The Food and Drug Administration announcement on Merck’s molnupiravir comes one day after the agency cleared a competing drug from Pfizer. 

Holiday music, decorations and commercials say it’s supposed to be the most wonderful time of year. But not everyone experiences the holidays as merry and bright.

The Supreme Court says it will hold a special session in just over two weeks to weigh challenges to two Biden administration policies covering vaccine requirements for millions of workers, policies that affect large employers and health care workers.

Citing rising COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths, suburban Cook County officials announced Thursday patrons age 5 and up entering restaurants, bars, gyms and movie theaters, among other venues, will need to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19 starting Jan. 3.

This debate comes as COVID-19 cases rise across the United States. As of Tuesday, the nation is averaging 139,764 new cases each day, according to data from Johns Hopkins University – up 16% from a week ago.

Holiday travel and gathering has begun. The Food and Drug Administration authorizes emergency use of Pfizer’s pill to treat COVID-19. A local physician weighs in on that and more.

Pharmacies are dealing with a shortage of at-home COVID-19 tests as the demand for testing skyrockets ahead of the holidays.

There were 16,581 new and probable COVID-19 cases recorded within the past 24 hours by the Illinois Department of Public Health. That’s the highest single-day total this year and the highest since November 2020, per IDPH data.

The long-awaited milestone comes as U.S. cases, hospitalizations and deaths are all rising and health officials warn of a tsunami of new infections from the omicron variant that could overwhelm hospitals.

The majority of hospitalizations in Chicago continue to be among those unvaccinated, but health officials advised everyone take precautions.

Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Allison Arwady instituted the requirement Tuesday, as increases in COVID-19 cases have seen the positivity rate rise to 7.3%  – past the point of rapid spread.

The United States grew by only 0.1%, with an additional 392,665 added to the U.S. population from July 2020 to July 2021, according to population estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau.

In remarks Tuesday at the White House, President Biden detailed major changes to his COVID-19 winter plan, his hand forced by the arrival of the fast-spreading variant, whose properties are yet not fully understood by scientists.

A heightened sense of anxiety has begun to erode the willingness of some people and businesses to carry on as usual in the face of the extraordinarily contagious omicron variant, which has fast become the dominant version of the virus in the U.S.

Many, including doctors, are still searching for treatment for people whose symptoms continue more than a month after being infected and answers about persistent symptoms.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention numbers showed nearly a six-fold increase in omicron’s share of infections in only one week.