COVID-19 omicron variant

XBB.1.5 is an omicron subvariant that is not really affected by the original COVID-19 vaccine. The most recent bivalent booster provides the best protection, according to health experts.

COVID-19 case counts and hospitalizations are down across the Buckeye state, but health officials are eyeing new variants popping up in Europe and China and encouraging the public to get vaccinated and boosted.

Council passed Mayor Dan Horrigan's proposed ordinance 9-4, creating a civilian review board and a new Office of the Inspector General which would report directly to the board; Moderna boosters targeting the new Omicron variants are in short supply, but medical experts say people shouldn't wait ... and more stories.

The new bivalent vaccines protect against the two omicron subvariants which are causing most of the current infections.

The boosters target the new omicron variants and are anticipated at Northeast Ohio health departments within the next week or more; Attorney for Donovan Lewis' family is calling for police accountability and has said there was no justification for the shooting ... and more stories.

COVID-19 vaccine makers are developing new boosters that target the new omicron subvariants that are now dominant. That anticipated reformulation is expected to come sometime this fall, but doctors say it's not worth it to wait for the new formulation.

The funeral for Jayland Walker, the Akron Police shooting victim, takes place this afternoon at the Akron Civic Theater this afternoon; A unity gathering for Walker was held last night; Cleveland's mayor outlines spending ideas for ARPA funding; CDC says new COVID-19 subvariants are now dominant in parts of the Midwest including Ohio.

Two new COVID-19 subvariants — BA.4 and BA.5 — have become the dominant strains in parts of the Midwest, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates released last week.

No one has died of COVID-19 in Cuyahoga County in the past three weeks. That is just one piece of good news that county health department officials presented during a press conference Wednesday.

The Delta and Omicron variants have shot COVID-19 cases upward starting at the end of December. Now cases are finally trending downward.