coronavirus variant

New York City will begin conducting weekly, random COVID-19 tests of unvaccinated students in the nation’s largest school district in an attempt to more quickly spot outbreaks in classrooms. NBC New York’s Romney Smith reports.

COVID-19 testing and quarantine procedures will be changed across the New York City school system starting next week. Here’s what parents should know.

The city will expand to weekly testing in schools.

After many returned to classrooms for the first time since 2020 just over a week ago, one East Harlem school will go remote once more because of a COVID outbreak. That has led teachers’ union leaders to call once again for weekly testing in schools. NBC New York’s Adam Harding reports.

Pharmaceutical giant BioNTech, which worked with Pfizer to create their mRNA coronavirus vaccine, told German news weekly Der Spiegel in an interview published Friday that it would be seeking FDA approval “over the next few weeks” for use of its vaccine in children ages 5 to 11.

A new CDC study out Friday provides what may be the most jolting evidence yet of the threat the highly contagious delta variant may pose to the fully vaccinated, particularly as it usurped every other COVID-19 strain to dominate American cases.

The highly contagious delta variant continues to spread through New York City, now accounting for 97% of all positive samples tested — but for the second straight week, transmission rates are easing, a sign the latest wave may be turning the corner.

We thought we could control the pandemic with about 70% of the country vaccinated. But with the Delta variant leading to case surges even in highly vaccinated countries, that changes the math. We may need 90% to take the COVID-19 vaccine to really wrangle with this variant, says Alabama epidemiologist Dr. Suzanne Judd.

Dr. Jennifer Haythe, an assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology at Columbia, answers your questions about COVID-19 and going back to school.

Families in New Jersey are awaiting a potential announcement from Gov. Phil Murphy on whether vaccines will be mandatory in schools statewide. NBC New York’s Sarah Wallace reports.

The highly contagious delta variant continues to spread through New York City, now accounting for 94% of all positive samples — but for the first time in weeks, transmission rates are easing slightly and other indicators are stabilizing a bit. All five counties that comprise New York City are considered “high transmission” areas per the CDC. But the transmission rate…

U.S. health officials have announced plans to dispense COVID-19 booster shots to all Americans to shore up their protection amid the surging delta variant and evidence that the vaccines’ effectiveness is falling. NBC New York’s Adam Harding reports.

As cases of the delta variant continue to raise concerns across the U.S., the latest variant to take hold in the country, many are wondering what other variants are out there and which should we be concerned about?

All of New York City is a “high transmission” area for COVID, and transmission rates are up 16% in just the last week as the delta variant overtakes the city.

White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients provided updates on the rapid spread of the delta variant in communities with low vaccination rates. “In the past week, Florida has had more COVID cases than all 30 states with the lowest case rates, combined. And Florida and Texas alone have accounted for nearly 40% of new hospitalizations across the country.” Zients...

Concerns for students going back to class are rising again along with increases in the number and severity of COVID-19 cases among children. NBC New York’s Anjali Hemphill reports.

UPDATE: NY COVID Hospitalizations Up 227% in Month; Nearly 3/4 of US Counties Now Designated ‘High Transmission’ Areas by CDC The delta variant’s grip shows all signs of tightening on the tri-state as positive cases, hospitalizations and deaths climb higher in the wrong direction. Over the weekend, New York’s daily progress shared by Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office reflected a...

The highly transmissible delta variant continues to burn through New York City, now accounting for 83% of all positive samples — and every key indicator in the city is moving in the wrong direction. The situation is deteriorating so quickly, in fact, that as of Friday, all five boroughs of the city now meet the CDC guidelines to be considered…

New York political officials strongly recommend New Yorkers to wear masks. Andrew Siff and Sarah Wallace report.

Governor Cuomo makes a mandatory requirement for MTA and Port Authority employees to get vaccinated or take weekly COVID-19 tests. Tracie Strahan reports.