Here are six COVID-19 updates from the last 10 days that ASC leaders need to know:
1. CDC estimates show the omicron subvariant BA.2 now makes up 72 percent of U.S. cases, but the nation's mood surrounding another potential wave is much different than previous COVID-19 surges. Here's why
2. The World Health Organization is examining rare reports of hearing loss and other auditory issues like tinnitus, or ringing in the ears, after COVID-19 vaccinations.
3. Cases of COVID-19 have increased during the last 14 days in 28 states and Washington, D.C., and hospitalizations are ticking upward in five states.
4. The World Health Organization is monitoring a new omicron variant — dubbed XE — that's a hybrid of BA.1, the original omicron strain, and BA.2, a highly transmissible subvariant. Here are five things to know.
5. The FDA on March 29 amended emergency use authorizations to clear second booster doses of Pfizer and Moderna's COVID-19 vaccines for people 50 and older.
6. U.S. lawmakers began their two-week recess without acting on a $10 billion COVID-19 relief package April 8, which was agreed to by Senate negotiators but blocked by Republican lawmakers the next day.