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As Americans prepare for out-of-state travel and multigenerational indoor gatherings over the holidays, many people who need to get tested for the coronavirus are running into shortages, long lines and other deterrents — while many others are avoiding getting tested altogether.

While some should consider pushing back their plans, health experts say there are ways to travel safely this holidays season.  

Medical researchers say there is renewed promise in reducing COVID-19-related hospitalizations and deaths by increasing the use of convalescent plasma treatments early on in a coronavirus infection.
Arturo Casadevall and David Sullivan, study co-leads, are quoted. 

The U.S. is heading into its second Christmas and New Year’s with Covid-19 cases on the rise again, but this time armed with readily available vaccines and booster shots.

Omicron has raced ahead of other variants and is now the dominant version of the coronavirus in the U.S., accounting for 73% of new infections last week, federal health officials said Monday.
 

Even as the variant surges, the seasonal travel rush seems unstoppable, but there are steps you can take to travel more responsibly and mitigate the health risks for yourself — and others.
 

Both severe Covid infections and the strain of the pandemic can expose fetuses to harmful inflammation, which can occur when a mother’s immune system is fighting a virus or when stress hormones send nonstop alarm signals.
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Officials and public health experts are strengthening their calls for people to get booster shots as the omicron variant proliferates across the United States, where less than a third of the fully vaccinated population has received an additional coronavirus vaccine dose.
 

The Omicron variant has fueled a rise in Covid-19 cases across the United States. Here’s what you need to know if you get infected.
 

As the Omicron variant gains momentum in Europe and the United States, scientists are rewriting their expectations for the COVID-19 pandemic next year.
Amesh Adalja and David Dowdy are quoted. 

Sidelined stars, postponed games and disrupted seasons have doused any promise that vaccines would restore normalcy to the sports world.
 

Roughly 432 million vaccines have been dispersed across the African continent. Still, COVID-19 vaccination rates stand at 7.35% for the continent, with many countries hovering around 1%, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control.