Covid-19 live updates: Rapid tests are crucial despite reduced sensitivity to omicron, experts say

Analysis: Sotomayor’s false claim that ‘over 100,000’ children have serious covidSome immunocompromised Americans may be eligible for a fourth shot in the coming daysU.S. sends states monoclonal antibodies that may not work against omicronExhausted parents face another wave of school shutdownsRep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tests positive for coronavirusNo contact with Olympics visitors, Beijing officials say — even if there’s a car crashKey coronavirus updates from around the worldBare rooms, rotten fruit and boredom: Quarantine life on infected cruisesOmicron threat keeps China walled off, amid search for more-effective vaccinesMilitary conscripts in Norway given used underwear as covid hits supply chainsNovak Djokovic wins case against Australia over visa denialAnalysis: Sotomayor’s false claim that ‘over 100,000’ children have serious covidSome immunocompromised Americans may be eligible for a fourth shot in the coming daysU.S. sends states monoclonal antibodies that may not work against omicronExhausted parents face another wave of school shutdownsRep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tests positive for coronavirusNo contact with Olympics visitors, Beijing officials say — even if there’s a car crashKey coronavirus updates from around the worldBare rooms, rotten fruit and boredom: Quarantine life on infected cruisesOmicron threat keeps China walled off, amid search for more-effective vaccinesMilitary conscripts in Norway given used underwear as covid hits supply chainsNovak Djokovic wins case against Australia over visa denialWhy?The Washington Post is providing this news free to all readers as a public service.Follow this story and more by signing up for national breaking news email alerts.At-home rapid coronavirus tests remain the “bedrock of our long-term strategy for managing this virus,” said Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health — even in the face of new research that suggests they may be less effective at identifying illness caused by the omicron variant.The antigen tests, commonly referred to as rapid or at-home tests, “remain a very, very effective tool,” Jha said on ABC’s “This Week.” He noted that “in the first day of symptoms” with omicron, “it does look like the test is a little less sensitive,” but beyond that, “these antigen tests continue to work really effectively.”Jha’s comments echo those from Bruce J. On Monday, the American Academy of Pediatrics reported a sharp rise in pediatric cases, with many of the children unvaccinated.Some immunocompromised Americans may be eligible for a fourth shot to protect them against the coronavirus as early as this week, according to recently updated recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Those with weakened immune systems, an estimated 7 million people in the United States, are more at risk of becoming severely ill after contracting the virus, which has claimed more than 837,000 lives across the country, data from Johns Hopkins University shows.On Aug. 13, the CDC recommended a third dose of two widely used vaccines for some people with weakened immune systems, including those with cancer, paving the way for millions of moderately or severely immunocompromised people to get additional shots. (The CDC also recommended last week that children over 12 get a Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine booster, to better protect adolescents and teens amid the omicron surge.)Fourth shots are a topic of hot debate around the world, especially since the omicron variant caused global cases to surge. More than 100 members of Congress have tested positive for the virus, according to GovTrack.The United States is reporting record levels of coronavirus cases because of the more contagious omicron variant, but health officials note that people who are fully vaccinated and boosted are far less likely to experience severe illness or die if they become infected.In preparation for the Winter Olympics to be held in Beijing, transportation officials have told residents to avoid any contact with those coming from abroad for the event — even in the case of a car accident.As part of a closed-loop system for managing the Olympics, vehicles carrying passengers related to the Games will be identified by stickers and will have designated lanes on the city’s roads. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cruise lines sailing in U.S. waters reported 5,013 coronavirus cases between Dec. 15 and Dec. 29, about 30 times more than the total from the previous two weeks.A year ago, Chinese health experts had hoped the country could safely reopen to the world by now, as it attained herd immunity against the coronavirus.China achieved last month the herculean goal of vaccinating more than 80 percent of its 1.4 billion people with two doses.