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President Biden delivered remarks on the threat posed by the omicron coronavirus variant on Nov. 29, encouraging Americans to get vaccinated. (Video: The Washington Post, Photo: Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post)

Biden says omicron variant concerning but not ‘cause for panic’; CDC urges all adults to get boosters

Updated November 29, 2021 at 11:30 p.m. EST|Published November 29, 2021 at 12:20 a.m. EST
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Key updates

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention significantly expanded its recommendations for booster shots on Monday, saying that all adults 18 and older should get them, as President Biden called the omicron coronavirus variant a “cause for concern” but “not a cause for panic.”  
Key updates

Here’s what to know

  • Pointing to rising coronavirus cases and the omicron variant, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell said the latest virus challenges pose risks to job growth, economic activity and inflation.
  • Pfizer and its partner BioNTech are expected to ask the Food and Drug Administration in the coming days to authorize its booster shot for 16- and 17-year-olds.
  • A federal judge in Missouri has partially halted another one of the Biden administration’s key vaccine requirements, blocking the imposition of a rule for certain health-care workers in 10 states.
  • The World Health Organization warned that the variant posed a “very high” global risk and is likely to spread.
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Pointing to rising coronavirus cases and the omicron variant, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell said the latest virus challenges pose risks to job growth, economic activity and inflation.
Pfizer and its partner BioNTech are expected to ask the Food and Drug Administration in the coming days to authorize its booster shot for 16- and 17-year-olds.
A federal judge in Missouri has partially halted another one of the Biden administration’s key vaccine requirements, blocking the imposition of a rule for certain health-care workers in 10 states.
The World Health Organization warned that the variant posed a “very high” global risk and is likely to spread.

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Coronavirus: What you need to know

Where do things stand? Covid-19 was the fourth leading cause of death in the United States last year with covid deaths dropping 47 percent between 2021 and 2022. See the latest covid numbers in the U.S. and across the world.

The latest on coronavirus boosters: The FDA cleared the way for people who are at least 65 or immune-compromised to receive a second updated booster shot for the coronavirus. Here’s who should get the second covid booster and when.

New covid variant: A new coronavirus subvariant, XBB. 1.16, has been designated as a “variant under monitoring” by the World Health Organization. The latest omicron offshoot is particularly prevalent in India. Here’s what you need to know about Arcturus.

The state of public health: Conservative and libertarian forces have defanged much of the nation’s public health system through legislation and litigation as the world staggers into the fourth year of covid.

Would we shut down again? What will the United States do the next time a deadly virus comes knocking on the door?

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