Coronavirus - National

• Highest ever combined rates of death due to alcohol, drugs and suicide in the first year of pandemic
• Potential benefits of an additional COVID-19 booster dose
• The NFL and the NFL Players Association have agreed to suspend all Covid-19 protocols
• Americans can order another round of free at-home Covid-19 tests next week
• Chicago to follow state in lifting mask order by month's end
• Boris Johnson announces the end of Covid restrictions in England
• Carnival Cruises relaxing mask mandates March 1
• More than 50 million households have received free government Covid-19 tests
• Disney World: No more masks indoors for vaccinated visitors
• White House seeks additional $30 billion in Covid-19 funding
• COVID cases and hospitalizations steadily going down
• US Navy discharges 240 service members for refusing Covid-19 vaccine
• New York will end its mask-or-vaccine mandate for indoor businesses on Thursday
• Pfizer and BioNTech seeking emergency use authorization from FDA for Covid-19 vaccine for children younger than 5
• Novavax seeks FDA emergency use authorization of its coronavirus vaccine
• Schools in Flint, Michigan, are sticking with remote learning indefinitely. Families say they're struggling to keep it up
• US pharmacies, health centers begin rollout of free N95 masks
• How to get free at-home Covid-19 tests from the government
• Starbucks nixes vaccine mandate after Supreme Court ruling
• Website to order free Covid-19 tests is up and running
• Indiana COVID-19 hospitalizations hit new peak amid omicron
• Omicron devastates services, schools, travel as workers are sick or in quarantine
• National Guard steps in to alleviate pressure on hospital overwhelmed by Omicron wave
• CDC recommends Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine boosters for children as young as 12
• Chicago students to miss a second day of classes as teachers remain at home
• CDC backs FDA's decision to reduce time between primary series and booster dose of Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine
• Biden will make 'brief remarks' Tuesday on rapid spread of the Omicron variant
• More than 100,000 people hospitalized with Covid-19 in US for first time in nearly four months
• Starbucks mandates vaccinations or Covid tests for workers
• COVID-19 closures and rules take effect Monday in Illinois
• FDA expands Pfizer boosters for more teens as omicron surges
• US shatters its average daily Covid-19 case record again. Experts describe coming weeks as a 'tidal wave' and 'blizzard'
• Michigan State University to begin spring semester virtually
• FAA warns it may be forced to delay flights because of Covid
• Chicago woman quarantined in airplane bathroom for 3 hours after testing positive for Covid-19 mid-flight
• Cruises should be avoided regardless of vaccination status, CDC says
• JetBlue is canceling 1,280 flights as Omicron cases surge
• Times Square New Year's Eve celebration will be scaled back, city says
• Unruly airline passengers could lose TSA PreCheck credentials. 'If you act out of line, you will wait in line'
• Universal Orlando reinstates mask rule as COVID cases rise
• US adds Merck pill as 2nd easy-to-use drug against COVID-19
• Biden says 250,000 treatment courses of Pfizer's antiviral pill will be available in January
• Finding a Covid-19 test is a struggle right now in the US as Omicron and holiday plans collide
• Pause on student loan payments is extended through May 1
• Pfizer pill becomes 1st US-authorized home COVID treatment
• Amazon, Walmart and pharmacies are limiting the number of at-home Covid tests you can buy
• Cleveland-area hospitals battling latest Covid-19 surge put ad in local paper that reads: 'Help'
• Thousands of inmates released because of pandemic will be allowed to remain on home confinement, Justice Department says
• Chicago to require proof of vaccination at restaurants, bars
• Biden to announce plan for free at-home tests as he assures vaccinated Americans they don't need to cancel holiday plans
• Secret Service accelerates crackdown on Covid-19 scams
• CDC moves 8 places, including the world's No. 2 destination, to its highest travel risk level
• Moderna booster shot increases antibody levels against Omicron, company says
• Marine Corps discharges 103 service members for refusing Covid-19 vaccine
• CDC vaccine advisers vote to recommend Pfizer, Moderna vaccines over Johnson & Johnson's
• US military has vaccinated more than 97% of service members
• December's child tax credit payment is the last one unless Congress acts
• Kent County resident is 1st Omicron case in Michigan
• Protection against Omicron coronavirus variant improves with three vaccine doses, Pfizer says
• Biden federal contractor vaccine mandate blocked nationwide by federal judge in Georgia
• Michigan sets hospitalization record, leads nation in new coronavirus cases per capita
• New York to mandate Covid vaccines for all private sector workers
• Stricter testing requirements for travelers coming to the US will take effect Monday
• First confirmed US case of Omicron coronavirus variant detected in California
• FDA panel backs first-of-a-kind COVID-19 pill from Merck
• Pfizer expected to seek FDA authorization for boosters for those ages 16 and 17
• FDA authorizes Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna coronavirus vaccine boosters for all adults
• Times Square is back open on New Year's Eve — with proof of vaccination
• The United States reopens to vaccinated international travelers
• Pfizer says its experimental pill reduces risk of hospitalization, death from Covid-19
• Vaccine rule for larger employers, federal contractors and certain health care workers to take effect January 4
• Children ages 5-11 can now get a Covid-19 vaccine in the US
• 9,000 NYC workers on unpaid leave for not complying with vaccine requirement. 91% did get at least one dose
• Biden tested negative for Covid-19 on Sunday
• Biden administration boosting at-home Covid testing efforts
• FDA panel endorses booster shot for Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine
• White House says fully vaccinated foreign visitors can start entering US on November 8
• Up to half of Chicago police officers could be put on unpaid leave over vaccine dispute
• Merck seeks FDA emergency use authorization for antiviral Covid-19 treatment molnupiravir
• Pfizer seeks FDA authorization of Covid-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11
• Johnson and Johnson seeks US clearance for COVID-19 vaccine booster doses
• Pill to treat Covid-19 cuts the risk of death by half, says Merck, which will seek its emergency authorization
• Biden to receive Covid-19 booster shot Monday afternoon
• Covid-19 vaccine boosters can begin for some US adults as CDC partially diverges from its advisers' recommendations
• More than 600,000 flags placed on National Mall to honor lives lost to COVID-19
• Johnson & Johnson: Booster dose of its COVID shot prompts strong response
• US to ease travel restrictions on fully vaccinated foreign visitors
• Pfizer says COVID-19 vaccine works in kids ages 5 to 11
• More than 100 part-timers at Indiana University Health left jobless for refusing Covid-19 vaccine
• FDA advisers vote to recommend booster doses of Covid-19 vaccine in people 65 and older and those at high risk
• FDA's vaccine advisers meet to decide whether Americans need boosters
• Whirlpool will pay workers $1,000 to get vaccinated
• New York City now enforcing Covid-19 vaccine requirement for most indoor activities
• Nation's largest school district welcomes New York students back to in-person learning
• Biden announces new vaccine mandates that could cover 100 million Americans
• Covid-19 driver shortage hits school districts and ride-hailing services
• Moderna completes submission for full FDA approval of Covid-19 vaccine; Pfizer seeks approval for booster dose
• Pentagon mandates US military service members receive Covid vaccine immediately
• Delta will charge unvaccinated employees more for health insurance
• Krispy Kreme is sweetening its free doughnut promotion for vaccinated people