President Biden acknowledged Wednesday that the U.S. should have done more COVID-19 testing earlier on during his first year in office.
Why it matters: The administration has faced criticism for the timing of the free tests that it distributed. A widespread shortage impacted millions across the country during the holidays as Omicron cases surged.
American mask manufacturersare getting whiplash, having gone from sleepy sector to mission-critical industry overnight — only to see sales collapse before now being suddenly in demand again.
Why it matters: As the highly contagious Omicron variant of COVID-19 rages, health experts now say Americans need legitimate N95 or KN95 masks to best protect themselves — not widely available fakes or less effective cloth masks.
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich on Wednesday sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen responding to the Biden administration's threat that it will take back and withhold the state's COVID-19 relief aid over anti-masking school policies.
Driving the news: "[W]e will not be intimidated by the heavy-hand of the Biden Administration forcing Arizona to comply with ambiguous and unrealistic national standards," Brnovich said.
Starbucks has dropped plans to require that U.S. workers get the COVID vaccine or submit to weekly testing, the company announced Tuesday in a memo to employees.
Why it matters: The company's decision comes in response to the Supreme Court's ruling last week to block the Biden administration's COVID-19 vaccine-or-test requirement for large employers.
America is seeing more COVID hospitalizations than other wealthy countries during the Omicron surge, according to Our World in Data.
Why it matters: Vaccines keep the vast majority of COVID cases out of the hospital, but vaccination rates are also lower in the U.S. than these other countries.
The Biden administration will announce Wednesday that 400 million non-surgical N95 masks will be made available to the public for free at thousands of "convenient locations" across the U.S.
Why it matters: This is the largest deployment of personal protective equipment in U.S. history, according to a White House official. The masks are slated to be available at numerous local pharmacies.
The Omicron wave is likely beginning to recede in the U.S., experts say.
Why it matters: Omicron is still wreaking havoc in parts of the country, but infectious disease experts are optimistic that relief is around the corner.
Six health insurers control roughly three-quarters of the fast-growing Medicare Advantage market, according to an Axios analysis of federal data.
Why it matters: Medicare Advantage enrollment hasn't slowed down in 2022, even though dismal projections from Humana and Cigna freaked out Wall Street earlier this month, and concentration at the top remains high.
NASA scientists estimate that the power of Tonga's volcanic eruption over the weekend was equivalent to 5-6 megatons of TNT.
Threat level: Saturday's eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haʻapai volcano and subsequent tsunami killed at least three people. Scientists warn an "ash-seawater cocktail" poses a potentially toxic health threat, and drinking water could be contaminated.
