The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced Friday that it will expand a program that detects the coronavirus in wastewater as part of an effort to better track infection trends across the U.S.
Why it matters: Roughly 40-80% of people with COVID-19 shed viral RNA in their feces, according to CDC estimates. That makes wastewater surveillance a critical tool for monitoring the virus' spread.
Driving the news: N95 and KN95 masks worn in indoor public settings reduced the chance COVID-19 infection by 83%, while surgical masks cut the risk of infection by 66%, according to the report.
Black Americans are diagnosed with HIV at a rate that's nearly four times higher than the rate for all other racial groups combined, according to new data released by the CDC.
By the numbers: Black adults made up a disproportionately high number (43%) of newly diagnosed cases of HIV and AIDS, at a rate of 39.2 per 100,000 people in 2018, the data shows.
Austria on Friday became the first country in the European Union to legally mandate that all adults get vaccinated against COVID-19, CNN reports.
The big picture: Those without vaccine proof or an exemption face an initial fine of up to up to 600 euros (around $680). Authorities are expected to begin checking people's vaccine status March 15, per The Guardian.
The extent to which Omicron's rapid spread leaves the world better off in its fight against COVID depends on a few big questions, including how long infection-induced immunity actually lasts.
Why it matters: Vaccinations and infections at high enough levels can form an immunity wall against the future spread of the virus.
If you're not waking up every day thinking about health care, that's a big problem, according to Geeta Nayyar, the chief medical officer of Salesforce. "Every business is a health care business now," she tells Axios.
Why it matters: Salesforce's roughly two-decade history in health care notwithstanding, the pandemic has vaulted the company's role in keeping employees safe and healthy to new heights.
Medicare will start paying for at-home COVID-19 tests purchased through eligible pharmacies and retailers, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced Thursday.
The big picture: The Biden administration last month started requiring health insurers to cover the costs of at-home tests. But at the time of the announcement, Medicare was not included in the mandate.
Omicron is finally on its way out, but it's leaving behind a death toll that is still rising.
By the numbers: New cases are plunging. The U.S. is now averaging just under 425,000 new cases per day, down from over 750,000 per day just two weeks ago.
