Focus on these new names: BQ1 and BQ1.1.  They are two of the hundreds of subvariants of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus behind COVID-19 that the World Health Organization is tracking.  

These subvariants have shown up in Nigeria, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, France, Belgium, New Zealand, Denmark and Italy.  And serious COVID-19 cases are rising around the world, just not in the U.S. yet. But we have been down this road before and we know, by now, where it is likely to lead.

The U.S. should prepare for a spike in COVID cases this winter as more people gather indoors and infections already begin to rise in Europe, White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Ashish Jha says.

The warning echoes that of some other experts who anticipate a rise in cases in the coming months, while other modelling suggests that infections will recede in the near future.

A new coronavirus variant BQ.1 and its sibling BQ1.1. are steadily accounting for more infections in the United States, spurring some concern that it may help fuel a resurgence in cases this winter.

BQ.1 and BQ1.1., which both descend from BA.5, an omicron subvariant that accounts for over 67% of COVID-19 cases in the U.S., now make up roughly 11% of infections and are closing in on becoming the second-most dominant variant in the U.S., a rate at which Biden chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci said is "pretty troublesome."

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced Wednesday that it has authorized updated coronavirus booster shots targeting the highly-contagious omicron variant.

"Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration amended the emergency use authorizations (EUAs) of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine and the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine to authorize bivalent formulations of the vaccines for use as a single booster dose at least two months following primary or booster vaccination," it said in a statement.

The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday authorized new Covid booster shots from Moderna and Pfizer that more closely match the strains of the coronavirus that are currently circulating in the U.S.

Pfizer’s booster, made with partner BioNTech, is being authorized for people as young as 12 years old. The Moderna booster is being authorized for people ages 18 and up.

COVID-19 vaccines designed to target the omicron variant have just been authorized by the Food and Drug Administration. Both Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna got the FDA’s sign-off for their booster doses of the reformulated shot. This is the first update to COVID-19 vaccines to be authorized in the United States.

The Pfizer / BioNTech booster is available to people 12 and older, and the Moderna shot will be available to people 18 and older. They’ll only be boosters — they can’t be used by people who haven’t already had their first doses.

Los Angeles County has dropped a plan for a universal indoor face-mask mandate as COVID cases and hospitalizations have stabilized, with community transmission expected to fall to “medium” from “high” in the coming weeks.

Health Director Barbara Ferrer had said two weeks ago that the U.S.’s most populous county could again require face coverings if trends in hospital admissions continued, under criteria set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as the Associated Press reported.

Amid the latest COVID-19 resurgence sweeping the nation, some top health officials are asking Americans to wear face masks again in an effort to curb the spread of the virus.

Officials such as White House COVID-19 response coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky have repeatedly encouraged jurisdictions to use the CDC’s community level COVID-19 map, which seeks to identify the risk level of COVID-19 in communities across the country, to help them decide if they should reimplement mitigation measures.

In a somewhat surprising turn of events for the medical tyranny, Los Angeles County has abandoned its plan to reimpose indoor mask mandate as COVID cases and hospitalizations stabilize.

The county entered the "high" category two weeks ago when the average daily rate of COVID-related hospital admissions rose above 10 per 100,000 residents. As of last Thursday, the rate was 11.7 admissions per 100,000 residents.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said cases may have slowed, but he supports whatever health officials decide.

(CNN)The number of new Covid-19 cases is rising once again and while the virus isn't killing nearly as many people as it used to -- thanks to vaccinations -- it is still causing havoc around the world. 

With labor shortages already paralyzing airports and wrecking the hospitality sector, a wave of worker absences due to sickness is the last thing the economy needs. 

The latest wave of infections is driven by the most infectious and transmissible variant identified so far --  BA.5.