whose results are often not reported to authorities.
P.Cavaco--PC