 | By Anisa Arsenault, Associate Editorial Director | | | Today is Diabetes Alert Day, an awareness day dedicated to understanding your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. You can read all about the risk factors—like genetics, low activity level or high blood pressure—here, or you can take a quick diabetes risk test here. | | | Today's Top Story | | Where the Omicron BA.2 Variant Is Spreading |  | Omicron is still the dominant COVID-19 strain in the United States. But lately, an Omicron subvariant called BA.2 has been making headlines for causing COVID outbreaks in places like China, New Zealand, and Denmark. Stateside, the subvariant is surging in New York.
In spite of BA.2-fueled COVID spikes, U.S. experts tell Verywell they're not convinced it will cause another surge here. This is because much of the population is either vaccinated against or recovered from COVID. As of March 22, BA.2 accounts for 35% of COVID-19 cases in the U.S., according to the CDC.
Right now, the New York-area BA.2 surge is not reflected in other regions throughout the country. It's also nowhere near as aggressive as BA.2 spread in the U.K.—but U.S. COVID trends typically lag a few weeks behind those of the U.K. | | Know More | | We're not out of the woods. Abandoning COVID precautions too soon just because case counts are low is a surefire way to allow BA.2 to take off stateside. | | Feel Better | | There is a tactic that can help us stay ahead of BA.2 surges: wastewater testing. Researchers can capture the presence of COVID-19 in sewage, allowing them to identify outbreaks in a community before PCR testing does. Local health systems across the country have established wastewater testing protocols, and the CDC is working with the National Wastewater Surveillance System. However, not all states are on board. | | |  | | According to the CDC, BA.2 is currently spreading more in the New York region than any other Health & Human Services region in the country. |  |  | | Are We Out of COVID Money? | In his State of the Union address earlier this month, President Biden announced the next phase of his COVID-19 National Preparedness Plan. He unveiled a Test to Treat initiative, promising to get antiviral medication to those who qualify as soon as they test positive for COVID. He promised millions more doses of Pfizer's drug, Paxlovid, throughout the spring. The problem? Congress has not approved funding for any of these things.
Congress is holding off on the White House's request for additional COVID-19 funding, which would cover initiatives like COVID-19 testing, vaccine manufacturing, and treatment manufacturing. Republican members of Congress said they will not vote on the bill until the White House explains how previous funding for COVID relief has been spent. If Congress fails to provide further funding, the Department of Health and Human Services might have to redirect funds intended for other purposes for COVID spending. | | | | Post-COVID Diabetes Might Only Be Temporary | | Type 2 diabetes is a complication for roughly 13% of people hospitalized for COVID-19. This may be because the virus enters human cells through the same ACE2 receptors present on cells that produce insulin. Now, research from Massachusetts General Hospital suggests the side effect could be temporary. Of the study participants who were diagnosed with diabetes after their COVID-19 hospitalization, 40% improved to a prediabetes diagnosis after a year. | | | | | | | In Other News | | | ■ | Watch Out for Snow Mold This Week. CBS Minnesota | | | | | ■ | Most Medical Debt Will Be Dropped From Consumers' Credit Reports. CBS | | | | | ■ | Jergens Moisturizer Recalled for Possible Bacteria Contamination. Today | | | | | | | |  |     | You are receiving this newsletter because you subscribed to the Verywell Health newsletter. If you wish to unsubscribe, please click here.
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