What are your options if you test positive for COVID? Plus, health experts make the case for vaccines, and more COVID-19 news
Here are a few COVID-19 news updates for today, March 8.
Teachers in Minneapolis go on strike
Minneapolis public school teachers hit the picket lines on Tuesday, saying they are fighting to ensure the “safe and stable schools our students deserve” and for better wages for the lowest-paid support professionals.
For many families of the 29,000 students in one of Minnesota’s largest school districts, an extended walkout by the nearly 3,300 teachers could mean a return to the struggles of balancing work and child care that they have faced throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
Read more here:
World Health Organization supports booster doses of the vaccine
An expert group convened by the World Health Organization said Tuesday it “strongly supports urgent and broad access” to booster doses of COVID-19 vaccine amid the global spread of omicron, capping a reversal of the U.N. agency’s repeated insistence last year that boosters weren’t necessary for healthy people and contributed to vaccine inequity.
In a statement, WHO said its expert group concluded that immunization with authorized COVID-19 vaccines provide high levels of protection against severe disease and death amid the continuing spread of the hugely contagious omicron variant. WHO eased back on its earlier position in January by saying boosters were recommended once countries had adequate supplies and after protecting their most vulnerable.
Read more here:
How to get free antiviral medicine if you test positive for COVID-19
The rollout of the US government’s Covid-19 test-to-treat program is underway, with in-pharmacy clinics ordering shipments of Covid-19 antiviral medications and some locations expecting to offer the service within days.
“We’ve had more than 1,000 pharmacy-based clinic sites register today, so that even exceeded our expectations for Day One of this program,” Dr. Tom Inglesby, senior adviser to the White House’s Covid-19 Response Team, told CNN on Monday.
The Covid-19 antiviral pills Paxlovid and molnupiravir are already available for free in the United States, but quick access can be challenging for some people.
Read more here:
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Here are more COVID-19 stories from the day:
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What are your options if you test positive for COVID? Plus, health experts make the case for vaccines, and more COVID-19 newsVincent Yu
FILE - A woman does exercise next to facilities being cordoned off for the social distancing law at a park in Hong Kong on Feb. 27, 2022. The fast-spreading omicron variant is overwhelming Hong Kong, prompting mass testing, quarantines, supermarket panic-buying and a shortage of hospital beds. Even the morgues are overflowing, forcing authorities to store bodies in refrigerated shipping containers. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)
Vincent YuFILE - A woman does exercise next to facilities being cordoned off for the social distancing law at a park in Hong Kong on Feb. 27, 2022. The fast-spreading omicron variant is overwhelming Hong Kong, prompting mass testing, quarantines, supermarket panic-buying and a shortage of hospital beds. Even the morgues are overflowing, forcing authorities to store bodies in refrigerated shipping containers. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)
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What are your options if you test positive for COVID? Plus, health experts make the case for vaccines, and more COVID-19 newsVincent Yu
FILE - Residents queue up to get tested for the coronavirus at a temporary testing center for COVID-19 in Hong Kong on Feb. 24, 2022. The fast-spreading omicron variant is overwhelming Hong Kong, prompting mass testing, quarantines, supermarket panic-buying and a shortage of hospital beds. Even the morgues are overflowing, forcing authorities to store bodies in refrigerated shipping containers. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)
Vincent YuFILE - Residents queue up to get tested for the coronavirus at a temporary testing center for COVID-19 in Hong Kong on Feb. 24, 2022. The fast-spreading omicron variant is overwhelming Hong Kong, prompting mass testing, quarantines, supermarket panic-buying and a shortage of hospital beds. Even the morgues are overflowing, forcing authorities to store bodies in refrigerated shipping containers. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)
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What are your options if you test positive for COVID? Plus, health experts make the case for vaccines, and more COVID-19 newsVincent Yu
FILE - Residents queue up to get tested for the coronavirus at a temporary testing center for COVID-19 in Hong Kong on Feb. 24, 2022. The fast-spreading omicron variant is overwhelming Hong Kong, prompting mass testing, quarantines, supermarket panic-buying and a shortage of hospital beds. Even the morgues are overflowing, forcing authorities to store bodies in refrigerated shipping containers. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)
Vincent YuFILE - Residents queue up to get tested for the coronavirus at a temporary testing center for COVID-19 in Hong Kong on Feb. 24, 2022. The fast-spreading omicron variant is overwhelming Hong Kong, prompting mass testing, quarantines, supermarket panic-buying and a shortage of hospital beds. Even the morgues are overflowing, forcing authorities to store bodies in refrigerated shipping containers. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)
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What are your options if you test positive for COVID? Plus, health experts make the case for vaccines, and more COVID-19 newsKin Cheung
FILE - An aerial view shows the isolation units at the Penny's Bay Quarantine Centre on Lantau Island, in Hong Kong on Feb. 24, 2022. The fast-spreading omicron variant is overwhelming Hong Kong, prompting mass testing, quarantines, supermarket panic-buying and a shortage of hospital beds. Even the morgues are overflowing, forcing authorities to store bodies in refrigerated shipping containers. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
Kin CheungFILE - An aerial view shows the isolation units at the Penny's Bay Quarantine Centre on Lantau Island, in Hong Kong on Feb. 24, 2022. The fast-spreading omicron variant is overwhelming Hong Kong, prompting mass testing, quarantines, supermarket panic-buying and a shortage of hospital beds. Even the morgues are overflowing, forcing authorities to store bodies in refrigerated shipping containers. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
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What are your options if you test positive for COVID? Plus, health experts make the case for vaccines, and more COVID-19 newsKin Cheung
FILE - A woman receives materials from a worker at an isolation unit at the Penny's Bay Quarantine Centre on Lantau Island, in Hong Kong on Feb. 24, 2022. The fast-spreading omicron variant is overwhelming Hong Kong, prompting mass testing, quarantines, supermarket panic-buying and a shortage of hospital beds. Even the morgues are overflowing, forcing authorities to store bodies in refrigerated shipping containers. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
Kin CheungFILE - A woman receives materials from a worker at an isolation unit at the Penny's Bay Quarantine Centre on Lantau Island, in Hong Kong on Feb. 24, 2022. The fast-spreading omicron variant is overwhelming Hong Kong, prompting mass testing, quarantines, supermarket panic-buying and a shortage of hospital beds. Even the morgues are overflowing, forcing authorities to store bodies in refrigerated shipping containers. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
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What are your options if you test positive for COVID? Plus, health experts make the case for vaccines, and more COVID-19 newsKin Cheung
FILE - A worker walks at the isolation units in the Penny's Bay Quarantine Centre on Lantau Island, in Hong Kong on Feb. 24, 2022. The fast-spreading omicron variant is overwhelming Hong Kong, prompting mass testing, quarantines, supermarket panic-buying and a shortage of hospital beds. Even the morgues are overflowing, forcing authorities to store bodies in refrigerated shipping containers. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
Kin CheungFILE - A worker walks at the isolation units in the Penny's Bay Quarantine Centre on Lantau Island, in Hong Kong on Feb. 24, 2022. The fast-spreading omicron variant is overwhelming Hong Kong, prompting mass testing, quarantines, supermarket panic-buying and a shortage of hospital beds. Even the morgues are overflowing, forcing authorities to store bodies in refrigerated shipping containers. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
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What are your options if you test positive for COVID? Plus, health experts make the case for vaccines, and more COVID-19 newsKin Cheung
FILE - A boy cries after receiving a dose of China's Sinovac COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine at a community vaccination center in Hong Kong on Feb. 25, 2022. The fast-spreading omicron variant is overwhelming Hong Kong, prompting mass testing, quarantines, supermarket panic-buying and a shortage of hospital beds. Even the morgues are overflowing, forcing authorities to store bodies in refrigerated shipping containers. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
Kin CheungFILE - A boy cries after receiving a dose of China's Sinovac COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine at a community vaccination center in Hong Kong on Feb. 25, 2022. The fast-spreading omicron variant is overwhelming Hong Kong, prompting mass testing, quarantines, supermarket panic-buying and a shortage of hospital beds. Even the morgues are overflowing, forcing authorities to store bodies in refrigerated shipping containers. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
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What are your options if you test positive for COVID? Plus, health experts make the case for vaccines, and more COVID-19 newsKin Cheung
FILE - A boy receives a dose of China's Sinovac COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine at a community vaccination center in Hong Kong on Feb. 25, 2022. The fast-spreading omicron variant is overwhelming Hong Kong, prompting mass testing, quarantines, supermarket panic-buying and a shortage of hospital beds. Even the morgues are overflowing, forcing authorities to store bodies in refrigerated shipping containers. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
Kin CheungFILE - A boy receives a dose of China's Sinovac COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine at a community vaccination center in Hong Kong on Feb. 25, 2022. The fast-spreading omicron variant is overwhelming Hong Kong, prompting mass testing, quarantines, supermarket panic-buying and a shortage of hospital beds. Even the morgues are overflowing, forcing authorities to store bodies in refrigerated shipping containers. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
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What are your options if you test positive for COVID? Plus, health experts make the case for vaccines, and more COVID-19 newsVincent Yu
FILE - A woman does exercise next to facilities being cordoned off for the social distancing law at a park in Hong Kong on Feb. 27, 2022. The fast-spreading omicron variant is overwhelming Hong Kong, prompting mass testing, quarantines, supermarket panic-buying and a shortage of hospital beds. Even the morgues are overflowing, forcing authorities to store bodies in refrigerated shipping containers. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)
Vincent YuFILE - A woman does exercise next to facilities being cordoned off for the social distancing law at a park in Hong Kong on Feb. 27, 2022. The fast-spreading omicron variant is overwhelming Hong Kong, prompting mass testing, quarantines, supermarket panic-buying and a shortage of hospital beds. Even the morgues are overflowing, forcing authorities to store bodies in refrigerated shipping containers. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)
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What are your options if you test positive for COVID? Plus, health experts make the case for vaccines, and more COVID-19 newsVincent Yu
FILE - Patients in hospital beds wait at temporary holding area outside Caritas Medical Centre in Hong Kong on Feb. 28, 2022. The fast-spreading omicron variant is overwhelming Hong Kong, prompting mass testing, quarantines, supermarket panic-buying and a shortage of hospital beds. Even the morgues are overflowing, forcing authorities to store bodies in refrigerated shipping containers. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)
Vincent YuFILE - Patients in hospital beds wait at temporary holding area outside Caritas Medical Centre in Hong Kong on Feb. 28, 2022. The fast-spreading omicron variant is overwhelming Hong Kong, prompting mass testing, quarantines, supermarket panic-buying and a shortage of hospital beds. Even the morgues are overflowing, forcing authorities to store bodies in refrigerated shipping containers. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)
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What are your options if you test positive for COVID? Plus, health experts make the case for vaccines, and more COVID-19 newsVincent Yu
FILE - People wearing face masks queue up to buy vegetables as residents worry about a shortage of fresh food, at a market in Hong Kong on March 1, 2022. The fast-spreading omicron variant is overwhelming Hong Kong, prompting mass testing, quarantines, supermarket panic-buying and a shortage of hospital beds. Even the morgues are overflowing, forcing authorities to store bodies in refrigerated shipping containers. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)
Vincent YuFILE - People wearing face masks queue up to buy vegetables as residents worry about a shortage of fresh food, at a market in Hong Kong on March 1, 2022. The fast-spreading omicron variant is overwhelming Hong Kong, prompting mass testing, quarantines, supermarket panic-buying and a shortage of hospital beds. Even the morgues are overflowing, forcing authorities to store bodies in refrigerated shipping containers. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)
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What are your options if you test positive for COVID? Plus, health experts make the case for vaccines, and more COVID-19 newsKin Cheung
FILE - Patients in hospital beds wait in a temporary holding area outside Caritas Medical Centre in Hong Kong on March 2, 2022. Some people are forced to wait outside the hospital due to it currently being overloaded with possible COVID-infected patients. The fast-spreading omicron variant is overwhelming Hong Kong, prompting mass testing, quarantines, supermarket panic-buying and a shortage of hospital beds. Even the morgues are overflowing, forcing authorities to store bodies in refrigerated shipping containers. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
Kin CheungFILE - Patients in hospital beds wait in a temporary holding area outside Caritas Medical Centre in Hong Kong on March 2, 2022. Some people are forced to wait outside the hospital due to it currently being overloaded with possible COVID-infected patients. The fast-spreading omicron variant is overwhelming Hong Kong, prompting mass testing, quarantines, supermarket panic-buying and a shortage of hospital beds. Even the morgues are overflowing, forcing authorities to store bodies in refrigerated shipping containers. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
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What are your options if you test positive for COVID? Plus, health experts make the case for vaccines, and more COVID-19 newsKin Cheung
FILE - Patients in hospital beds wait in a temporary holding area outside Caritas Medical Centre in Hong Kong on March 2, 2022. Some people are forced to wait outside the hospital due to it currently being overloaded with possible COVID-infected patients. The fast-spreading omicron variant is overwhelming Hong Kong, prompting mass testing, quarantines, supermarket panic-buying and a shortage of hospital beds. Even the morgues are overflowing, forcing authorities to store bodies in refrigerated shipping containers. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
Kin CheungFILE - Patients in hospital beds wait in a temporary holding area outside Caritas Medical Centre in Hong Kong on March 2, 2022. Some people are forced to wait outside the hospital due to it currently being overloaded with possible COVID-infected patients. The fast-spreading omicron variant is overwhelming Hong Kong, prompting mass testing, quarantines, supermarket panic-buying and a shortage of hospital beds. Even the morgues are overflowing, forcing authorities to store bodies in refrigerated shipping containers. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
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What are your options if you test positive for COVID? Plus, health experts make the case for vaccines, and more COVID-19 newsJanice Lo
FILE - Workers from the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, move a corpse from the mortuary to the coffin van at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Hong Kong on March 2, 2022. Some hospitals in Hong Kong are currently being overloaded with possible COVID-infected patients. The fast-spreading omicron variant is overwhelming Hong Kong, prompting mass testing, quarantines, supermarket panic-buying and a shortage of hospital beds. Even the morgues are overflowing, forcing authorities to store bodies in refrigerated shipping containers. (AP Photo/Janice Lo, File)
Janice LoFILE - Workers from the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, move a corpse from the mortuary to the coffin van at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Hong Kong on March 2, 2022. Some hospitals in Hong Kong are currently being overloaded with possible COVID-infected patients. The fast-spreading omicron variant is overwhelming Hong Kong, prompting mass testing, quarantines, supermarket panic-buying and a shortage of hospital beds. Even the morgues are overflowing, forcing authorities to store bodies in refrigerated shipping containers. (AP Photo/Janice Lo, File)
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What are your options if you test positive for COVID? Plus, health experts make the case for vaccines, and more COVID-19 newsVincent Yu
FILE - A woman pushes a grocery cart across a street after buying rice and and other supplies as residents worry about a shortage of food and supplies in Hong Kong on March 3, 2022. The fast-spreading omicron variant is overwhelming Hong Kong, prompting mass testing, quarantines, supermarket panic-buying and a shortage of hospital beds. Even the morgues are overflowing, forcing authorities to store bodies in refrigerated shipping containers. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)
Vincent YuFILE - A woman pushes a grocery cart across a street after buying rice and and other supplies as residents worry about a shortage of food and supplies in Hong Kong on March 3, 2022. The fast-spreading omicron variant is overwhelming Hong Kong, prompting mass testing, quarantines, supermarket panic-buying and a shortage of hospital beds. Even the morgues are overflowing, forcing authorities to store bodies in refrigerated shipping containers. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)
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What are your options if you test positive for COVID? Plus, health experts make the case for vaccines, and more COVID-19 newsKin Cheung
FILE - A woman walks past empty shelves and freezers as residents concerned with possible shortages, stock up on food at a supermarket in Hong Kong on March 4, 2022. The fast-spreading omicron variant is overwhelming Hong Kong, prompting mass testing, quarantines, supermarket panic-buying and a shortage of hospital beds. Even the morgues are overflowing, forcing authorities to store bodies in refrigerated shipping containers. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
Kin CheungFILE - A woman walks past empty shelves and freezers as residents concerned with possible shortages, stock up on food at a supermarket in Hong Kong on March 4, 2022. The fast-spreading omicron variant is overwhelming Hong Kong, prompting mass testing, quarantines, supermarket panic-buying and a shortage of hospital beds. Even the morgues are overflowing, forcing authorities to store bodies in refrigerated shipping containers. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
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What are your options if you test positive for COVID? Plus, health experts make the case for vaccines, and more COVID-19 newsKin Cheung
FILE - A woman and children wearing face masks and shields walk on a street in Hong Kong on March 4, 2022. The fast-spreading omicron variant is overwhelming Hong Kong, prompting mass testing, quarantines, supermarket panic-buying and a shortage of hospital beds. Even the morgues are overflowing, forcing authorities to store bodies in refrigerated shipping containers. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
Kin CheungFILE - A woman and children wearing face masks and shields walk on a street in Hong Kong on March 4, 2022. The fast-spreading omicron variant is overwhelming Hong Kong, prompting mass testing, quarantines, supermarket panic-buying and a shortage of hospital beds. Even the morgues are overflowing, forcing authorities to store bodies in refrigerated shipping containers. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
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What are your options if you test positive for COVID? Plus, health experts make the case for vaccines, and more COVID-19 newsKin Cheung
FILE - People wearing face masks, purchase COVID-19 antigen test kits at a market in Hong Kong on March 5, 2022. The fast-spreading omicron variant is overwhelming Hong Kong, prompting mass testing, quarantines, supermarket panic-buying and a shortage of hospital beds. Even the morgues are overflowing, forcing authorities to store bodies in refrigerated shipping containers. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
Kin CheungFILE - People wearing face masks, purchase COVID-19 antigen test kits at a market in Hong Kong on March 5, 2022. The fast-spreading omicron variant is overwhelming Hong Kong, prompting mass testing, quarantines, supermarket panic-buying and a shortage of hospital beds. Even the morgues are overflowing, forcing authorities to store bodies in refrigerated shipping containers. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
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What are your options if you test positive for COVID? Plus, health experts make the case for vaccines, and more COVID-19 newsVincent Yu
FILE - A man wearing a face mask gets a bag of rice at a grocery cart next to empty-looking shelves for rice after residents concerned with possible shortages stock up on food, at a supermarket Hong Kong on March 6, 2022. The fast-spreading omicron variant is overwhelming Hong Kong, prompting mass testing, quarantines, supermarket panic-buying and a shortage of hospital beds. Even the morgues are overflowing, forcing authorities to store bodies in refrigerated shipping containers. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)
Vincent YuFILE - A man wearing a face mask gets a bag of rice at a grocery cart next to empty-looking shelves for rice after residents concerned with possible shortages stock up on food, at a supermarket Hong Kong on March 6, 2022. The fast-spreading omicron variant is overwhelming Hong Kong, prompting mass testing, quarantines, supermarket panic-buying and a shortage of hospital beds. Even the morgues are overflowing, forcing authorities to store bodies in refrigerated shipping containers. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)
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What are your options if you test positive for COVID? Plus, health experts make the case for vaccines, and more COVID-19 newsVincent Yu
FILE - Health workers transfer corpses from refrigerated containers to a hearse in an empty lot near a funeral home in Hong Kong Monday, March 7, 2022. These corpses are not confirmed as COVID-19 death cases, but the sudden spread of COVID-19 infections and a rigorous policy to suppress the virus, overburdened Hong Kong hospitals have started to use refrigerated containers to keep corpses before they can go to burial. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)
Vincent YuFILE - Health workers transfer corpses from refrigerated containers to a hearse in an empty lot near a funeral home in Hong Kong Monday, March 7, 2022. These corpses are not confirmed as COVID-19 death cases, but the sudden spread of COVID-19 infections and a rigorous policy to suppress the virus, overburdened Hong Kong hospitals have started to use refrigerated containers to keep corpses before they can go to burial. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)
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