What two new studies reveal about omicron, Cleveland Clinic and Intermountain Healthcare drop their vaccine mandates, and more.

What 2 new studies reveal about the omicron variant (Monday, Dec. 13)

New data suggests an initial Covid-19 vaccine course offers little protection against symptomatic infection caused by the omicron variant. But two new studies reveal that booster shots can help bolster protection against the new variant.

Cleveland Clinic and Intermountain have dropped vaccine mandates (Tuesday, Dec. 14)

After a federal judge temporarily halted CMS' vaccine requirements for health care workers, several major health systems, including Cleveland Clinic and Intermountain Healthcare, Robbie Whelan and Melanie Evans report for the Wall Street Journal.

The 'daunting' spread of omicron in the U.S., and what it could mean for the holidays (Wednesday, Dec. 15)

With omicron cases increasing sevenfold in a single week, omicron is outpacing the spread of all previous variants—leading many health experts to suggest Americans reconsider their holiday plans.

CMS' vaccine mandate is back on in 26 states (Thursday, Dec. 16)

A federal appeals court on Wednesday partially reversed a previous court ruling that had stopped CMS' mandate requiring workers in most health care settings to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 nationwide. Now, the mandate is applicable in 26 states.

5 ways to improve the U.S. health care system, according to Marc Harrison (Friday, Dec. 17)

The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted numerous shortcomings within the U.S. health care system, Intermountain Healthcare President and CEO Marc Harrison writes for the Harvard Business Review. He shares five key priorities to help fix the system.